Four Friends Hunter

In the great, beautiful forests of India, there lived four friends who were very different from each other. One friend was a deer with beautiful brown eyes and fast legs. One friend was a crow with black feathers and sharp eyes. One friend was a mouse with tiny paws and a long tail. And one friend was a turtle with a hard shell and slow, careful steps. They were from different families and had different ways of living. But they loved each other very much and were the very best of friends.

How Four Different Friends Met

These four amazing friends had met by accident one day in the forest. The deer was running away from danger as fast as he could go. His legs were pumping, and he was very scared. The crow was flying high in the sky, looking for food. His wings were beating fast, and he was circling above the trees. The mouse was scurrying through the grass and leaves on the ground. His tiny feet were moving very quickly. And the turtle was slowly walking along a path, minding his own business. He was not in a hurry to go anywhere.

They all bumped into each other near a small, clear pond. The deer crashed into the turtle. The crow flew down from the sky. The mouse jumped up from the grass. For a moment, they were all confused and scared. They did not know each other. But then something wonderful happened. They looked at each other and realized that they needed help from each other.

The deer said, “I am running from a hunter. I need friends to help me stay safe.”

The crow said, “I can fly high and see far away. I can warn my friends about danger.”

The mouse said, “I can squeeze into tiny holes where other animals cannot go.”

The turtle said, “I am slow, but I am steady and very smart. I can help you think about problems.”

They looked at each other and smiled. Even though they were very different, they realized they could help each other. They decided to stay together and be friends. This was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Learning About Each Other

For many happy days, the four friends played and explored the forest together. They learned everything about each other. The deer showed everyone how to find the sweetest grass to eat. He would teach them which plants were good to eat and which plants were poison. The crow found berries high up in trees that no one else could reach. He would fly up and get them and share them with his friends. The mouse discovered delicious seeds hidden underground. He would dig and dig and find treasures of seeds for everyone. The turtle found the best water to drink at the cool pond. The water was fresh and clean and perfect for drinking.

They told each other stories about their lives. The deer told about running through the forest at night when there was moonlight. The crow told about flying so high that he could see the whole forest below him. The mouse told about exploring underground tunnels where he had never been before. The turtle told about sleeping under the mud at the bottom of the pond when it was very cold.

Feeling Safe Together

They felt very safe because they were together. No wild animal dared to attack them because they had each other. When one friend was scared, the other friends would help him. When one friend was hungry, the others would help him find food. They shared everything – food, shelter, and love.

They slept together under a big tree, with the turtle at the bottom of the tree, the mouse in a hole in the tree, the deer lying down, and the crow sleeping on a branch above. Every morning, they would wake up together and say good morning to each other. Every night, they would go to sleep together and say good night.

A Terrible Hunter Comes

But one day, something terrible happened. A hunter came into the forest. This was not a regular hunter who wanted food to feed his family. This hunter was mean and cruel. He wanted to catch animals just to trap them and hurt them. He wanted to make them suffer. He had a dark heart.

The hunter had many traps and nets. He set up many traps all over the forest. He put traps on the paths where animals walked. He made nets under the trees. He dug holes and covered them with leaves. He put poison in some places. His goal was to catch as many animals as possible.

The hunter made a very big, very strong net from rope that was as thick as a finger. The rope was twisted very tightly. The net had huge holes, but the rope was so strong that no animal could break it. He hid the net under leaves and grass on the path where the four friends always walked. He covered it so well with leaves and branches that it was impossible to see. An animal would have to be looking straight down to see it. The hunter then went away to wait for animals to come.

The Terrible Trap

The next morning, the four friends came to the forest as usual. They were walking together, talking and laughing. The deer was not looking down at the ground. He was looking at the trees ahead. The crow was flying high above them, looking for danger and food. The mouse was too small to notice a trap. And the turtle was walking slowly in front, as always.

They had no idea what was about to happen.

Suddenly – WHOOSH! The net flew up from the ground very fast. It came up so quickly that the friends had no time to run away. The strong net wrapped around all four friends at once! It caught them all! The rope wrapped around their bodies and tangled around their legs and wings.

The deer tried to run. He pulled and pulled with all his strong legs. But the rope was too strong. He could not run. The crow tried to fly up into the sky. But the net held him down. He could not fly away. The mouse tried to squeeze out of the net, but the holes were too small for him to escape through. The turtle could not hide in his shell because the net was wrapped around him.

“Help! We are trapped!” cried the deer, pulling hard on the net. His eyes were wide with fear. “The hunter must be coming back soon to take us away! We will be in terrible danger! We will be hurt! We must escape right now!”

“I cannot fly!” cried the crow. “My wings are caught in the rope!”

“I cannot squeeze out!” cried the mouse. “The rope is too thick!”

“I am stuck!” cried the turtle. “I cannot hide!”

All four friends were scared and worried. But they knew they had to work together to escape. They did not have much time.

Working Together to Escape

The four friends thought quickly. They had to use all their different talents to escape before the hunter came back.

“The net is too strong for me to break,” said the deer sadly. His powerful legs could not break the strong rope. “What can we do? I am so strong, but even I cannot break this rope.”

“I cannot fly away because the net holds me,” said the crow. “And I cannot see how to help from here. I am stuck just like the rest of you.”

“I cannot squeeze out because the rope is too thick,” said the mouse. “The holes in the net are not big enough for me.”

But the mouse had an idea! “Wait!” squeaked the mouse loudly. “I have an idea! Everyone listen to me! I have very sharp, very strong teeth! I can chew through the rope! This is what I do! I chew wood and nuts all the time! Give me a moment, and I will chew through the rope! I will free us all!”

The mouse had an idea! “Yes! That will work!” said the mouse to himself. “I can chew through the rope!”

The mouse used his sharp teeth to bite and chew the strong rope of the net. Chew, chew, chew! Bite, bite, bite! His teeth went up and down, up and down, very fast. Slowly, very slowly, the rope began to break. The fibers of the rope started to separate. The mouse kept chewing and chewing.

Finally – SNAP! One piece of rope broke completely! It came apart in the mouse’s mouth! Suddenly, there was a small hole in the net!

The deer was able to push through the hole with his strong legs. He pushed and pushed with all his power. BURST! The deer broke free! He pulled the net apart with his strong body! The weak net began to fall apart.

The crow flew up suddenly and flapped his strong wings very hard. He beat his wings against the remaining net. The net broke into many pieces. Finally, all the animals escaped at last! They were free!

The Race Away From Danger

But now the hunter was coming! They could hear his footsteps getting closer and closer. They could hear him running through the forest. He was getting near! They had to run away right now!

The deer ran as fast as he had ever run before in his whole life. His legs moved so fast that they were just a blur. “Follow me!” he called to his friends. His legs were so fast that even the hunter could not catch him. The hunter tried to run after the deer, but the deer was too fast. The hunter was breathing hard and could not keep up.

The crow flew high into the sky above them. From way up there, he could see everything. He could see the hunter’s path. He could see where the hunter was going. He could see danger before it came close. “Turn left! Turn right! Stop! Wait! Go that way! The hunter is coming from the other side!” he called down to his friends. The crow’s eyes were the best, and his directions were perfect.

The mouse ran between the trees where the hunter could not follow. His tiny size helped him hide in places the hunter could not reach. He could squeeze through spaces that were too small for the hunter. He ran under logs and through bushes and under rocks. The hunter could not follow.

And the turtle? Even though he was slow, he knew a secret path to the river. This was a path he had discovered on one of his slow walks. He had not told the other friends about this secret path. But now he led them to it. The secret path led to the river, where the hunter did not dare to go because he could not swim well. The water was cold and fast and dangerous.

Safety at Last

The four friends finally stopped running when they reached the safety of the deep forest, far away from the hunter. They were all very tired. They were breathing very hard. Their hearts were beating very fast. But they were alive! They were safe! They had escaped the terrible hunter!

“I could not have done this alone,” said the deer, breathing hard and shaking from fear. “I was so scared!”

“I could not have escaped either,” said the crow, landing on a branch to rest. “It took all of us working together.”

“Yes,” agreed the mouse. “It took my teeth to chew through the rope. It took your strength to break the net. It took the crow’s eyes to see danger. And it took the turtle’s knowledge of the secret path.”

“That is what true friendship means,” said the turtle slowly and wisely. “We are different, but we help each other. We use our different talents for the good of the group. We are stronger together than we could ever be alone. A deer without his friends would have been caught. A crow without his friends would have been caught. A mouse without his friends would have been caught. And a turtle without his friends would have been caught. But together, we escaped!”

They all sat together and rested. They drank water from a clear stream. They ate food they found. And most importantly, they thanked each other for being such good friends.

From that day on, the four friends stayed even closer together. They knew that friendship was the most important thing in the world. And they knew that working together made them strong enough to face any danger.

The Lesson of Unity and Friendship

This Panchatantra story teaches us many very important things. First, it teaches us that unity is strength. When we work together, we can do things we could never do alone. Four friends together could escape the net. Four friends alone could not have escaped.

The story teaches us that it does not matter if we are different. Different talents and different ways of thinking make us stronger, not weaker. The mouse could not run fast like the deer. The deer could not fly like the crow. The crow could not squeeze into tiny spaces like the mouse. The turtle was slow. But together, they had every talent they needed.

Third, the story teaches us about real friendship. Real friends help each other in trouble. Real friends use their special talents for the group, not just for themselves. The mouse did not keep his teeth secret. The deer did not keep his strength secret. The crow did not keep his eyes secret. The turtle did not keep his knowledge secret. They shared everything.

Finally, the story teaches us that working together is better than working alone. Many things that are impossible for one are easy for many. Teamwork makes us powerful.

If you like stories about friendship and teamwork, read The Monkey and the Crocodile, where two friends face betrayal. You might also enjoy The Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit, where a small rabbit uses teamwork to defeat a big lion. And for another story about working together, try Union Is Strength, a Panchatantra tale about friendship.