Years ago a lion lived in the forest named Shyam. That lion was very clever. It was a lot of fun to befriend each animal and take advantage of it. After getting everyone done his work, the lion used to show his back to others when needed.
Everyone in the forest had come to know that the lion makes his own sense by befriending everyone and then does not help others. Now everyone started staying away from that lion.
A lot of time passed while roaming in the forest in search of friends, but the lion could not find anyone.
One day when he was going to his cave, he saw that an old bear was also living near his cave. It occurred to him that this time it would be great fun to befriend the bear and take advantage of it.
Everyday the lion used to think that somehow he could talk to the bear. Two or three days passed, but he could not find an excuse to talk to the bear. One day he saw that the bear was old. It occurred to him that of what use would this old bear be to me. There is no point in befriending him.
One day the lion heard the bear talking to the bird. The bird was asking the bear, “You are so old, how do you get food for yourself?”
The bear told the bird, “Earlier I used to catch fish and eat it, but now I cannot do that. It doesn’t mean that I am hungry. I eat honey now. It tastes great. For this I have to go inside the dense forest and bring honey from the bees.
After listening to all these things, it occurred to the lion that I too have never tasted honey. Now being friends with this bear, I can taste honey.
With this thought, the lion made a plan. As part of that plan, the lion went to the bear and said, “You recognized me? When you were young, you took out some fish from the pond and fed me one day. You have helped me many times in this way. I used to get lost every time and bump into you only.”
The bear could not remember anything. He thought that it was so many years old, maybe I had helped him sometime. The bear was thinking till then the lion said, “Okay, I will go. If there is any need, remember me. Having said this, the lion went towards his cave.
The bear also went to his home, but the lion’s words were roaming in his mind. Come on, he thought! There is someone with whom I can talk.
The next day the lion started talking to the bear. In the same way, the lion slowly started befriending the bear. One day the lion invited the bear to his house for dinner.
Here, the bear was very happy to be invited for dinner. On the other hand, the lion had thought that somehow he would not let the bear have dinner. It was in his mind that why should I let someone eat my food. I will put food in only one plate and finish it quickly.
When the bear came at night, the lion did the same. He brought food in a plate. Both sat down to eat together. The bear was old, so he started eating comfortably. Then the lion started eating fast and finished the food in no time. The bear was very disappointed. The lion said, “Friend, I eat food like this.”
The bear returned to his home with a sad heart. The next day the bird asked the bear, “What happened, why are you so sad?”
The bear told all the things that happened in the lion’s house at night. The bird asked laughingly, “You don’t know how the lion is? He always befriends everyone and then takes advantage of them and goes away. He never helps anyone. Now you should teach him a lesson by some trick. Saying this the bird flew away from there.
The bear also decided that he would definitely teach a lesson to the lion. With this thought the bear once again went to the lion’s den. He talked to her in a very normal way. He didn’t let the lion feel that he felt bad about the talk of the night.
Both started talking. In small talk, the lion asked the bear, “Friend, from where do you get your daily food?”
The bear told the lion about the honey. As soon as the lion heard the name of honey, he said, “Friend, you have not made me taste honey till date.”
On hearing this, it occurred to the bear that now he has got a chance to teach the lion a lesson. He said, “You want to eat honey? the mere fact. You come to my house for dinner at night. I will feed you honey.
The lion was very happy. He started waiting impatiently for the night to come. As soon as the night fell, the lion quickly moved towards the bear’s cave.
As soon as the lion came, the bear welcomed him and asked him to sit. After that the bear closed the door of his house.
The lion asked, “Why are you closing the door?”
The bear said, “If someone else smells the honey, he will come here, so it is necessary to close the door.”
Now the bear brought a beehive and placed it in front of the lion and said, “It has honey inside.”
As soon as the lion put his mouth inside it, the bees started biting him. His whole face got swollen. Wherever the lion ran, the bees followed him there.
At last the lion asked the bear, “Why didn’t you tell me how to eat honey?”
The bear grumbled and replied, “I eat honey like this.”
The lion understood that the bear had taken revenge on him, so he left quietly.
learn from the story
The lesson from the story of the lion and the bear is that if you seek help from someone, be ready to help him as well. If we do bad to others, then bad will happen to us too, because karma does not spare anyone.
