One morning, a hungry fox sneaked quietly into a farmyard.

He looked around carefully, spotted the farmer’s prize rooster, and grabbed him before anyone could react.

But the farmer saw everything.

“Thief!” he shouted. “Get him!”

Within seconds, the farmer and his dogs were chasing the fox across the field.

The fox ran as fast as he could, holding the rooster tightly in his mouth.

The rooster, thinking quickly, whispered, “Listen, fox. My master is a cruel man. I don’t want to go back to him.”

The fox kept running but listened carefully.

The rooster continued, “Tell him to stay away from me. Tell him I don’t belong to him anymore.”

The fox was delighted. He wanted the farmer to know he had won.

So he turned his head and shouted, “He says he doesn’t want you anymore! He says stay away from him!”

But the moment the fox opened his mouth, the rooster flew free, flapped up into a tree, and waited there safely until the farmer arrived.

The fox stood below, furious at himself.

Moral:

“Think twice before you open your mouth.”