An alligator and a crocodile once lived in a river.
The alligator was smaller in size compared to the crocodile, which was twice as big. But they lived without any quarrels, each of them keeping to its side of the river.
The river had fish in plenty.
One day, a kingfisher happened to fly over the river.
The fish in the river made its mouth water. The bird decided to dive in to taste the fish.
But as soon as it got ready for the hunt, it saw the alligator and the crocodile in the water. Kingfisher knew diving into the river would not be safe.
Yet, the fish looked too delicious for the kingfisher to change its plan.
So, the kingfisher started planning to get rid of the crocodile and the alligator controlling the river.
The kingfisher went to the crocodile.
“Hello, mighty crocodile. I was flying from here when the sight of you made me stop. I cannot tell you how awestruck I am by your size. You are a true beast,” the kingfisher said.
“Thank you,” replied the crocodile.
“But,” the kingfisher said, “you are so big and yet you can control only half of this river! That tiny alligator takes half of the river. It is such a shame that you cannot drive away that alligator.”
The kingfisher’s words made the crocodile angry over the alligator.
“You are right. I shall do something about that alligator,” said the crocodile.
The kingfisher now flew to the alligator.
“Hello, beautiful alligator. I was flying from here when your beauty made me stop. You are the most beautiful alligator I have seen,” said the kingfisher.
“Thank you,” the alligator replied.
“But I must tell you that your neighbour crocodile shall not be taking advantage of its size. You have access to only one side of the river, while the crocodile controls the larger part. You are missing out on all the delicious fish in that side of the river,” the kingfisher said.
“Is it so?” asked the alligator.
“Yes, my dear friend. You must stand up to the crocodile and demand for more,” the kingfisher said.
The angry alligator immediately went to confront the crocodile, which was headed the alligator’s way in anger.
Poisoned by the kingfisher’s words, they forgot how comfortably they lived in the river.
While the kingfisher watched from a tree at the bank, the crocodile and the alligator got into a fierce fight.
They were equally strong. Both of them were left with wounded jaws, which made them incapable of hunting.
The kingfisher was happy to see its scheme work.
It decided to live by the river and feast on its delicious fish, without any fear of the crocodile or the alligator, both of whom retired to the same bank to see the bird making most of their stupidity.
