A lion hunted all day long and found nothing to eat. As the sun went down he came upon a large cave. “Some animal must live here,” he thought. “I will hide inside and wait for it to come home.”
The cave belonged to a jackal. When he came home that evening, he stopped. In the soft earth he saw the paw prints of a lion going into the cave, and none coming out.
The jackal did not rush in. He stood well back and called out, “Cave! O cave!” There was silence. He called again: “Cave, have you forgotten our promise? Every evening when I come home, you call back to me. If you don’t answer, I will go and live in another cave!”
Inside, the lion thought, “So the cave always answers him. If it stays quiet today, he will never come in.” And he roared out a welcome as loudly as he could.
The roar echoed round and round the cave until the whole hillside shook. “Caves don’t talk,” laughed the jackal, “but lions do!” And he ran far away into the night.
The jackal stayed safe because he looked carefully, thought for a moment, and only then decided what to do.