The Lion, the Camel, and the Jackals

A camel who had wandered away from a merchant's caravan was found, exhausted, by a lion and his three attendants — a jackal, a crow, and a wolf. Rather than eat him, the lion, moved by his story, offered him safety and friendship at court, and the camel gratefully stayed on for years.

But a season of poor hunting eventually left the lion badly injured and unable to catch prey, and his three attendants grew desperately hungry. The jackal, most cunning of the three, quietly convinced the others of a plan.

One by one, each attendant approached the lion and offered his own life as a meal to save the king's strength — the crow first, then the wolf, then the jackal — each in turn insisting he was too small or too tough to be worth eating, until finally the camel, moved by their apparent selflessness and wanting to seem equally noble, offered himself as well.

The moment he did, the three attendants who had rehearsed exactly this outcome fell upon him together, and the lion, weakened and hungry, did not stop them.