One year, there was a severe drought, and almost no grass on the ground, so many animals died of hunger and thirst. The lion king was so anxious that he could not sleep or eat.
To save the animals on the verge of extinction, the lion king collected the only remaining bit of dry food in the country and issued a decree saying that if anyone were willing to find a new food source, the bag of dry food would be awarded to whoever. But there is a condition: within ten days must find new food; otherwise, it will never come back.
Due to the harsh conditions of the lion king, many animals ready to go out to look for food sources have backed off, including tigers, elephants, and so on.
“Lion King, I am willing to go in search of a food source.” Just as the Lion King was disappointed, an aged camel stepped forward and said.
“Thank you.” When the Lion King finished, he ordered the Monkey Chancellor to send the bag of dry food to the old camel’s house.
“No, I can’t take this bag of grain, and I didn’t go in search of food for the purpose of this bag of grain.” The camel was busy coming forward to stop the monkey chancellor.
“This is the dry food for the journey.” The monkey chancellor said emphatically.
“The water stored in my body is enough to support me for ten days. I think it is better to distribute this bag of dry food to the other animals, who have been hungry for several days.” When the old camel finished speaking, he took a big step to the north.
One morning, the old camel walked into a desert area he had never been to before with the rising sun. Suddenly, he found a meter-high cactus growing in the desert. With a few steps to a cactus, the camel cut off a piece of the cactus with the knife he carried and tasted it in his mouth, thinking it tasted delicious and could be used as a new food source to help everyone survive the famine. When the old camel was ready to return to the Lion King to report this great news, he found a pear-like fruit ball growing on each cactus. The old camel cut off another one with his knife, and white juice came out from inside the fruit ball when he cut it open. “Is this white liquid juice poisonous?” The old camel first hesitated but still stuck out its tongue and licked it. It found that the white juice was not only mellow but also a little sweet.
The old camel was so happy that he kept picking the fruit balls with his knife, and the thorns on the cactus made him bleed all over his body, but he didn’t care about it at all until he filled a full pocket and then he was satisfied with his return journey.
The ten-day deadline was up. Early that morning, the lion king led all the beasts to wait at the junction, hoping the old camel would return safely and bring good news to everyone. But they waited, but the sun was about to set, and the camel was still missing.
“King, did the old camel die of hunger on the road?” The tiger asked the lion king in a soft voice.
“It’s entirely possible. It’s so old, how can it have the energy to find food? I think it is just trying to show off!” The fox stood with the lion king for a whole day, his heart full of resentment, hitching a ride on the side.
“Shut your mouth!” The Lion King shouted angrily at the fox.
“Lion King, the old camel it is back!” Monkey Chancellor climbed on a big tree and saw the old camel from afar, “It’s carrying a big pocket, it must have found a food source.” When Monkey Chancellor finished speaking, he jumped down from the tree and ran towards the old camel. The Lion King also led the beasts to meet him.
“Dear Lion King, I have found a new food source.” Then the old camel took off the pocket on his back, poured out the pear-shaped fruit ball, cut it up with a knife, and invited everyone to taste it.
“Hey, the stuff you brought back, I’ve never seen it before, is it edible? Is there any poison?” The fox saw all the beasts gathered around the old camel and kept praising it for doing a good deed for the animal kingdom, and was so unbalanced that he called out at the old camel.
“Please don’t worry, Mr. Fox. I have tasted it long ago. If it was really poisonous, would I still be back?” The old camel said.
The fox stopped talking and picked a big one from the fruit ball, hid, and ate it.
Under the old camel’s leadership, the cactus and its pear-shaped fruit balls survived the famine, and the juice from the fruit balls was squeezed to make fruit tea, cheese, and other foods.
Dare to do what others are afraid to do; it is possible to become a strong person. The world will never change if you do not move forward in everything. But to dare to do what others are afraid to do is not reckless, not to mention risky, but a responsibility that drives people to embark on the unknown path, step by step, to success.
