The Crane and the Crab

Beside a pond lived an old crane who survived by eating the fish in the water. As he grew older, his hunting skills declined, and he found it increasingly difficult to catch enough food to satisfy his hunger.

The crane devised a cunning plan. He sat by the pond's edge looking deeply sorrowful. When a fish asked why he seemed so upset, the crane lied, "I've heard that no rain will fall here for twelve years, and this pond will dry up completely. You will all die, and that is why I am so sad."

The fish were terrified and asked what they should do. The crane said, "There is a much larger pond not far from here, where the water never dries up. If you wish, I can carry you there myself, one by one, in my beak."

The fish agreed gratefully. Each day, the crane would carry a fish off in his beak, but instead of taking it to safety, he would fly to a nearby rock and eat it. In this way, he fed himself a fresh fish every single day.

A clever crab also lived in that same pond. One day, he too asked the crane to carry him to the larger pond. The crane carried him to the very same rock — where the crab saw a heap of fish bones scattered about.

The crab understood at once that the crane had been deceiving and devouring all the fish. Without hesitation, he clamped his powerful claws tightly around the crane's neck.

The crane screamed in pain and begged for mercy, but the crab refused to let go and severed the crane's neck completely. The deceitful crane finally paid for his treachery, and the rest of the fish in the pond were saved.

Moral: Gains earned through deceit and trickery never last long. Vigilance and presence of mind can defeat even the cleverest deception.