The Tale of Four Friends

In a certain forest lived a crow named Laghupatanaka. One day, he noticed that a hunter had laid out a trap, and a mouse named Hiranyaka had become caught in it. The crow flew down at once to help.

Just then, a tortoise named Mantharaka arrived, followed soon after by a deer named Chitranga. Over time, these four — the crow, the mouse, the tortoise, and the deer — became the closest of friends, meeting regularly and helping one another whenever needed.

One day, the deer failed to arrive at their usual meeting place. The other three grew worried, and the crow flew off to search for him. He soon discovered the deer struggling, caught fast in a hunter's net.

The crow rushed back and told the mouse and tortoise what had happened. The mouse hurried to the spot and began gnawing through the ropes of the net with his sharp teeth. Within moments, he had freed the deer completely.

But just then, the hunter returned. The deer and crow fled immediately, and the mouse scurried into a hole — but the slow-moving tortoise was left behind, and the hunter caught him and placed him in his bag.

The deer quickly devised a plan. He approached the hunter and pretended to be injured and helpless, as if he could easily be captured. Tempted by this easy prize, the hunter chased after the deer. Meanwhile, the mouse seized the moment to gnaw through the bag's cord and free the tortoise.

When the exhausted hunter finally gave up the chase and returned, he found his bag empty and the tortoise gone. Disappointed, he went home with nothing.

The four friends reunited safely and rejoiced, grateful that their unity and quick thinking had saved every one of them.

Moral: True friends stand by one another in times of trouble, and there is tremendous strength in unity.