Strength In Unity

In the jungle of Sundarban lived four friends; Gardhab Parsad-the donkey, Olook Ram-the owl, Mooshak Ram-the mouse and Lomad-the fox. The tales of their friendship were legendary and well known to all in the jungle.
One hot summer afternoon the four friends decided to cool off in the nearby lake. They were walking towards the lake and were chatting about how this year summer was unusually hot. After a while, Mooshak Ram got tired and sat down under the shade of a tree. He wanted to take a short break.



At this Lomad got irritated and said, “Mooshak Ram! Not only are you short in stature, but you are also short on strength! If you cannot even walk up to the lake, you should have stayed back in your little rat hole. You are spoiling all the fun!”


Lomad’s remarks offended Mooshak Ram and he got up to retort back. But before the matter got out of hand, and Mooshak Ram and Lomad start quarrelling yet again, Gardhab Parsad intervened to sort things out. He said, “Friends should not fight over small things. Every one has their own strengths and weaknesses. We should always look out for each other. Our strength is in our unity.”
Then, all of a sudden, they heard the loud roar of a lion. It was Sher Singh. Everyone got scared. Mooshak Ram quickly jumped into a small hole under the tree. Olook Ram flew towards the highest branch of a tall pine tree. Gardhab Parsad and Lomad started running in opposite directions. It was quite natural for everyone to be scared. After all, Sher Singh was the ferocious king of the jungle. If caught, they would end up on his lunch table. And no one wants to be lunch!
But to poor Lomad’s misfortune, as he was running, his leg got caught in a shrub. While he was trying to untangle his leg, Sher Singh pounced on him from behind and caught him. Lomad cried out for help.

Sher Singh looked hungrily at Lomad. He said, “Hmm…you look fatter than before Lomad… ready for eating…you’ll make a nice meal.”
“You have been escaping me for quite a while now. Today I finally caught you, you little trickster. Every time your friends trick me and rescue you. But today, there is no one around to help you. I am going to take you back to my den and feast on you.”
Poor Lomad thought that this was it, his time had come. Nothing could save him now.


But Gardhab Parsad who hadn’t gone too far heard Lomad’s cries for help. He could not leave his friend alone in trouble. He had to save Lomad! And he had to act fast! He quickly thought of a plan, and started singing loudly to his friends in their secret code language. Immediately Olook Ram and Mooshak Ram understood what they had to do.

Sher Singh also heard Gardhab Parsad sing and got a bit distracted. He said, “Looks like your donkey friend has lost his mind. He seems to be inviting me for a second meal. Doesn’t he know that I am around? This is going to be a good day for me. I am going to feast on both of you.”

Gardhab Parsad continued singing in his melodious voice and started moving towards Sher Singh and Lomad. Sher Singh’s attention was still focused on Gardhab Parsad’s song and he held on to Lomad with one paw.


Suddenly, out of no where, Olook Ram flew towards Sher Singh and stated pecking his eye. Sher Singh roared with pain. In the meanwhile, not caring for his life, even Mooshak Ram jumped on to Sher Singh and started tickling his nose. Sher Singh roared even louder with pain and anger.

In all this confusion, Sher Singh’s hold on Lomad loosened. Mooshak Ram kept tickling Sher Singh with his little paws. And Olook Ram kept pecking at his eye. Even Gardhab Parsad was now kicking Sher Singh black and blue. Finally Sher Singh could no longer take this three way assault and collapsed. Lomad was now free. All four friends fled for safety.

Later, when all four friends assembled, Lomad said he was very ashamed for his behavior earlier and apologized to Mooshak Ram. He realized that size alone is no indication of strength. Real strength lies in unity. Working together they were able to defeat even the mighty Sher Singh.

After an eventful day, all four friends went home and decided to meet the next day for a new adventure.