The Fox and the Drum
One day, a fox was walking alone in the forest. He was very hungry. He looked for food everywhere but found nothing.
As he walked, he suddenly heard a loud sound: BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The fox stopped. He was a little afraid. “What is that noise?” he said. “It must be a big animal. Maybe a lion or a monster!”
The sound continued: BOOM! BOOM! The fox was scared, but also curious.
He said to himself, “This thing makes a big noise. It must be big and full of meat. If I kill it, I will eat for many days!”
Slowly, he walked closer to the sound. He saw something round behind the trees.
But it was not an animal. It was just a big empty drum.
The wind was moving the branches of a tree. The branches were hitting the drum. That was the sound: BOOM! BOOM!
The fox looked at it and laughed.
“This drum made so much noise,” he said. “I thought it was something big and full. But it is empty!”
Then the fox said: “Sometimes, things that make the most noise are the most empty inside.”
And he walked away, still hungry, but a little wiser.
Moral of the story: Don’t fear something just because it is loud. Loud things may be empty.