The Wolf And The Jackal

A little boy Cheeku scrambled to his granny's house with his face lit up. He had an appetite to listen to his granny's wonderful stories. The moment he reached his granny's house, he clung to her with his arms wrapped around her waist. Even the granny's countenance beamed with a smile as she embraced her favourite grandchild. She fed him sweets, and toffees before they walked into a room. Cheeku sat on the mat with his ears perked up to consume his granny's stories. His granny took some time to settle down but did not deny her grandchild what he craved for the day. She scarcely had a few teeth left which shook as if they would fall in a few days. She looked through the window at a blackbird pecking at a branch and the story flew from her mouth. "The Wolf And The Jackal"

Once upon a time, there lived a wolf that discreetly targeted hunted animals to feed its tummy. One day, when the wolf drooled to pounce on the one-legged deer, the behemoth lion sprung up out of nowhere which caught the wolf off-guard. Before the lion could tear the flesh of the wolf, it happened to see a jackal running past. The momentary distraction compelled the lion to target the jackal instead of the wolf. The wolf breathed a sigh of relief thanks to the jackal. Detecting the peril it fled the spot. The jackal somehow managed to evade the hungry eyes of the lion which returned to feed on the carcass. 

One day the wolf viewed the same jackal which had initiated a much-needed distraction to save it from getting ripped away by the lion. The wolf put forth a friendship proposal to the poor jackal and the latter accepted. They both spent time together amidst the searing heat in the jungle. They walked to the river to not only quench their thirst but also to play with each other. It seemed like a strong friendship had materialised between the duo. Nothing appealed to the jackal except the wolf. Swathed in bandages, a man appeared in the jungle in his vehicle. He had been a victim of the lion attack last time when he had come here to hunt animals. It was the same monster lion that had attacked him from behind before his team rushed to his rescue. He had now come to take revenge against the beast which injured him. His team were n

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ow armed with weapons. The jackal and the wolf walked on the same path where the vehicle was approaching. The wolf sensed the danger but did not inform its friend. The wolf had disguised itself as a friend but was a betrayer from inside. It was waiting for the right opportunity to hunt down the poor jackal. Oblivious to the sinister plans of the wolf, the jackal continued to trust it was a friend. The moment the wolf heard the sound of the car, it hid beneath the bushes to evade the human eyes. It grimaced when the jackal followed it too. The wolf thought the hunters would hit an arrow at the jackal to incapacitate it so that it could pounce on the poor animal to satisfy its hunger but the plan didn't materialize.

In the evening, the vehicle continued to reach the nook and corner of the jungle to spot the wild lion. The silhouette of the vehicle was projected on the nearby tree thanks to its headlight. The monster lion had passed through the day hungry and was desperate to find some prey. Hunters in the vehicle whizzed a bullet up in the air. The poor jackal looked up completely frightened by the bullet sound. The wild lion set out to hunt its prey. Deliberately, the wolf had taken a different path toward the lion. As soon as the hungry lion looked at the jackal, it accelerated forward with full force. There was no way the jackal would escape this time. The mighty lion clung its paws to the neck of the jackal and killed it in a matter of seconds. The friendship betrayer, the wolf thought the hunters would now hunt the lion and it can feed on the flesh of the jackal to its heart's content. But karma had other ideas. The wolf was lost in its dream and did not realize the presence of the mighty lion that stood ahead of it. Dread filled its gut the moment it opened its eyes but the time was late. The lion murdered the wolf too. Before it could celebrate its victory, the hunters squeezed a hail of bullets to put a full stop to its fiery story.

Cheeku had his mouth opened throughout the story and finally he closed it. He pestered granny to spin another story but the latter was tired. She promises him the story tomorrow and she fell asleep. Cheeku barged into the kitchen to loot delicious foods. He belched and retired to sleep.