The Jackal and the War Drum

A hungry jackal wandered into an abandoned battlefield and heard a terrifying sound — BOOM! BOOM! — coming from the bushes. His heart pounded; he was sure some great beast was near.

Trembling, he crept closer to look. There he found only an old war drum, lying beside a tree. When the wind blew, the branches struck it — BOOM! — making that fearsome sound.

The jackal laughed at himself, and inside the drum's torn skin he even found some food. The thing he had feared was nothing at all.