THE CHEETAH AND THE IMPALA

A large, fast Cheetah ruled the desert in Africa. He was getting very frustrated because all of the animals kept hiding from him. He was so hungry, and decided that he needed to devise a plan to trap his prey. When he stumbled upon a group of Hares, the Cheetah approached kindly saying, "Hello, Hares, I come in peace! I am here to warn you!"

"Warn us about what?" asked the Hares.

"The Lions are coming to kill you! I want to protect you! As you know, the Lions are considered the kings of the desert, but I think I deserve that title. I want to be your king and I want to protect my subjects. I can get you out of here quickly!" replied the Cheetah.

"Why should we trust you? You want to eat us!" shouted the Hares.

"I have had a change of heart and I want to protect all who live in the desert. I will never become the King if I do not protect the beautiful citizens of this desert," lied the Cheetah.

The Hares were far too dumb to understand the Cheetah's deceit and far too scared to think it over. In groups of three, the Hares climbed onto the back of the Cheetah and let him carry them away. However, when he was out of sight of the other Hares, the Cheetah would quickly throw the Hares off of his back and eat them up.

After eating every last Hare, the Cheetah spotted a large Impala. He smiled to himself because he knew that he could catch an even bigger meal.

"Didn't you hear? The Lions are coming! I already saved all of the Hares. Let me save you too! I am much faster than you are and I can guide you to safety," offered the Cheetah.

"Oh how kind of you! I will follow behind you. As you can see, I am much too large for you to carry! Just show me the way!" replied the Impala.

The Impala was far smarter than the Hares, and knew that the Cheetah would never save anyone out of the kindness of his heart. However, the Cheetah was much too hungry and much too confident to question the Impala, and allowed him to follow behind him. However, when the Cheetah got far enough out and turned to attack the Impala, the Impala was in attack stance with his horns raised.

"What are you doing? I am guiding you to safety!" said the Cheetah, still trying to deceive him.

The Impala kept his head down and began to drag his foot across the ground, making grunting noises as he got closer to the Cheetah. But the Cheetah, still much too cocky to back down, came toward the Impala. Once the Cheetah was close enough, the Impala charged him.

"What are you doing? Get away from me! I will kill you!" screamed the Cheetah as he attempted to fight back.

Luckily for the Impala, he had the element of surprise on his side and the Cheetah did not have enough time to get away. He thrashed and thrashed at the Cheetah until he had ripped him apart.

"That will teach him a lesson," mumbled the Impala as he walked away with pride.

For the rest of time, no Cheetah ever dared to deceive an animal ever again.

Vector Stock: Cheetah and Impala

Author's Note: My story is very similar to "The Cunning Crane and the Crab." Although my story does follow the same general plot, I have changed the setting of the story, the characters, and some minor details. In the original story, the Fish were trapped in a shallow pool of water and the Crane told him that he knew of a beautiful lake where they could be free. My story is similar in that the Cheetah offers to carry the Hares to safety, but it is not because they are trapped or because anything is wrong with where they are living. In my story, the Cheetah completely made it all up, even the problem itself, while in the original the Crane took advantage of a preexisting problem. I chose to use a Cheetah, Hares, and an Impala because I liked the animal theme from the original, but wanted to change the setting. I felt like a Cheetah would be the type of animal to deceive other animals, and therefore based my story off of the Cheetah as the villain. Another small difference is that in the original, the Crab threatens the Crane by pinching his neck and forcing him to bring him to safety. In my version, the Impala knew there was no safer place and therefore killed him immediately.

Bibliography: "The Cunning Crane and the Crab" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source.

Image information: Vector Stock: Cheetah and Impala