Alliga the alligator, a resident of the city lake, was a master of crocodile tears. He’d feign sadness to score snacks from picnickers. One day, he tried his trick on a little girl named Lily, claiming his frog friend had moved away. Lily, sympathetic, gave him her bread crusts. But when a dog startled Alliga, he snapped at it, scattering the remaining bread. Lily realized Alliga had been faking and was just greedy. His crocodile tears had finally run dry, and he learned a hard lesson about his deception.

Crocodile tears is a figure of speech that refers to a display of sorrow that is insincere or hypocritical. It is used to describe someone who pretends to be sad or sympathetic but is not genuinely feeling those emotions. The phrase comes from an ancient Greek story that crocodiles would weep while devouring their victims to lure in more prey.