There was once a pig who was king of the woods and spent most of his time in gluttony. One day a poor cat observing a store of food in the kingdom made a lunge at it. The pigs on guard immediately caught the cat and hauled him before the king.

‘How dare you steal what doesn’t belong to you.’

‘Dread king, I bow my head in sorrow,’ said the cat. ‘I was so hungry I could do nothing else.’

‘Tomorrow you shall hang.’

The cat was taken away.

‘How dare a low bred moggy steal what is mine. There’s a reason why I have things and he doesn’t. What kind of a king is he who is poor?’

The courtiers agreed and immediately set to gorging themselves. 

Before the king the next morning, the cat was bought to the gallows and just as the noose was drawn, the king cried out. He clutched his side in great pain and his belly swelled. 

‘King,’ the cat shouted, ‘I know what ails you and I know the cure! Release me and I will help you.’

The king agreed and the cat ran to the king, and using his claws, made a cut in the king’s belly and removed a whole block of cheese that was stuck there.

‘Cat, you have saved my life even as I was about to end yours. Not only are you free, but you may take what you will from the larder any time.’

‘King, you almost died from gluttony. But do a better turn than this. Take your food and share it among all the animals, some of which are hungrier than I. For just as too much is injurious, so is too little.’

The king ordered it done.