Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
Once upon a time, there lived a lion in a forest. A jackal, a crow and a wolf had developed friendship. They knew that the lion was the king of the forest and friendship with such a fierce creature would always help them. To meet their selfish ends, they started obeying and were always at the service of the lion.
They didn’t have to make any efforts to search for their food, as the lion gave his leftover meals to them. Moreover, they became powerful as they were next to the king of the forest. One day, a camel, who came from some distant land, lost his way and entered the same forest where these friends lived. In the meantime, these three friends happened to pass the same way that the camel was wandering. When they saw the camel, they realized that he did not belong to their forest. The jackal suggested to his other two friends, “Let’s kill and eat him.” The wolf replied, “It is a big animal. We cannot kill him like this. I think, we should first inform our king about this camel.” The crow agreed with the wolf s idea. All of them went to meet the lion. On reaching the lion’s den, the jackal approached the lion and said, Your Majesty, an unknown camel has dared to enter your kingdom without your consent, Let’s kill him; he could make a nice meal.” The lion roared loudly on hearing this and said, ‘What are you saying ? The camel has come for refuge in ray kingdom. It is unethical to kill him. We should provide him the best shelter. Go and bring him to me,” All of them were dispirited to hear these words from the king. They unwillingly went to the camel and told him about the lion’s desire to meet him, The camel was scared about the strange offer. He thought that his end had come and in a little while he would become the lion’s meal. As he couldn’t even escape, he decided to meet the lion. The selfish friends escorted the camel to the lion’s den. The lion welcomed the camel warmly and assured him of a safe stay in the forest. The camel was totally amazed to hear the lion’s words. He happily started living with the jackal, the crow and the wolf.
One day, when the lion was hunting for food, he had a struggle with a mighty elephant. The lion was badly injured in the struggle and became incapable of hunting for his food. Thus the lion had to sustain without food for days. Due to this, his friends too had to go hungry for days as they totally depended on the lion’s kill for their food. But the camel was satisfied grazing around in the forest.
All the three friends were worried and discussed the matter among them, As the jackal, the crow and the wolf had set their evil eyes on the camel, they met once again and devised a plan to kill the camel. They went to the camel and said, “Dear Friend, you know our king has not eaten anything for many days now. He is unable to hunt due to his wounds and sickness. Under such circumstances, it becomes our duty to sacrifice ourselves to save the life of our king. Come with us, we will offer our bodies as food for him.” The camel didn’t understand their plan, but innocently nodded in favour of it. All of them approached the lion’s den.
First of all, the crow came forward and said, “Your Majesty, I can’t see you like this. So please eat me.” The lion replied, “I would prefer to die than to perform such a sinful deed.” Then, the jackal came forward and said, “Your Majesty, crow’s body is too small for your appetite. I offer myself to you, as it is my duty to save your life.” The lion politely rejected the offer. As per the plan, now it was the wolf’s turn to offer himself to the king. So, the wolf came forward and said, “Your Majesty, jackal is quite small to gratify your hunger. I offer myself for this kind job, Please, kill me and appease your hunger.” But the Lion didn’t kill any of them. The camel, who was watching the whole scene felt reassured of his safety and also decided to go forward and complete the formality. He marched forward and said, “Your Majesty, why don’t you kill me ? You are my friend. Please allow me to offer you my body.” The lion found the offer quite appropriate as the camel himself had offered his body for food. The lion attacked the camel at once, ripped open his body and lore him into pieces. The lion and his friends feasted on the poor camel for days together.