United we Stand: Divided we Fall
In the middle of the jungle there stood a big peepal tree. A pair of sparrows lived on one of its branches. They had built a strong and comfortable nest and had two beautiful nestlings. They roamed the whole day in the jungle, collecting food to feed their young ones in the evening.
One day a huge elephant came to take rest under that big tree. He was hungry. So he tore off the branch on which the sparrows had built their nest. The branch fell on to the ground and the young ones of the birds were killed.
When the sparrows returned home in the evening, they found their young ones dead. They saw a big elephant lying under the tree and taking rest. Everything became crystal clear now. The elephant was the cause of the death of their loved young ones. The mother sparrow was grief-stricken. She began wailing over the loss of her nestlings.
Seeing her weeping bitterly, a woodpecker, who lived in a nearby tree, came to her to know the reason of her sorrow. The sparrows narrated the whole story. They expressed their wish to take revenge upon the elephant, for his cruel act. They wanted to see him dead.
“You’re right”, said the woodpecker. “This elephant has no consideration for others. He might, one day, kill my young ones too. Come with me. There is a sweet honey bee around here who’s my friend. She is very intelligent. She might be able to tell us how the cruel elephant can be killed.”
Having decided upon this, they went to meet the sweet honey bee. They narrated the whole story to her and expressed their wish to revenge themselves on the rogue. The bee consoled them and said, “Don’t worry. I’ve a plan to kill that elephant-Listen, first I’ll go to the elephant and sing a song in his ears. The elephant will close his eyes to listen attentively to my melody and when I have hummed him to sleep, the Woodpecker would poke his long beak into the elephant’s eyes. This will turn him blind. Once he is blinded our.job will be easy. I will go and express my sympathies and tell him to POUr a few drops of the extract of a particular plant in his eyes to cure thern. The elephant will go to fetch that plant. There will be a huge pit full of’ water lying on his way to the plant. When the elephant goes to collect the plant he will fall into the pit. Since, he will not be able to come out of it, he will die.”
Then, as planned, the honey bee sang a song into the ears of the elephant. The elephant closed his eyes to listen to the rnelody more intently, and the woodpecker, without losing a single moment, made him blind by pecking at his eyes.
The cruel elephant shrieked with pain. He began crying-‘Oh, I have lost my eyes. I cannot see anything. Is there anyone who can help me?’
Immediately, thereafter, the honey bee again flew to the elephant, who on the advice of the bee set out to fetch the miraculous plant. But in the way the blind elephant fell into the pit and died.
Thus, the cock and the hen sparrows avenged the untimely death of their young ones and by causing death to the cruel and foolish elephant, they saved many more lives of innocent creatures.
Moral:- United we stand: Divided we fall.