Deep in the rain forest lived a lion named Kharanakara. One day, he was very hungry and looked for a prey in every nook and corner of the forest. There was no animal, big or small, as far as he could see. As he was wandering in search of food he found a big cave and thought, "There must be some animal living here. If so, it is bound to return to the cave in the evening. I will hide myself in the cave and when the animal returns, pounce on him and have a good meal."

Then as sun began to set, Dadhiputcha, a jackal, came to the cave that was his home and saw the footprints of the lion entering the cave. There were, however, no traces of footprints to show that the lion had left. Scared, the jackal wanted to make sure that it was a lion or some big animal that went into the cave. But how should he know? He hit upon a brilliant idea.

The jackal went near the cave and began shouting, "Hello cave, I am your friend here." There was no reply from the cave. He did not know what to do. He again shouted, "Hello cave, don’t you remember the arrangement we made? I have to shout when I arrive at the cave and you will ask me to come in. Without your green signal I do not enter the cave. Since you are silent, I will go to some other cave."

The lion heard the jackal speaking and thought, "Ah, there seems to be an arrangement between the cave and this animal. Let me get him into my trap. I will shout back a welcome to him and he will walk in happily."

The lion then roared, "Hi jackal, come in. You are welcome."

The jackal at once knew it was a lion inside the cave and hurriedly fled the place.

Moral
We must anticipate danger and act.