Once upon a time, in a deep forest, there lived a fox and a crocodile. They were unlikely friends, but they worked together and decided to farm crops to make a living.
One season, they planted paddy. When it was time to divide the harvest, the fox cleverly said,
One season, they planted paddy. When it was time to divide the harvest, the fox cleverly said, lower part." The crocodile agreed without much thought. When the crop was
harvested, the fox took all the grains from the top, while the crocodile was left with useless roots and stubble.
The next time, they planted sugarcane. This time, the fox said, "I will take the bottom part." Thecrocodile was confused and replied, "But Fox brother, last time you took the top part of the paddy. Why do you want the bottom part now?" The fox laughed and said, "Oh, dear
crocodile, you are such a fool! There's nothing valuable in the bottom of sugarcane. Everything good is at the top. My teeth are weak, otherwise I would have taken the top again!" Trusting the fox, the crocodile agreed. But after harvesting, he realized that the sweetest and most valuable part of sugarcane is actually at the bottom. Once again, he had been tricked.
The crocodile became upset and thought to himself, "The fox must be very knowledgeable. That's why he always outsmarts me. I should send my children to him so they can become wise and learned."
With this idea, the crocodile went to the fox's house. At that time, the fox was sitting with his wife, enjoying a meal of crabs. Hearing the crocodile call out, the fox peeked outside and said, "What brings you here, brother?"
The crocodile replied, "I want you to teach my seven children. Please make them wise and educated like you." The fox quickly agreed,
pretending to be honored. "Of course, leave them with me. I will take good care of them," he said.
The crocodile left his seven little ones with the fox and returned home happily. He told his wife, "I have sent our children to become scholars. They will grow up to be wise and successful."
But the fox had other plans. As soon as the crocodile left, the fox took one of the little crocodiles aside and ate it. After some time, the crocodile came to visit and said, "Let me see how my children are doing."
The fox brought the remaining children out of their burrow and showed them one by one. To hide the truth, he cleverly showed the last child twice. Then he said,
"Brother Crocodile, come back when they are fully grown and educated. I will call you when the time is right."
Satisfied, the crocodile returned home. But as soon as he left, the fox killed and ate another baby crocodile. This continued until all seven of the crocodile's children were gone.
After many days, the crocodile began to worry. "It's been a long time. The fox hasn't called me, and I haven't seen my children. I should go and check on them," he thought.
So he went to the fox's house and called out, "Fox teacher, are you home?" At first, there was no reply. After calling several times, the fox finally answered weakly, "Oh, brother crocodile, I am not feeling well."
The crocodile asked anxiously, "How are my children? Where are they? And what are these bones lying here?"
The fox quickly replied, "Oh, those? Don't worry about them. Your children have all grown up, become successful, and left for jobs. I told them many times to visit you before leaving, but they didn't listen."
Hearing this, the crocodile felt both proud and confused. But deep down, he began to realize that he had been tricked once again by the cunning fox.
And thus, the foolish crocodile paid dearly for trusting the clever fox without thinking.
The rest of it in the next part,
Part 2