THE CAMEL AND THE FOX
Pic..: Chetna Shetty
Years ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor
English, one of the things I did – and found it very useful – was telling
a nice story in two tenses… Past and Present. Over the years, I have helped
hundreds of people who were earnest to improve their English with the same
method… Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and tell it to
someone.
Every time I see a ‘fox’ around me, I
think of this story… and, yes, I console myself!
THE CAMEL AND THE FOX
PAST:
A camel and a fox had become friends. There was a sugarcane field
on the other side of the river and, often, the camel carried the fox on his
back across for food.
One day, after crossing the river, the
camel slowly started munching the sugarcane while the fox quickly gobbled a
couple of chicken from the farm. Once his stomach was full, the fox began to
howl loudly.
“What are you doing?” cried the shocked
camel, “I have not yet finished eating and you are inviting trouble for us.”
“You know what, my friend,” justified the
fox with a broad mischief on his face, “I have this great habit of singing
happily after a sumptuous meal.”
“But, what about the danger?” Before the
camel could complete his sentence, the farmer was already there with a large
stick in hand…
The fox, being agile and cunning, escaped,
but the camel, being large and slow, got the nasty stick!
Finally, the camel managed to get into the
river and quickly the fox jumped on camel’s back prodding, “Let’s go… Let’s go…
Hurry!”
They had reached the middle of the river…
and, all of a sudden, the camel started rolling in the water….
“Hey, what are you doing?” the fox yelled in
fear, “You know I can’t swim.”
“You know what, my friend,” justified the
camel with a broad mischief on his face, “I have this great habit of rolling happily
in the water after a sumptuous meal.”
“But, what about the danger?” cried the
fox… as he went down!
PRESENT:
A camel and a fox have become friends. There is a sugarcane field
on the other side of the river and, often, the camel carries the fox on his
back across for food.
One day, after crossing the river, the
camel slowly starts munching the sugarcane while the fox quickly gobbles a
couple of chicken from the farm. Once his stomach is full, the fox begins to
howl loudly.
“What are you doing?” cries the shocked
camel, “I have not yet finished eating and you are inviting trouble for us… You
know very well that I can’t run.”
“You know what, my friend,” justifies the
fox with a broad mischief on his face, “I have this great habit of singing
happily after a sumptuous meal.”
“But, what about the danger?” Before the
camel can complete his sentence, the farmer is already there with a large stick
in hand…
The fox, being agile and cunning, escapes,
but the camel, being large and slow, gets the nasty stick!
Finally, the camel manages to get into the
river and quickly the fox jumps on camel’s back prodding, “Let’s go… Let’s go…
Hurry!”
They have reached the middle of the river…
and, all of a sudden, the camel starts rolling in the water….
“Hey, what are you doing?” the fox yells in
fear, “You know very well I can’t swim.”
“You know what, my friend,” justifies the
camel with a broad mischief on his face, “I have this great habit of rolling happily
in the water after a sumptuous meal.”
“But, what about the danger?” cries the
fox… as he goes down!
GERALD D’CUNHA
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