The sand land fable

Once upon an enchanting time in the sand land of red and blue there roamed a sly old fox and a magnanimous lion. This land of sand sported a special spot. The sacred sand. It was special because if one lied standing on the sacred sand it would turn into quicksand. What's more, it was not static. Every time it took a liar down, the spot changed its coordinates. No one could tell where this new spot would be. Thus the animals were afraid to lie, unless they were very near the ocean, for one could always jump in the water if they felt the sand moving underneath their feet.

The sly old fox grew tired of telling the truth, for he was one prone to lie. Indeed his fur turned all white from this strenuous effort. But the magnanimous lion had no difficulty at all. He basked in the glory of truth and became even more magnanimous. Consequently the other animals doted on him and felt protected near him. They showered him with gifts and affection and treated him like their king.

This bothered the fox to no end. He recruited a few like minded animals to create a trap of sort that gives the effect of sinking sand under the weight of a heavier animal, say, something like a lion. The fox thought if he could get the magnanimous lion on the spot and make him sink, he could kill him and his reputation. Alas, one of the lion's followers got wind of this trap and fox's plan backfired. The sand land animals never quite liked the fox but now they were losing their faith in his cunning capacities.

Mortified, the sly fox sought help from the Red Riding Hood. By now she was living in a house over the hill with five of her children and grew to be weary of the world. She has lost all her childhood charm and become quite a stern and worldly woman. So she saw no harm in striking a deal with this one time enemy of hers.

The sand land animals were not aware of her evolved nature. So they cheered, somewhat bewildered, at the sight of their once favorite little girl returning hand in hand with the sly old fox. The fox pretended to be magnanimous, and tried to sport the gait of a lion as he entered the sand land with Red Riding Hood in tow.

(to be cont'd)