"Hey Keechoo! Are you going to rest all day long, or will you actually do some work...?" asked Phobi the frog, watching Keechoo the tortoise basking lazily in the sun by the edge of the pond. Keechoo’s hard shell was gleaming, and he considered himself the wisest and most intelligent tortoise in the entire pond. Phobi the frog was happily hopping around in the water, sometimes catching a mosquito for a snack, and sometimes trying to tease Keechoo.
"My dear friend, I am contemplating. Great people don't do heavy manual labor; they work with their intellect!" Keechoo replied proudly, retreating his neck inside his shell.
"Oh wow... look at Mr. Great Leader..." Phobi mocked and went back to his hopping and jumping.
Suddenly, Phobi spotted Narali the deer running swiftly from afar. She was panting heavily, as if she was carrying some incredibly important news.
"Friends... friends...!" she started gasping as she reached them. "I have brought a message from the King of the Jungle... A swimming competition is going to be held! The best, smartest, and fastest animals of the pond must participate in it!" Narali announced. Hearing this, the other animals of the pond also began gathering around out of curiosity. Cheechoo the duck, Gappoo the fish, and Kuchak the prawn arrived instantly. Everyone started debating who would be the best candidate.
"I think we should send our wisest and most calm friend, and that is Keechoo!" Cheechoo the duck said proudly.
"Yes... yes! Who else could it be besides Keechoo?" Phobi added, doing a flip in the air.
Keechoo, who was previously drowning in laziness and sitting as if he had nothing to do with any of them, now swelled with pride. He cast a haughty glance at everyone and thought to himself, 'All of them are inferior to me, and I am the most capable!'
"Absolutely...! I am indeed the best choice...!" Keechoo said, looking at everyone with gleaming eyes. "But who is my opponent...?" he thought it best to ask.
"Gongoo the crocodile...!" Narali said.
Hearing this name, Keechoo completely lost his wits. Everyone was stunned, and a sudden wave of thrill and fear ran through the crowd.
"Keechoo's match will be against Gongoo the crocodile!" Narali the deer repeated, which finally brought everyone back to reality.
"Gongoo!" all the animals gasped in unison. Gongoo the crocodile was a highly disliked creature among the residents of the pond and its surroundings. He was powerful, dangerous, and the most lethal predator of the pond. Usually, he stayed hidden, but whenever he got a chance, he would attack smaller animals.
"I will defeat him with my brilliant strategy!" Keechoo’s arrogance was shaken a bit, but he quickly composed himself and spoke with artificial confidence.
"Yes, yes... Keechoo, you can do it!" all the friends standing around cheered loudly. Narali turned around and dashed back the same way she had come.
The next morning, when Keechoo came out of the water after a brief swim, his heart longed for the cool, pleasant morning sunlight.
"Keechoo... practice your swimming... your competition is going to happen soon," Phobi said, still busy catching mosquitoes.
"The sunlight is so delightful... why don't I relax for a bit? We can practice tomorrow," Keechoo said, making his way toward his favorite rock.
The day of the competition finally arrived, and all the animals of the jungle gathered to watch the event. All the contestants were ready at the edge of the pond. The competition was about swimming fast, navigating through obstacles, and crossing the pond quickly. Keechoo and Gongoo were the center of everyone's attention.
"The competition begins!" Narali announced loudly after receiving the signal from His Majesty, the King.
Gongoo plunged into the water with a single powerful thrust, his mighty tail splashing the water high into the air. Keechoo also jumped into the water, but his movement was slow. As he started moving forward, he suddenly felt hungry. Spotting some aquatic plants along the way, he stopped and began chewing on them.
"Hey! Keechoo, what are you doing? This is not the time to eat!" Phobi screamed in frustration.
"Whenever I enter the water, my heart craves eating plants and moss!" Keechoo replied casually.
"You fool... this is not the time to eat... it's time to swim! Hurry up, or else Gongoo will cross the pond and you will lose!" Phobi said anxiously.
"Don't worry... I am the smartest and fastest tortoise. I will prove it by winning," Keechoo said. Reluctantly, he moved forward.
Gongoo was far more powerful than Keechoo, and more importantly, he was someone who did the right thing at the right time. He never put off today's work for tomorrow; he did it exactly when it was meant to be done. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from Phobi and Keechoo’s sight, and within a short moments, he crossed the finish line to victory.
"How can this be? Keechoo was supposed to be the wisest of all!" Cheechoo the duck said in utter disbelief. All the animals of the pond were shocked and disappointed.
"Yes, but you cannot win everything based on intellect alone. Hard work, punctuality, and realism are also essential!" Gappoo the fish wisely remarked.
Keechoo’s eyes lowered in shame. He finally realized that mere rest, intellect, and arrogance were not enough. He should have worked hard, and he should never have left today's work for tomorrow.