On one unfortunate day, all of the animals were called for a meeting, by the wise old owl.
“There is going to be a terrible flood that will last for the next few weeks, so everyone needs to stock up on food, water, and other essential supplies.”
The owl announced with sorrow in his eyes.
All of the animals were in a panic, aside from one little dog.
The next day all the animals were busy preparing for the disaster. While the dog was on his way to the waterhole he noticed that a deer was having a bit of trouble gathering the water.
“I see you're struggling there, would you like some help?”
“Yes please!” the deer said with glee.
The next day the dog went hunting, but on his way he noticed that a mother of several bunnies had a very concerned expression on her face.
“What's wrong?” the dog asked.
“You see, I need to get food for my young ones, but I can't leave them all alone.” The mother replied scurrying around her burrow.
“I could help you.” the dog said.
“Really? Why thank you!” the rabbit said running off.
Now when word got around that the dog was helping everyone out, it spread like wildfire. Animals from far and wide came to ask for his help knowing that they could abuse his kindness and generosity. The dog, not wanting to disappoint them, tried his best to help each and every one of them.
Days went by, and the dog kept on helping the other animals because he loved all the attention.
Now that everyone had everything that they needed, the dog finally had time for himself. He was so busy helping others, that he never had time to prepare for the disaster himself. Sadly when the flood came in, he had no time to escape it and he was drowning. None of the other animals put in any effort to help him and within minutes he disappeared under the water...
Questions:
• Is the following statement true or false?
The dog was very nervous about the flood.
• Who did the dog help first?
• What does the phrase “it spread like wildfire” mean?
• What type of story is this?
• What is the moral of the story?