Hello my name is Amita and welcome back to the series of Panchatantra short stories.
So Panchatantra stories are the oldest surviving fables from ancient India.
These are spread all over the world for centuries especially as bedtime stories for kids.
So I am starting this Panchatantra series of 60 stories.
Hope you like it.
Friends in need.
Once upon a time there lived four friends.
A deer,
A mouse,
A crow and a tortoise.
The mouse lived in a hole beneath a banyan tree.
The deer lived under the same shady banyan tree.
The crow lived on a branch of the banyan tree and the tortoise lived in the nearby lake.
All were good friends.
Every day they would gather under the tree to chat and play together.
One day the deer went to graze in the deep forest and it did not come back till late in the evening.
The worried mouse asked the crow,
It seems our friend is in some trouble.
Please go flying and search him out.
The crow was too anxious for his friend.
He immediately flew in search of the deer.
Soon he discovered the deer in the hunter's trap.
The deer was unsuccessfully trying to come out of the net.
However,
The hunter was not visible there.
The crow came down and sat near the deer.
The deer's eyes twinkled to see his friend.
The crow said,
I'm extremely sorry to see you in this trouble.
I don't know.
Don't worry.
I'll do something to free you from here.
First tell me where is the hunter.
The troubled deer replied,
He has gone to bring the rope to tie me.
The crow consoled him and said,
Maintain your calm you will soon be back to I'll soon be back to you with our friend mouse.
The crow flew back to the Marion tree as fast as he could and he quickly informed the mouse about the mishap.
The crow asked the mouse to ride over his back.
Then the crow swiftly flew towards his friend deer.
On the way they met with their fourth friend,
The tortoise.
When the tortoise saw both of them rushing,
He anxiously asked the whereabouts of the lost deer.
But the crow was in a hurry,
So he said in brief,
The deer is in the hunter's nest.
I will tell you the details after coming back from there.
The reply made the tortoise more anxious and worried.
He too proceeded in the same direction at his slow pace.
When the crow reached up to the deer,
The hunter was yet to come back.
The mouse climbed down from the back of the crow and swiftly nibbled the net.
The deer was free.
He thanked his friends.
By the time the tortoise also reached there,
He was happy to see the deer out of the danger.
Suddenly they saw the hunter coming back with the rope.
They said to each other,
Let's run fast.
With this they all escaped swiftly except for the poor tortoise.
The tortoise tried hard to run but he could not.
When the hunter saw his prey going out of his clutch,
He shouted and ran after him.
However,
It was not so easy to chase a deer.
Suddenly he noticed the tortoise crawling on the ground.
The hunter picked him up and roped him to his hunting stick.
While flying,
The crow looked down.
He was shocked to see his friend tortoise tied with his hunter's stick.
All the happiness vanished.
The remaining three friends again gathered.
They discussed how to save their friend tortoise.
After chalking out their plan,
They all reached near the hunter's house.
The hunter reached his house.
He saw the deer standing there.
The happy hunter chased the deer again.
The deer ran away swiftly.
But he kept on giving his glimpses to the hunter just to elude him.
The crow was following the hunter through the sky while the mouse was running after the hunter on the ground.
After running for some time,
The hunter found it difficult to run along with his bag and the stick.
So he dropped the bag and the stick on the ground and then chased the deer as fast as he could.
The deer saw the hunter leaving the stick on the ground and he ran faster than before.
Soon the deer drove the hunter far away from there.
When the crow saw the stick on the ground to which the tortoise was tied,
He swooped down and called the mouse.
The mouse started his work again.
However,
The crow flew back to the sky to keep a watchful eye on the hunter.
The mouse cut the rope efficiently and freed the tortoise.
The tortoise immediately slipped into the thick bushes.
The mouse continued on this path.
The crow flew fast and indicated the deer that the work was accomplished when the deer ran with a lightening speed and vanished in the trees.
The hunter returned empty-handed.
He consoled himself.
At least I have the tortoise with me for today's meal.
When he reached the place where he had left the stick in the bag,
He found the rope nibbled.
He was shocked and felt sorry to run after the uncertain,
Leaving behind his certain gain.
