STORY - MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

              A battle was fought by two kings near a jungle. One of them won and the other lost. The armies returned to their capitals. Only a drum was left behind, a reminder of the war. The drum was used by one of the armies in singing songs of bravery to pep up its soldiers at night during the battle.

             One day, a storm came. It forced the drum to roll away. The drum stopped near the stump of a tree and stood on one side. The stump had a few branches which would hit the drum whenever the wind blew. It made the drum make ‘Trum-Trum’ sound.

             A jackal used to roam around that area. He heard the sound made by the drum. It frightened him. He had never heard such sound.

             The jackal wondered about it. He thought that it was some animal who made ‘Trum-Trum’ call. He spied on it from behind bush to know what kind of creature it was.

            One day, he saw a squirrel jump on the drum. There was a mild sound. The squirrel sat on the drum and gnawed at the nut it had. The jackal thought, ‘It is no violent creature. I too must not fear it.’ He stepped quietly towards the drum. He smelled it. He could not make head or tail of it.  Just then, the wind blew and branch hit the drum. The drum made a powerful sound. The startled jackal fell back in fright.

            “Now I see,” the jackal said trying to rise up, “so it is merely a cover. The real creature is inside this cover. The sound which is made by this creature proves that it is some healthy creature, full of fat.”

             After some thought, the jackal returned to its den. He said to the bitch-jackal, “Darling be prepared for a big feast. I have brought the news of a big and fat creature.”

            The bitch-jackal asked, “Why did you not kill it and bring it home?”

              The jackal rebuked his wife’ “Silly cow, that cunning creature lives in a strange shell that has two doors made of dried skins. Had I tried to grab it from one side it would have run away through the other exit.”

               They both went to the drum when the moon came up. As they approached it, the branch hit the drum and a ‘Trummm’ sound was produced. The jackal whispered in the ears of his wife, “Did you hear the voice ? That booming sound tells us that the creature should be full of fat and flesh.”

                    They sat down one on each side of the drum and began to nibble the skin at the edges. As the skin began to get tor, the jackal warned, “Be careful. We shall put our paws in, at the same time to grab the creature should be full of fat and flesh.”

                     The jackal shouted ‘Now’ and with that, the both thrust their paws in the drum and felt around. There was nothing but thin air. The only thing they got hold of was each other’s paws. Both cried, “There is nothing.”

                      They returned to their den very disappointed.

Moral  :- Those who make boastful sounds are hollow from inside.