In a lush green forest, there lived a mighty lion named Kalingan. One day, Kalingan decided to go on a grand journey to visit the kingdoms beyond his forest. Since he would be away for a while, he needed to appoint a temporary leader to look after the forest animals.
Kalingan had a very dear friend, a clever monkey named Gajini. Kalingan wanted his friend to get the position, so he decided to organize a contest that would be very easy for Gajini to win. He thought, 'Gajini loves fruits more than anyone else. If I make it a fruit-eating contest, he will surely win!'
'Attention, animals of the forest!' Kalingan roared. 'To choose our temporary leader, we will hold a contest. The one who eats the most mangoes in the shortest time will be our leader!'
The contest began. The animals gathered around a large pile of ripe, golden mangoes. However, something unexpected happened. While Gajini started eating, he did so slowly, savoring every bite. Meanwhile, the other animals, like the rabbits and deer who rarely had such treats, began eating with great speed and hunger. By the time the whistle blew, a small rabbit had eaten the most mangoes and was declared the winner.
Kalingan was baffled. He walked up to Gajini and asked, 'Gajini, you are the king of mangoes! How could you lose to a tiny rabbit?'
Gajini looked at the lion with a calm smile and said, 'Your Majesty, I eat mangoes every single day. My stomach was already quite full from my morning snack. But the others were truly hungry for this treat. They ate with a passion I couldn't match because I was just eating for pleasure, while they were eating to satisfy a real hunger.'
Moral
Overindulgence can sometimes take away our edge when a real challenge arises.
