The lion, king of the forest, fell ill and was known for wisdom and justice among the animals. When the disease intensified on him, he became unable to visit except the giraffe. She would attend to serving him and fulfilling his requests. He admired her for her wisdom. One day he said to her: Old age has caught me early. I have become weak in sight and body and cannot remain king of the forest.
The giraffe said to him: Don’t worry, oh king of the forest. You will remain the great and wise leader, as courage is among your qualities and the animals are obedient. The lion rejoiced at that speech he heard from the giraffe. He said to her: I desire you to remain near me always, as your speech is pleasant and beautiful and eases the disease for me. She said: Well, that still pleases you. I will remain by your side.
When the lion felt the disease began to destroy his body, he gathered all the animals and said: If I die, the giraffe will be queen over you, as she is wise and has a big heart and loves everyone. Everyone agreed to the lion’s suggestion. He advised that the wise bear be her special advisor. Then he said while in pain: If I had a cub, he would be more deserving to be king of the forest after me. After a few days, the lion died.
One day, a farmer came to the queen of the forest complaining that the fox had stolen a duck from his farm. She sent the bear to monitor him to know if what the fox did was true. One came saying to him: My lord, wise of the forest, I have indeed seen feathers and bones of the white duck in the fox’s house. The bear said: This is the greatest proof of theft of the duck.
The fox came before the bear and said to him: This is the last time you can transgress on a wild bird inside his hut. If you repeat that, you will be expelled from the forest. The fox went planning a matter to take revenge on the bear. It was the bear’s habit to rest in his place under his big tree. The fox kept monitoring the bear when he went to the queen of the forest to help her in managing affairs.
The fox immediately dug a large hole to make him fall in it. The wolf saw him as he passed before him. The fox said to him: Help me, my friend, in digging so that when the bear comes, it will be a trap for him. And if he attacks another duck, we will eat it together. What do you think of the idea? The wolf left him and continued on his way. The fox continued digging and covered it with branches to hide it and dirt.
When the bear went to rest under the tree, he fell inside the hole and started screaming until all the animals rescued him with difficulty. When the fox saw what happened to the bear, he rejoiced greatly and hid from sight. The wolf said to the bear: It was the fox who dug the hole and asked me for help, but I refused that. The bear sent someone to bring the fox but didn’t find him. The giraffe issued an order to expel him permanently from the forest.
From the tales of Kalila and Dimna.