Saturday 21 December 2013

The Gorilla and The Lioness



          A gorilla is sitting in a tree when he espies a lioness quenching her thirst by the river. The gorilla thinks naughtily, " It'd be fun to pull her tail.". Without wasting any time, he swings into action. He pulls the leonine creature's tail with all his strength.


          The lioness gets such a fright that she jumps into the river. Showing a clean pair of heels, the gorilla thinks, " I have to think of something fast. It's not easy to outrun this mighty beast."
          Luckily for him, the gorilla sees a hunter's tent and nips inside to hide. The shirtless hunter drops the paper he is reading and runs out of the tent. The gorilla decides to pretend to be the hunter - he wears the hunter's shirt and hat, and starts to read the paper.
          " This is a safe place for me to lie low," he says to himself. "The lioness is sure to try to get her own back. There is no telling what she'll do to me if she finds me!"
          Meanwhile, the lioness says to herself, " I'll search every nook and cranny for this gorilla. When I find him, I'll tan his hide!" A minute later, the lioness pads into the tent. Thinking that it is the hunter reading the paper, she says, " Mister, did you see a gorilla run in here?" From behind the paper, the gorilla answers, "You mean the one that pulled the tail of a lioness a while ago?"
         With a look of utter disbelief on her face, the lioness says, "What?! It's in the papers already?!"

Swing into action  - Begin doing something energetically
Show a clean pair of heels - Run away fast
Lie low - Hide so as to avoid being discovered or caught
Get one's own back - Get revenge
There is no telling - It is impossible to know / determine
Every nook and cranny - Everywhere
Tan / Whip someone's hide - Beat someone severely


Adapted from: Oh Teik Theam  Insight Star2 Tuesday 17 September 2013