Write a story based on the following outline:
Four animals – a wildcat, a mongoose, a rat and an owl – live in a tree - Owl and mongoose afraid of the cat - Rat afraid of all the three - cat got caught in a trap - Everyone happy-Owl and Mongoose want to eat rat - Rat quickly nibbles at the net - Saves cat -Seeing cat owl and mongoose flee - Rat also runs and saves his life
Answers
Uneasy Neighbours
Four animals – a wildcat, a mongoose, a rat and an owl – had made their home in a huge banyan tree.
The rat and the mongoose lived in two different holes at the foot of the tree. The cat lived in a large hole halfway up the tree and the owl lived in the branches.
The cat moved about fearlessly. The owl and the mongoose were afraid of the cat and kept a safe distance from it. The rat lived in mortal fear of all three neighbours.
One day the cat was caught in a trap laid by a hunter. Its three neighbours were mighty pleased to watch him struggle to get out of the net in which it had been caught. They knew it was impossible. Soon the hunter would come and they would be rid of their enemy forever. The rat’s joy, however, was short-lived. Even as it watched the cat struggle, it became aware that the mongoose was moving menacingly towards it. Frightened, the rat looked up. What did he see? The owl too was getting ready to swoop down. The rat realised that his life was in grave danger and that the only one who could save it was its arch enemy, the cat.
It leapt onto the net in which the cat was caught and began nibbling at it. Within no time it had made a hole big enough for the cat to squeeze through. Seeing the cat come out, the owl and the mongoose fled.
The wise rat too ran away. It knew it could not expect any gratitude from the cat, but in saving it, it had saved its own life.
Your enemy’s enemy is your friend. There are no constants in life. Friends can turn foes and foes can turn friends.