A vast forest was home to a variety of animals, including elephants, lions, tigers, bears, and deer. Birds also nested in the trees, living happily together. A jackal also lived in the forest.

One day, the jackal was wandering through the forest in search of food. He met a dog. The jackal looked at the dog in surprise and moved on. After this, the two would meet often in the forest. They would sometimes even talk. Eventually, they became close friends.

Once day, the dog hosted a feast for the jackal. He prepared a bird for his guest. The jackal arrived at his friend’s place at the appointed time. The two ate a hearty meal. They chatted for a long time. Afterward, the jackal went home.

Gradually, their friendship deepened. They grew to love each other deeply. They often shared their joys and sorrows and consulted each other on even the smallest matters. Thus, their days were spent happily.

One day, the jackal invited his relatives to his house for dinner. He also invited his friend, the dog. He said to the dog, “You must come to my place tomorrow evening while you’re on your way. You’ll have dinner there.” The dog agreed to come.

The next day, the dog left home to visit his friend. After walking some distance, he remembered something. He thought, “The jackal told me to come to his house while walking, but I’m running there. This isn’t right.” Thinking this, he returned home.

After resting for a while, he set off for the feast. After walking a few steps, he started running. Then he remembered the jackal’s words and returned. For the third time, he left home. He was walking very carefully. He weighed each step carefully. As he approached the jackal’s house, he started running again. Thus, whenever he went to his friend’s place, he started running as per his habit.

Meanwhile, the jackal had made all the preparations for the feast. All his relatives and friends had arrived. Only the dog was yet to arrive. The jackal was waiting for the dog to arrive so that the meal could begin. When he did not arrive even after waiting for an hour, he started the feast.

After eating, everyone was chatting and talking. At that very moment, the dog arrived there, panting. Seeing the dog, the jackal was very frightened. He had nothing left to eat. The jackal became worried. After all, what could he feed his friend? After thinking hard, he thought of a solution.

While the dog was sitting and talking to other people, the jackal collected the remaining bones, covered them in a vessel and served them to the dog.

Seeing his friend upset, the dog asked, “Friend, why do you look upset today?”

The jackal said, “No friend, there is nothing like that. But you took too long. I was forced to start eating.”

The dog apologized for the delay and quietly began to eat the food that was placed on the plate in front of him. He began chewing on the hard bones. He ate them all, crunching them.

As the night wore on, all the guests thanked the host jackal and left.

It is said that since then the dog has been chewing bones.

A Folktale sourced from Hindi Kahani.

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