In a forest Resided three close friends – turtle, crow and a tiny mouse. Everyday, the friends would eat and play together. One day, while the friends were sitting near the lake, they saw a deer running for life.
Soon he came close to the place where they were relaxing, and fell down on the mud. He had fainted. The turtle sprinkled some water from the pond on him. In a few moments, the deer opened his eyes.
He told the three friends that
Tales From Pachatantra:
The Four Friends and The Hunter Story With Moral
he was running for life from a hunter. The crow few right to the top of a huge tree to check on where the hunter was. He came down and reassured the deer that the hunter had grabbed another animal, and was going back home.
From that day on, the deer joined the gang of friends. Together, they stayed happily, until one day the deer could not reach the regular place where the friends would meet everyday.
The crow was concerned and travelled through the forest searching for him. He found the deer trapped in a hunter’s net. He flew back to where his friends were hanging around, and informed the mouse what had happened. The mouse scurried across the forest and located the deer. Slowly and continuously he cut through the net.
Meanwhile, the animals saw the turtle walking towards them. The deer thought to himself, What wonderful friends l have! Every one of them have come to help me in my time of need. ” Just when the deer was thinking about his buddies, the crow notified everybody about the hunter approaching.
The mouse rapidly scurried into a hole. ‘The crow was perched on top of a tree, and the deer got up and sprinted away. Finally, only the poor turtle was left behind.
The hunter picked up the turtle, strung him on his bow and walked away. A couple of minutes following the hunter had left the location, the three friends got together and figured out a plan.
The hunter was walking along the lake, when he saw a dead deer lying down on the route.
He put the turtle down, considering it was his lucky day and walked across to the deer. When he was approaching the deer, the crow cawed and to the hunter’s shock, the deer got up and sprinted away.
The hunter could hardly believe his eyes. He turned around, and discovered that the turtle he had tied to his bow was no longer there. The mouse had cut the strings while the hunter had gone towards deer and the turtle had slipped into the pond.
The poor hunter was left crying on the path without any capture, while the good friends happily thanked one another.