Once in a land far, far away. The Tortoise and the Boar became friends. Their friendship was known all over the land.
One day the Tortoise asked the Boar to lend him some money. Out of the old friendship, the Boar lent out the money. It was agreed that the money would be paid back in a fortnight.
Back home, the Tortoise made plans with Alibo (his wife) to deceive the Boar to prolong the repayment date. He asked his wife to use his hard shell as a grinding stone and to tell the Boar that he wasn’t around whenever he came.
A day after the agreed date of repayment, the Boar walked in, and he saw Alibo grinding pepper on a stone. He asked about his friend.
”He went to the farm not too long ago,” Alibo lied. The Boar ran off towards the Forests in search of the Tortoise. But he was not on the farm. The next day he came back.
”He went to see the Cock”, Alibo lied again. The Boar ran off also. This time he asked other animals on the road if they have seen the Tortoise, but none had seen him, and he wasn’t at the Cock’s place either. Sensing that the Tortoise might be playing a trick on him, the Boar, in anger, returned to the Tortoise house and took the grinding stone from Alibo. He didn’t think when he flung the stone far into the shrubs.
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A few minutes later, the Tortoise walked into his compound. He saw the angry Boar.
“What is it, my friend? Why is your face red?” He asked.
‘I’ve come for my money,” the Boar answered.
The Tortoise demanded his grinding stone and vowed never to pay the Boar if he failed to return his stone. The Boar rushed into the shrubs in search of the stone. He was picking every pebble on the ground with his snout to see if they belonged to the Tortoise. Up till now, the Boar still searches the dirt in search of the Tortoise’s grinding stone!
Lesson: It’s wrong to play on people’s intelligence. It’s unreasonable to react in anger.
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