A Wolf and Seven Lambs

A Wolf and Seven Lambs

Once there lived a goat along with her seven kids near a forest. She loved her kids very much.

One day while the goat was going to collect food for her kids, she said to them, "Kids! I am going to the forest to bring food. You should not quarrel. And listen! Do not open the door for anyone except me. The Wolf always eyes you greedily." She kissed her kids and bade goodbye.

The wolf was already waiting for the goat to depart. He was very fond of the lamb’s flesh. He went to the hut of the goat and knocked at the door, "Hello kids! Here is your mother. Open the door. I have brought good food for you." The kids were intelligent, they recognized the voice of the wolf and said, "O wicked wolf! Do not try to fool us. Go away!"

Then the wolf practiced speaking like the goat and came again. This time, he spoke in a loud voice, "Hello kids! Open the door. It is your mother here. Be quick."

The kids were intelligent. They peeped through the magic glass of the door cautiously. Seeing the feet of the wolf, they said, "No! We will not open the door. We have recognized you. Your feet are different from those of our mother’s. The color of her feet is white."

Hearing the kids made the wolf go to a grocer’s shop and ask him to cover his feet by the white flour. The shopkeeper was surprised to hear the strange demand of the wolf. But out of fear, he sprinkled some flour on his feet. Thus, the feet of the wolf became white. He came back to the hut of the goat and knocked at the door, "Hello! Dear children, I have come, open the door quickly."

The kids peeped through the magic glass and found the color of the feet white. They opened the door. But seeing the wolf, made them run here and there to save their lives. Some went under the bed, while some hid behind the curtains. But the cunning wolf caught and ate up all of them except one who had hidden himself in the big clock of the house. The wolf just could not guess that hide out.

After some time when the goat returned to the hut, she was surprised to see the door wide open. She had thought that the kids would be very happy to eat the fresh food. But her happiness vanished soon. She found that the whole house had been ransacked and none of her kids could be seen. She wept and cried bitterly and said, "Oh kids! What happened to you all? Why did you open the door for a stranger. The wolf has won the fight and I have lost to him."

At this moment, the kid who was inside the clock spoke, "Mother! Are you listening to me, the youngest of all? Take me out of the clock." The goat immediately picked her little kid and kissed her again and again. The kid narrated the whole incident. Then they heard the snoring of the wolf. The goat said, "It appears that the wolf is still here. Bring the long scissors."

The kid brought the scissors. They both went to the garden. They found the wolf sleeping there. The goat went up to the wolf slowly and cut open his belly. She found the kids alive and took them out one by one from the wolf’s belly. The goat hugged the kids warmly. Then she asked all the kids to fill stones in his belly. They all picked big stones and put them in the wolf’s stomach. Thereafter, the goat stitched the belly and they all came back to their hut.

Soon the wolf awoke and felt thirsty. He got up and went to the well to drink water. As there were stones in his belly, he could not balance himself and fell into the well with a loud noise. He died by drowning in the deep water.

The goat and her kids were observing everything from the window. Now they all came out of the hut and danced. They needn’t be afraid of the wolf anymore.