The Jackal and the Otters

Retold and Adapted by Navin

Once upon a time, there was a large flowing river in the middle of the forest. Many animals living in the forest got food and water from the river. One day, an otter, Minu, was lying by the side of the river when he saw a huge splash in the middle. He swam out to investigate and went below the water.

When Minu emerged, he had a gigantic fish in his arms! It thrashed around, and he had a difficult time holding it. Seeing his friend Gipu by the shore, Minu called for a hand. Gipu swam out to Minu and helped him hoist the fish to land. Both sat looking at the fish with happy expectancy. Finally, they decided to split it in half. However, here they ran into a problem. Neither one wanted the half with the tail or the head. They began to argue over the matter.

Meanwhile, a clever jackal was strolling through the forest. He was quite hungry, but did not feel like hunting. As he came around a corner, he saw Minu and Gipu fighting next to a humongous fish. He devised a plan…

“Friends, friends! What seems to be the problem?” asked the jackal, walking in with his arms waving in a peacekeeping manner. The otters explained their conundrum. “Is that all? In that case, I can help split the fish for you! After all, I will be fair!” exclaimed the jackal.

The jackal proceeded to cut off the head and tail of the fish and give one to each of the otters. “Now, for the main body!” cried the jackal. He cut the fish in “half,” with one “half” being a little bigger than the other. “Oh dear, this half is bigger,” said the jackal, “let me make them equal.” The jackal bit a piece of the bigger half off and ate it. “Oops! Now the other half is bigger!” gasped the jackal. He bit a piece off of the other half. This went on and on, and before long, none of the fish was left! The jackal licked his lips, laughed at the silly otters, and ran away. As for the otters, they stood shocked, and had to make do with only the tail and head.