The Consequence of Greed

Snowfall had turned the lush green trees of the forest completely white. It was the heart of winter, and as soon as the snow began to fall, a deep silence spread through the jungle. The animals who had wisely stored food before the cold arrived were now resting comfortably in their homes, eating and drinking without worry. But those who had made no preparations were shivering in the freezing weather, wandering around in search of food.

The fox usually arranged her meals by hunting plump rabbits and round-bodied partridges at night. Before winter, she also collected dry pieces of bread, knowing they would be useful on days when no fresh food could be found. One unfortunate day, however, the fat rabbit had gone to visit his grandmother, and the partridge was nowhere to be seen. That night, the fox and her husband, the fox-male, had to survive on stale bread pieces.

Early the next morning, the fox went out to search the forest for food, but no matter how far she went, she found nothing edible. Disappointed, she returned home, where her hungry husband was waiting restlessly.

“Did you find anything, or did you come back empty-handed?” he asked impatiently.

The fox glared at her useless husband and replied, “What do you expect to find in this severe cold?”

“So does that mean we have to eat stale bread again?” the fox-male said irritably. This annoyed the brown-eyed fox, and she snapped, “An enemy of work and food alike! Why don’t you ever try finding food yourself?”

Saying this, she took out the stale bread pieces from a container, placed them in front of him, and said, “Until we arrange proper food, we’ll have to survive on these.” She then began eating the bread herself.

Looking at the dry pieces, the fox-male complained, “Eating stale bread at night has made my teeth ache. I really feel like eating meat today. I’m sure my wish will come true.”

The fox replied angrily, “You want everything handed to you while you sit idle. My fate must be truly broken to have such a lazy and useless husband.” Muttering under her breath, she continued chewing the bread.

The hungry fox-male stared at the bread for a long time without touching it, but when hunger became unbearable, he finally picked up a piece and began to chew unwillingly. Just then, the sound of flapping wings echoed in the sky. Soon, four ducks landed on the ground nearby. Seeing the fox and fox-male eating bread, the ducks came closer, hoping that some pieces might be thrown their way.

The fox had collected the bread with great effort, so she did not throw even a single piece to them. However, the fox-male tossed a large piece of bread toward the ducks. All four rushed forward, but the healthiest and strongest duck grabbed the bread and swallowed it instantly. When the fox-male threw another piece, the same duck ate that too. The third piece fell between them, and once again all four ducks lunged at it, but the greedy duck snatched it away.

Seeing this, the fox shouted angrily, “Have you gone mad? Why are you wasting our food like this?”

The fox-male replied casually, “These dry pieces are giving me a stomachache, so I’m feeding them to the ducks.” Saying this, he threw the fourth and fifth pieces as well. The greedy duck ate them too. When her companion ducks protested, she beat them and pushed them away.

Watching this, the fox said, “What a greedy duck she is, eating even her companions’ share.” The fox-male said nothing. He now began throwing the bread pieces only toward that greedy duck. By eating everyone’s share, the duck’s stomach became so swollen that she could barely move.

“Stop it! You’ve fed all the bread to that greedy duck!” the fox shouted, but he ignored her. Angry and muttering to herself, the fox went inside their hut.

The greedy duck, tempted by more food, came closer to the fox-male. He deliberately dropped the pieces nearer to himself. As soon as the duck came close enough, he jumped and caught her. She tried to escape, but her heavy body would not allow it. Seeing this, the other ducks immediately flew away

The fox-male proudly entered the hut with the greedy duck clenched in his mouth. Plucking her feathers, he presented the meat to the fox and said, “I may be lazy, but I’m not foolish enough to give away all our food for nothing. Now you understand why I fed only that greedy duck. Come, let’s enjoy warm duck meat in this cold weather.”

The fox, who had been extremely angry just moments earlier, now saw her husband as the cleverest creature in the world. Smiling, she said, “You really are very clever. I admit it.”

That day, both of them enjoyed a delicious feast, and the greedy duck’s fate became a lesson: greed often leads to destruction.