Theme: Pride

The proud wolf

	One morning, a wolf, who was very hungry, saw a tree loaded with berries. On top of the tree, a marmoset, a squirrel, and several birds were
eating the fruits, satisfied. The wolf wanted to eat them too, but he didn't know how to climb trees.

There were many fruits lying on the ground, but he didn't want to eat them. Some were very ripe, but others were rotten, pecked or bitten.

“I'm much bigger and stronger than this bunch of insignificant animals! I’m not going to eat the fallen fruit while up there they devour the good ones, like starving ones”, thought the wolf.

The wolf's stomach growled, and his mouth watered. But even so, he didn't eat the berries. He continued on his way, head high, pretending to despise the fruits as much as he despised the animals.

Seeing the wolf moving away, Mrs. Dove, who was very good and liked to help, called:

- Mr. Wolf, don't you want to eat some fruit? They are very sweet. I can throw some for you, sir.

The wolf didn't even respond and walked away.

“Who do you think you are to want to humiliate me like that? Imagine if I need any favors from her. I'll find something much better to eat. Something on my level”, said the wolf to himself.

It turns out that the wolf walked all day and did not find any food. His hunger was getting bigger, and he was starting to feel weak.

At the end of the afternoon, already tired, the wolf realized that it would soon be dark, and he could no longer continue looking for food. He would have to spend the whole night hungry and start his search again the next day.

This thought made the wolf desperate. “My God, I won’t be able to wait that long, I’ll die of hunger! I need food,” he thought.

The wolf, with great difficulty, walked back to the tree. He got there exhausted and started eating all the fallen berries, without even seeing how they were. He thought they were all delicious and thanked God they were still there.

When he had eaten quite a bit, he remembered the little animals. He looked up and saw that they were still there, looking at him, surprised.

The wolf was so dejected that he didn't even care about them anymore. For him, it was no longer important to be the biggest or the strongest. Just being able to eat and recover his energy. After eating everything he could lay down right there by the tree and slept soundly.

The next morning when he woke up, he was very well. He felt willing and happy to have managed to overcome the difficulty of the previous day. It wasn't difficult for him to understand that his pride was what had happened to him, because if he had eaten in the morning, he wouldn't have gone through everything he went through.

The wolf strongly decided to change his attitude. Thinking he was better than others didn't make him better than them.

The sun's rays were already coloring the day. The birds and other animals were already feeding excitedly on the tree's branches.

The wolf approached and said good morning to them, with kindness. They returned the greeting and Mrs. Dove said:

- What a beautiful day, isn't it, Wolf? Would you like some ripe berries from up here?

- Of course, I would appreciate it if you could throw some for me! These ones below are already good, but the ones over there must be perfect.

Mrs. Dove, kind as she was, threw several very ripe berries. The wolf enjoyed both their taste and the bird's gesture.

The wolf, who had learned humility, started to live better, made new friends, and was much happier.

Translation: 
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com
 

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com