An ageing Heron (so the fable goes) devised a cunning plan to get the fish to serve themselves up as food without any effort on his part. He told an influential Crab that fishermen were poised to catch all the fish, and that he was willing to transport them to another lake, a place of heavenly peace and safety.

The fish eagerly accepted the Heron’s offer, and were carried away two by two. When the Crab’s turn came, he spotted as they flew a heap of fishbones beyond the ridge; and, realising the grim truth, he throttled the Heron there and then. The Heron was left to reflect that the wicked are often the authors of their own punishment.

119 words