In a forest lived a crow, a deer, a turtle and a mouse. Although vastly different from each other, the four of them were best friends. Each day they would meet in the evening to talk about their day, play and have fun.

One day, Deer had not arrived at the designated time, and the other friends were getting worried.

“Where is Deer? Why hasn’t he come yet?” asked Mouse. “Do you think a lion or a tiger caught him?”

Turtle, agreed. “Something is wrong. Deer would never miss a meeting without informing us.”

“Let me go in search of him,” said Crow. “The two of you wait here.”

Crow flew in search of Deer. After searching for some time, she finally found Deer, but unfortunately, he was lying under a hunter’s net.

“Thank god you are alive, Deer. Tortoise, Mouse and I were so worried when you did not come to meet us,” said Crow.

“Oh, Crow! I am so glad to see you. I usually am so careful to avoid traps, but I somehow missed noticing this one. What do we do now?” cried Deer.

“I will quickly bring Mouse. He can cut the net with his teeth,” said Crow.

“Hurry, please,” yelled Deer as Crow flew away. “The hunter will come any moment.”

Crow reached Tortoise and Mouse and related Deer’s condition.

“Tortoise, you remain here safe. Time is of the essence. I will carry Mouse with me to help Deer,” said Crow.

She carried Mouse and took him to Deer. Mouse began chewing the net as fast as he could and, after some time, released Deer.

Just as Deer, Mouse and Crow were about to return to Tortoise, they saw Tortoise slowly walking towards them.

“Tortoise! Didn’t I ask you to stay back there? Why did you come?” demanded Crow.

“I was worried for Deer,” replied Tortoise.

“I know you were, but what if the hunter comes now? I will fly away, Deer will run in a flash, and Mouse will hide. What if he catches you?” asked Crow worried.

As they were talking, the hunter reached the spot. Quickly, Crow, Deer and Mouse left the place. Only Tortoise was left.

“How did the deer get out of my trap?” asked the enraged hunter. Then noticing Tortoise, he thought, “I might have lost the deer, but I at least have a turtle.”

The hunter bound Tortoise’s legs and carried her with him. Crow, Deer and Mouse were watching him from behind the bushes.

“What do we do now?” whispered Deer.

“The trail that the hunter has taken has a river blocking the way. He has to cross the river to get to the other side. Let us quickly get to the river bank,” said Mouse. He then outlined his plan.

When the hunter reached the riverbank, he was shocked to find a deer lying dead. A crow was pecking on the deer’s skin.

“Looks like it is my lucky day after all. I might have lost one deer, but I have found another one. Now I have a deer and a turtle,” thought the hunter gleefully.

He dropped Tortoise to the ground and approached the deer. Unseen by him, Mouse quickly removed the ropes binding Tortoise’s legs.

As the hunter approached Deer, Crow let out a loud ‘caw’ and flew away. That was the cue for Deer, who also quickly ran away.

As the hunter turned to pick up the turtle, he was shocked to see the turtle reach the water and swimming away.

“Aaah! These wicked animals cheated me,” thought the hunter angrily as he left emptyhanded.

Meanwhile, the four friends happily went back to their original meeting place, grateful for each other and their friendship.

Author’s note:

Like all Panchatantra stories, this one also has a moral. The moral of this story is “A friend in need is a friend indeed”.