The Clever Fox And The Goat

One summer afternoon, a fox was walking in the forest. The sun was shining hot and bright in the sky and the fox began to feel thirsty. He went round and round the trees, looked in the bushes and sniffed all around. And ah-ha! There it was - a big, deep well of water! The fox was so happy that he jumped right into the well and gulped down so much water that his tummy was ready to burst.

Now that he had finished drinking water, the fox decided to get out of the well and go on his way. So he looked around for a way to climb out and saw that there was none! Every time he tried to go up, he would slip down. He tried and tried, but with no luck.

"Oh! Someone, please help me! Get me out of here!" The fox cried from the wall, hoping that someone would hear him and come to save him. Many hours went by but nobody crossed the well. "It seems I'll be stuck here forever," thought the fox, sadly.

"Hello! I heard you screaming from there, Mr Fox! Can I help you in any way?" the goat spoke

Now, the fox knew that the goat would never help him, once he learnt that it was impossible to get out of the well. Therefore, he decided to trick the innocent goat, so that he could get the goat to help him out of the well.

"I came down into this well to drink this cool, refreshing water. Believe me, my dear goat, I have never ever tasted water quite like this. Why don't you come down and drink some too?" said the sly fox.

The goat, on hearing the fox, was overjoyed and at once she jumped into the well and was beside the fox. But as soon as the goat finished drinking the water, she too realized that getting out of the well was impossible.

The fox was very clever. He thought of a plan to escape. "Why don't you stand on your hind legs, and I'll climb over you to get out of the well. Once I am out, I shall pull you out too!"

The goat was pleased since the fox's solution appeared to be the best way out .without wasting another moment, the goat stood up with her hands against the wall of the well, the fox immediately jumped over the goat's back and climbed out, free at last!

But as soon as the fox was out of the well, he started walking away without looking back even once. The goat started crying to the fox for help.

"Mr Fox, you had promised to help me get out of the well too!" she screamed.

But the fox merely replied, "Listen, my friend! If you had been smart, you would not have leapt into the well before seeing if there was a way out!" And so saying, the fox started walking away to his own house and the poor goat was left in the well.

Moral: Look before you leap.