A long time ago, a little goat used to live with its mother. They had been leading a fairly peaceful life. The mother goat often warned her daughter against treading beyond the fence. The little goat, however, was born with the heart of an adventurer. She wanted to travel the world and explore new places. She was curious to discover what lay beyond the prohibited boundaries.
One morning, when the mother goat was still asleep, the kid slipped away and crossed the fence to check out the adjoining areas. She kept going deeper into the forest, in awe of her surroundings. Soon it was night and the little goat, exhausted from her daylong expedition, began looking for a place to sleep. She came across a cave and decided to spend the night there. However, little did she know that the cave belonged to a fox, who had gone for a feast at his uncle’s – the tiger’s den.
Having made merry at the feast, the fox came back in high spirits. Just as she was about to walk in, she heard loud snores coming from inside her cave. The fox was understandably startled. She asked who was in there, resting inside her cave.
The kid woke up with a start. Hearing the fox, the goat kept her composure and answered as loud as she could, saying that she was the lion’s aunt, who could devour fifty tigers at once. Scared to the bone, the fox ran back to her uncle, the tiger, to seek his help.
The fox told the tiger, in a wavering voice, that someone had taken over her cave. The tiger laughed out loud and assured her that he would accompany her to the cave and take out the daredevil trespasser.
They soon stood at the entrance of the cave. The tiger roared ferociously and asked who was inside. In response, the goat mustered all its strength to let out a scream, which, due to the cave’s echo effect, sounded like a thunderous roar. She retorted angrily that she was feeling hungry and would eat the tiger right away if he failed to fetch her fifty beasts at the earliest. Listening to the demands of the self-proclaimed lion’s aunt, both the uncle and the nephew made a run for it.
The goat had thus used her wit and presence of mind to save her life.
…now that you’re here
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Ananya both loves to read and reinterpret folk tales from different parts of the country. Shoot her an email at ananyasusarla2915@gmail.com if you would like to know more about her.
Folk tale adopted and abridged from Folktales of India.