There was once a prosperous farmer who lived with his wife and four sons in his farm. As kids, the four brothers were very close to each other. But as they grew older, they kept fighting all the time.

The farmer was miserable to see this. He tried to stop them from fighting, but it was of no use. One day, he decided to teach them a valuable lesson. He tied many sticks together with a thread to form a bundle. He then called his sons.

“Can you try and break this bundle of sticks?” he asked his first son. The first son tried but failed.

“Pass the bundle to each of your brothers. Let them try to break this bundle,” the old man said.

None of his sons were successful in breaking the bundle of sticks.

The old man then untied the bundle and said, “Now take one stick each and break it.”

Each son took one stick each and broke it quickly.

The old man said, “hen the sticks were together, you could not break them. But when you remove the sticks individually, it was easy to break them. It is the same with all of you. When you fight, you are divided, and therefore it is easy for an enemy to come and take advantage. Always stay together, and that way, you will become invincible.”

The sons learned the power of unity. From that day on they stopped quarreling with each other and lived together happily from then on.

Author’s Note:

Aesop’s Fables always have morals attached to them. In this case it is “United we stand, Divided we Fall” / “Unity is Strength”.