The Stork and the Crab

Once upon a time, there was a stork who caught the fish in a particular tank. The stork always had a full meal. As the years went by, the stork grew older and weaker. His ability to catch fish diminished. At times he would even starve. He knew he had to do something to survive.

One day he stood by the side of the tank with a very forlorn look on his face. The frogs, fish and crabs wondered why he was not trying to catch any food. A big crab asked him what the matter was. The stork answered that he was sad because all the fish in the tank were going to die and he would have to starve. He said that he had heard that people were going to fill the tank with mud and grow crops over it. The fish were very worried and asked the stork to help them.

The stork offered to take all of them to a bigger tank some distance away. But he said that he needed to rest between trips because of his age. He would only be able to carry a few fish at a time.

The stork took a beakful of fish on his first trip. He flew to a big rock and had a good meal. He rested awhile, and when he was hungry again, he took a second trip. In this manner, he took a trip each time that he was hungry.

The big crab in the tank also wanted to save himself and he requested the stork to take him too. The stork thought it was a good idea to try a new dish. He agreed to take the crab on his next trip.

After the stork flew up with him, the crab looked down to see what his new surrounding would be like. All he could see was dry land. He questioned the stork about this. The stork laughed wickedly and pointed to the rock below where the crab saw a heap of fish bones. The crab realized that he was to be the stork's next meal. So the crab dug his claws into the stork's neck and would not let go till the stork fell to the ground. The crab then cut off the stork's head and returned home to show it to all the other fish and share the story of his adventure.