CEBU, Philippines - Once upon a time, there was a lazy wolf living in a jungle. The wolf was always in search of food. Near his house was a pond. Many animals came to the pond to drink water.
One day, he was sitting near the pond hoping to get something to eat. When suddenly he spotted a dead bull. “Aha! What a luck! Now I can eat all I want,” he thought and his mouth started watering.
Then he began to eat the bull. Another thought struck him, “If another beast comes this way he will ask for a share. I had better eat fast.” Grub! Grub! Grub! Grub! He chewed, faster and faster.
In his haste, a piece of bone got stuck in his throat. “Ohh! Errk!” cried the wolf. He tried to bring it out of his mouth. He tried to cough it out but in vain. Next, he tried to swallow it down but he failed.
“Ooh, this bone in my throat hurts. What shall I do now?” grumbled the wolf. Suddenly he remembered that a crane lived on the riverbank nearby.
The wolf went to the crane and pleaded, “My dear Crane! I have got a bone stuck in my throat. I will give you a present, if you pull it out of my throat with your long beak.”
The crane took pity on the wolf. “Look up and open your mouth,” he told the wolf. The crane then put its head into the wolf’s mouth and pulled out the bone.
“Oh! What a relief!” the wolf sighed afterwards.
“Now where is my present?” the crane asked.
“What present?” the wolf defiantly replied, pretending to be unaware of its promise.
“You said that you would give me a present if I removed the bone from your throat,” said the crane earnestly.
“Hah! Is it not a present enough that I allowed you to put your head into my mouth and got out alive? I could have easily crushed your head while your beak was inside my mouth,” said the ungrateful wolf and went away.
The crane felt helpless and gave up. But he decided not to help any ungrateful creature in the future. (www.english-for-students.com)