True friends
Once there was a hawk. He was looking for a wife. He met a regal she-hawk. When he proposed to her, the she-hawk said, `Do \you have any friends?’ to this, the hawk reply was negative.
`Go and make some friends then I will marry you,’ said the she-hawk.
So hawk flew around the forest. There he saw a lake. He made friends with a tortoise in the lake. Then as he flew he met a Pelican. He befriended her too. Later on, he went to meet the lion, the king of the jungle. Soon the lion also became his close friend.
Then the hawk went to the she-hawk and said, `I have befriended a tortoise, a pelican and a lion. Will you marry me now, please?’
The she-hawk agreed and soon they got married and started a family. They made a nest on a tree near the lake where the tortoise lived.
One day a tribal hunting group came searching for prey. There were tired but had found no animal to eat. They sat down under a tree and made a fire to warm themselves. The tree was the one on which the hawk made its nest. The heat of the flames made the young hawks in the nest screech loudly.
`Ah! So birds are here. We will raise the flame and the birds in the nest will be cooked well when the flame reaches up. Then we will eat them,’ one of them said.
Seeing this, the hawk went to the pelican for help. The pelican took water in her beak from the lake and tired to douse the fire.
She tried again and again but the men added more wood to the fire. Soon the pelican got tired of flying between lake and the fire. Seeing this hawk flew to the tortoise for help.
`The pelican helped a lot to put out the fire that could kill my young ones but she is getting tired now. Can you lend a helping hand?’
Hearing this tortoise took some mud from the lake in his mouth and tired to douse the fire. Seeing the large tortoise the hunter’s tried to catch him but the huge tortoise dragged them into the water due to his strength. The hunters were drenched, so they left the tortoise and came out of the lake. Then they again added wood to the fire. This time the hawk went to the lion for help.
Soon the lion came roaring up to them. On seeing the lion, the frightened tribal hunters fled from the spot. Thus the hawk’s friends proved their true friendship.
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