Good In Return For Bad

The bear was famous in the forest for his good character and helpfulness. All the animals loved and respected him and even the lion king had a lot of respect for him.

Because he was always helping others and was so good to them, he had no enemies in the forest except for the fox and the one-eyed jackel who hated him for no reason at all.

They therefore did their best to harm him and to make him look a fool, but none of their plans worked.

Apart from the trouble they gave the good bear, the fox and his friend the jackal also gave grief to the other animals of the forest.

They were always knocking nests off trees, destroying the homes of other animals, making fools of others and causing other animals to fight with each other.

The fox one day happend to see some hunters digging a large hole in the ground to trap an elephant. After digging the hole, they covered it with grass, branches and leaves so that animal may fall inside.

A devilish plan suddenly flashed through the fox's mind. This, he thought, was the perfect way to get rid of the good bear.

When he related the plan to his friend, the jackal was very impressed and praised his friend for coming up with such a cunning idea, saying, 

"What a marvellous idea for finally getting rid of the bear. He will now get his punishment for being so good to everyone." 

The fox then explained, "Because mister goody bear likes to help others so much, I shall go to him at eight o' clock tonight and tell him that you have been seriously hurt and need his help. I shall then lead him to the area where the trap is dug and there he will fall inside and never worry us again. But first, I must show you where the place is." 

They then went off into the forest but had not even come close to the place when they both fell into a deep hole. "Ouch! My leg! My leg!" the fox shouted, "My head! I must have cracked it."

"What have you done?" the jackal asked. How did we fall into the trap?" when he realised what had happend, the fox said, "This is not the trap I saw. The hunters must have dug another trap. We will die here!" 

The two of them desperately called to the other animals for help, but none wished to help them. The other animals were only too happy to be rid of them.

When the news reached the bear, he immediately went over to help them, but the other animals stopped him and reminded him about the evils that the fox and hie one-eyed friend had carried out in the past.

The bear however did not change his mind and said to them, "Evil is not rewarded with evil but with good. We must help them." 

The animals then helped the bear rescue the two. The fox and the jackal were then eternally grateful to the bear and promised never to harm anyone ever again. 

Lesson 

One must never stop doing good because this is what will even make friends out of enemies. When we behave kindly towards people who are bad to us, this good will spread to them as well.

When someone in school or at home is always complaining about us and blaming us for things we never did, we must not wait for revenge, but should be good to them.

They will soon become embarresed by the way they act and will start treating us well.