Deep in the heart of a golden savanna lived a Leopard who was as fast as the wind and as cruel as a winter frost. He did not hunt because he was hungry; he hunted because he enjoyed the chase. He would brag to the zebras and the antelopes, “I am the shadow you cannot outrun. I am the tooth you cannot escape!”
One afternoon, the Leopard caught a tiny Field Mouse by the tail. The Mouse was no bigger than a pebble, but his mind was as sharp as a thorn.
“Please, Great Spotted King,” the Mouse squeaked, “do not eat me today. I am currently on a mission for the Ghost of the Great Mountain.”
The Leopard let out a golden-throated laugh. “The Mountain has no ghost, little snack. And even if it did, I am the king of this grass. I fear nothing living or dead.”
“Oh, but the Ghost is very angry,” the Mouse said, trembling with fake terror. “He says there is a Leopard in this forest who thinks he is faster than a spirit. The Ghost is waiting at the Edge of the Cleft right now. He told me to bring him a Leopard so he could race him. If I don’t, he will turn all the grass to stone, and you will have nothing to hide in.”
The Leopard’s pride was stung. “Lead the way, tiny one. I shall race this Ghost and prove that even the wind cannot keep up with my paws.”
The Mouse led the Leopard to a deep, narrow canyon where the wind whistled through the rocks. At the very edge, the Mouse pointed down into the dark, misty depths. “He is down there, waiting. You must shout your challenge into the mist, for the Ghost only answers to those who are loud and brave.”
The Leopard leaned over the cliff and roared with all his might, “I AM THE FASTEST IN THE WORLD!”
A moment later, a voice boomed back from the canyon: “…FASTEST IN THE WORLD!”
The Leopard bristled. “He mocks me!” he snarled. He roared again, “I WILL KILL YOU!”
The voice came back, cold and sharp: “…KILL YOU!”
“He is coming for me!” the Leopard cried. Terrified by his own echo—which he believed was a powerful spirit—the Leopard turned and bolted. He ran for three days and three nights, never stopping until he reached a completely different forest, leaving the Field Mouse to eat his seeds in peace.
The Moral: A bully’s own reflected aggression is often his greatest source of fear.
Review The Leopard and the Mouse’s “Ghost”.