The Jackal and the Mangoes: A Fable

Once upon a time there was a Jackal. He was a smart cookie, and he knew his way around the forest. He may have been intelligent, but humility was not one of his strengths. The Jackal would roam around the forest, making fun of other animals, denigrate them for being stupid and weak and powerless, and tell them how they should be more like him.

One day he discovered a grove of Mango trees with large juicy mangoes drooping down all around. His mouth started watering, he really wanted the mangoes. Unfortunately for him, there were two sheep dogs fiercely guarding the grove, there was no way he could fight them both by himself.

So he came with a devious plan.

He promised them a large pile of bones if they'd let him into the garden. They did not believe his offer, and told him to go away. One sheep dog growled at him, and bared his teeth. The Jackal was not happy, he had thought they would be simple and gullible like the rest of the animals, and go along with his plan. No matter, he thought, I'll give them something to make them happy for a while, eat all the mangoes I can, and then run away, without filling my part of the deal.

Unfortunately for him, the sheepdogs stood steadfast. Show us the pile of bones, they said, and we'll let you in. By this point the Jackal was getting desperate, he considered it a matter of honor to be able to have a try at the mangoes. So he went about, collected a large pile of bones, including ones from his own stash, and brought it to the sheepdogs. The dogs sniffed the air, one made sure there was no trick and that they were all bones, and cautiously approached the pile of bones. After checking, they confirmed it was indeed all bones, and let the Jackal go into the grove.

The Jackal ate all the mangoes he could. He ate mangoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would eat mangoes if he woke up at midnight. He snacked on mangoes. He drank nothing but mango juice.

And very soon, he had fattened up, gotten diabetes, and gotten progressively weaker. All the other animals noticed how the Jackal wasn't as smart as they thought he was and stopped taking him seriously. THe Jackal rued the day he'd seen that grove.

Moral: Be careful what you wish for, and how your wish for it. Your fantasies might turn into nightmares.

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