In a forest lived four unlikely friends.
There was a crow named Laghupatanaka, who could soar high above the trees. There was a mouse named Hiranyaka, whose sharp teeth could chew through almost anything. There was a deer named Chitranga, who could run like the wind. And there was a tortoise named Mantharaka, who was loyal and thoughtful — but certainly not fast.
They were very different from one another. That turned out to be useful.
One day, Chitranga did not return. His friends waited. Still no deer.
Laghupatanaka flew into the sky to search. Before long, he spotted Chitranga on the ground. The deer had been caught in a hunter's net.
The crow hurried back with the news. Hiranyaka rushed to the trapped deer and immediately began gnawing through the ropes. Bit by bit, the net came apart. Chitranga was free.
But while his friends had been rescuing him, Mantharaka had slowly made his way towards them. He had been worried about his friend too.
Then the hunter returned.
The deer ran. The crow flew. The mouse disappeared. But the tortoise could not run. The hunter picked him up and carried him away.
The friends had saved Chitranga only to lose Mantharaka. They needed another plan.
This time, Chitranga lay down where the hunter would see him and pretended to be dead. Laghupatanaka landed beside him and acted as though he were pecking at the deer's body.
When the hunter saw them, he could hardly believe his luck. A tortoise and a deer! He put Mantharaka down and hurried towards the deer.
That was exactly what the friends had hoped he would do.
Hiranyaka darted forward and chewed through the tortoise's bindings. Mantharaka headed for the water. Laghupatanaka flew away. And just as the hunter approached, the apparently dead Chitranga sprang to his feet and raced into the forest.
The hunter was left staring after them.
The four friends returned home together. The crow had done what only the crow could do. The mouse had done what only the mouse could do. The deer had used his speed. Even the slow tortoise had helped bring the friends together through his loyalty.
Perhaps that was why their friendship worked. They had never needed to be good at the same things.
