By a sparkling stream, on a warm, sunny day, a fluffy little lamb was taking a cool drink. A little way upstream, a grumpy wolf with a rumbling tummy spotted the lamb.

"Aha!" thought the wolf. "Lunch! But I need a good reason to catch him."

So, the wolf trotted down closer and called out in a gruff voice, "Hey, you! Why are you stirring up the mud and making my drinking water all dirty?"

The little lamb looked up, surprised. "But sir," he bleated politely, "the water flows from you to me. I'm downstream. I can't possibly make your water muddy."

The wolf huffed. He hadn't thought of that. "Well then," he snarled, "I remember you! You said nasty things about me last year!"

The lamb blinked. "But sir," he said gently, "I wasn't even born last year. I'm just a little lamb."

The wolf stamped his foot. This lamb was too clever! "Alright, alright!" he growled. "If it wasn't you, it was your father, or your brother, or someone in your woolly family! And that's just as bad! They were all saying mean things about me and my family!"

The lamb shook his head sadly. "I'm sure they wouldn't, sir. Besides, even if they did, I can't be blamed for what others might have said."

The wolf's eyes narrowed. He was tired of arguing and very, very hungry. "Well, excuse or no excuse," he growled, "I'm going to eat you for my dinner anyway!"

And with a pounce, the wolf caught the poor little lamb. It just goes to show that someone who wants to do something bad will always find a reason, even if it's not a good one.

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