Look Before You Leap - Story for Class Seventh Eight Ninth Tenth

Look Before You Leap is an oft-quoted proverb. It means before engaging in anything new, we should make careful preparations. If we are hasty in doing something, we must meet unforeseen dangers and difficulties.

There is a well-known fable to illustrate the truth of this proverb

It was a roasting hot day of high Summer. The burning blows of blistering wind moved like flaring flames all along the fields. All the rills and rivulets were bone-dry. In such arid conditions, a fox felt awfully thirsty. He went about in search of water here and there for a long time. After a hard hunt, at last, he reached a shallow waterhole. He peeped into the well and found some water at the bottom. He was overjoyed to find it. He wished to drink the cool water of the well but it was below his reach. Standing on the brim, he just began to gaze at his own reflection in the Crystal clear water of the well. He bowed low to reach the water. Then by an unlucky chance he slipped and fell down into the well.

As the water was not so deep, he was not drowned. He drank water his fi but then he realized that he had caught in a fatal predicament. He began to curse himself for his carelessness. He tried his best to climb up the wall of the well but to no avail. It was too vertical and slippery to be climbed over. He also tried to jump out but the wall of the well was too high to be vaulted over. He felt deeply dismayed and utterly upset. The strenuous struggle had exhausted him entirely. He thought that he would die in the well.

So, he began to cry in his trouble. After some time, while he was thinking of some means to get out, he heard some faint steps treading in the vicinity of the well. A flash of hope flickered in his weary eyes. He began to splash around to catch the attraction of the passerby. His wish came true when he saw a bearded goat peeping down from the brim. He also noticed the deер surprise in the staring eyes of the goat. The goat asked the fox,

"Hello uncle, what are you doing down there?"

The fox was very clever. In a trice, there flashed a trick through his foxy brain. He decided to make the most of the opportunity. Concealing his sad plight under a merry guise, the fox indulged in a lavish praise of the cool water of the well and replied,

"Dear nephew, the water down here is excellent beyond measures. You know, the water of this well is so sweet and cool that I daily come here to drink it? If you taste it, I am sure you will enjoy it very much. So come down, enjoy the sweet water and have a luxurious bath."

The goat was too impulsive to think about the way up. As he was also thirsty, he thoughtlessly jumped down. The fox was waiting just for that moment. No sooner did the goat jump into the well; the fox jumped onto his back and vaulted out of the well with a single jump. The goat began to bleat in his predicament. A frog from under the water came up and said to the goat,

"Don't bleat now but repent of your folly because who do not think before acting, having to suffer."

Then the goat realized his folly. He pleaded with the fox to help him out of the calamity. The fox laughed and said,

"You fool; you should not have jumped into the well without satisfying yourself about the means of escape. Now go on bleating and your master will come to get you out. If Heaven had thrown double dose of good sense with that beard on your chin, you have never gone down in that frivolous way. As for me, I've escaped and I'll wish you good day. Day your best to get out. In the meantime, you may enjoy the sweet water of the well. I have a certain engagement that won't let me stop. Good-bye!"

Saying this, the fox vanished from the sight and the goat was left in a sad plight. The goat decided to go on bleating loudly so that someone might hear him and come to his rescue. We learn a lesson from this story that we should be very careful in dealing with the people. Some people want to profit at the expense of others. We do not try know that how Cunning they are. As a result we suffer a lot.

Possible Morals:

1. Haste makes wastes.
2. It is no use crying over split milk.
3. Do not leap into the dark.