The Jackal & The Heron

The Jackal one day thought of a plan to amuse himself at the expense of the Heron, at whose odd appearance he was always laughing.

 

"You must come and dine with me today," he said to the Heron, smiling to himself at the trick he was going to play. The Heron gladly accepted the invitation and arrived in good time and with a very good appetite.

 

For dinner the Jackal served soup. But it was set out in a very shallow dish, and all the Heron could do was to wet the very tip of his bill. Not a drop of soup could he get. But the Jackal lapped it up easily, and, to increase the disappointment of the Heron, made a great show of enjoyment.

 

The hungry Heron was much displeased at the trick, but he was a calm, even-tempered fellow and saw no good in flying into a rage. Instead, not long afterward, he invited the Jackal to dine with him in turn. The Jackal arrived promptly at the time that had been set, and the Heron served a fish dinner that had a very appetizing smell. But it was served in a tall jar with a very narrow neck. The Heron could easily get at the food with his long bill, but all the Jackal could do was to lick the outside of the jar, and sniff at the delicious odor. And when the Jackal lost his temper, the Heron said calmly:

 

"Do not play tricks on your neighbors unless you can stand the same treatment yourself."

 

-adapted from Aesop's Fable's "The Fox and The Stork"