The Otters and The Jackal

A long time ago, a jackal lived with his mate in a large forest. One sunny morning, his mate said, "I would like some fresh fish today."

"Alright, I'll get some for you," the jackal said, and he quickly went to the river.

At the river, he saw two otters standing by the water. They were looking for fish. Suddenly, one otter saw a big, shiny fish. He jumped into the water and grabbed the fish by its tail. But the fish was strong and began to swim away, pulling the otter with it. "Help me!" the otter shouted to his friend. "This fish is big enough for both of us!"

The other otter jumped into the river, and together, they pulled the fish to the shore. "Let's divide the fish," said one otter.

"I want the part with the head," said one.

"No, I want the head! You can have the tail," said the other.

The jackal was listening to them argue. He walked over, and the otters asked him, "Dear jackal, can you help us? We caught this fish together, but we can't decide how to divide it. Can you do it for us?"

The clever jackal quickly made a decision. He cut off the tail and gave it to one otter, then gave the head to the other otter. He kept the best part, the middle of the fish, for himself. "Now, you can enjoy your parts," he said, and before they could say anything, he ran away with the middle part.

The otters were left standing there, shocked and sad. They realized the jackal had tricked them.

The jackal went back to his home with the fish. His mate ran up to him, excited. "How did you get the fish?" she asked. "We live on land, not in the water!"

The jackal smiled and told her the story about the otters. "They argued about the fish, so I helped them. This is my reward," he said, giving her the fish.