A man had two sons: Thoughtful and Lazy.
"Sons," he said, "I'm giving you each a pair of doves." He then handed each son a box containing the birds. "Take good care of them."
Thoughtful tended his birds carefully, feeding them, and feeding their offspring. He soon had many boxes with many birds.
Lazy put his box away and never touched it.
When his father later summoned them, Thoughtful presented him with all the boxes and all the doves. "Bless you my son," said the father.
Lazy offered only a box containing two tiny skeletons, and his father banished him.
Inspired by: "Prudence and Indolence" in African Jungle Tales by C. J. Bender, 1919.
Notes: You can read the original story online. This is a story of the Kwe (Wakweli) people of Cameroon; find out more at Wikipedia. This is not really an animal story since the doves are not characters, but I thought I would include it anyway!
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