The Pigeons and the Hunter’s net

Pakshidutta was the king of a flock of pigeons.  He lived with his subjects in a dense forest.  The pigeons lived in the hills surrounding the forest.  In the middle of the forest was a beautiful lake.  All the animals which lived in the forest would drink from the water in the lake.  There was no other source of water for miles around.

The pigeons had to search for seeds and small fruits which grew in the trees.     Pakshidutta along with his flock would visit the lake every day in the evening to quench their thirst.

As they flew low over the clear waters of the lake and settled on its shore, they would rest for a short time.  They would bathe in the lake and refresh themselves.  They would, then, drink their fill of water and fly back to their nests to their young chicks in their nests.

Pakshidutta lived happily with his flock.  He had been the leader of the pigeon for many years.  He was a wise and able leader.  He would help the weaker ones of the flock who could not find food sometimes.  He would lead the flock to the best places where food could be found.

Things went as usual for a long time, until one day a hunter came to the part of the forest where the pigeons lived.  The hunter made his living by hunting animals and selling their meat and skin in the villages around the forest.  While he had come to the forest several times, it was the first time that he had come the lake in the forest.  He also noticed the pigeons which came to the lake.  As he saw the pigeons, he was happy.  He knew that he could catch them and sell them.  He could make a lot of money.

It was late in the afternoon and the hunter decided to wait for his prey to come to the lake.  As expected, the pigeons flew and sat near the shore of the lake as usual.  It was a particularly hot day and they were tired and thirsty.  A few of them come over to the water and splashed in it as they cooled their little bodies.  The others stooped to drink the water.  It was a beautiful site.

But how would the hunter catch the birds now!  The wily hunter had set a snare for the poor birds.  He had suspended a wide net in one of the branches.  Just below the net he has sprinkled some grains and seeds.  He had a clever plan.  He would drop the net down on the pigeons when the innocent birds would come to get the grain.

The hunter had taken a place near the net.  He hid among some bushes near the lake and waited to the pigeons to take his bait.  One of the pigeons had noticed the grains spilt on the shore.  It started to walk towards the grains.

Pakshidutta, too had seen the grains.  But he was suspicious.  He wondered how such a large quantity of grain could be lying on the shores of the lake.  Surely there was more to this than meets the eye.  He looked around and saw nobody.  By then the other birds too had seen the bait.  The innocent birds were moving towards the grains when Pakshidutta called out to them.  He asked the birds to wait for some more time so that he could investigate further.  But the pigeons did not listen.  The temptation of all sorts of seeds and grains so near was too much.

The birds ignored Pakshidutta and went closer and started eating the grains.  The grains were indeed tasty.  The pigeons were busy gobbling the grains when they heard a dark covering fall over them.  They were startled.  It was the net that the hunter had dropped on them when they were right below it.  The startled pigeons cried in alarm.  They beat their wings and tried to get free.  But they could not.  They were hopelessly entangled in the net.  They cried out for help.

Pakshidutta was shocked to see his subject in danger.  The hunter would come any moment and catch the helpless birds.  He went near the net and crawled under it.  He then calmed the birds which were in a state of panic.  He had a plan.  He told to birds to flap their wings and try to fly up when he gave the signal.  Now, they listened to Pakshidutta.  Just as he gave the signal, all the pigeons flapped their wings at the same time.  They rose high above in the air along with the net which was over them.  They could lift the net with all their effort combined.

The hunter ran out of his hiding place.  He was shocked that he had lost his prey and also his net.  But the pigeons flew high over the forest and settled on top of a hill near their nests.  They then slowly extricated themselves from the nest one by one.  They thanked Pakshidutta and were sorry for not listening to him

Children, this story teaches us to think before we act and to be careful.  When a stranger offers you chocolates or ice cream, you must always refuse to have it without your parents’ permission.  This story also teaches us to be calm even in most difficult situation.  Being calm helps us to think clearly and get out of the difficulty.

The Ant and the Pigeon

Once upon a time there was a forest.  The forest was huge with big trees.  The wide branches of the trees spread far out.  They were home to a large number of birds.  The birds built their nests and raised their young in the trees.  The birds loved to perch on the branches as they looked at the forest below.  Pigeons were among the birds which lived in the trees.    The Pigeons would fly across the forest searching for grains.   They would return to feed their young ones.  They lived together in a big tree in the middle of the forest.

Just beside the tree flowed a river.  The branches of the tree extended over the river.  The river was broad and the water flowed swiftly.    Below on the forest floor lived small and tiny creatures such as insects and lizards. A colony of ants lived at the foot of the tree.  The ants were busy all day scouting for food and cleaning up their home.   Life was peaceful in the forest.

This peace was disturbed one day as a group of hunters entered the forest with hopes of hunting some birds and animals.  The hunters dispersed across the forest in small groups and set up their snares and took up positions from where they could hunt the animals.  

One of the hunters came near the tree where the pigeon’s lived.  He looked up at the tree.  He saw pigeons perched on its branches.  He was happy.  He chose to target one pigeon.  The pigeon looked healthy and plump.  Surely, it would provide him with good meat or so he thought.  He took the bow from his shoulder.  He picked an arrow from his quiver – the pouch where a hunter keeps his arrows.  He, then, put the arrow in the bow and drew the string.  He aimed at the bird carefully.

All the while, a little ant was watching the hunter from the anthill.  It felt sorry for the pigeon which would die soon.   It wanted to do something to prevent this.  But what could a little ant do against a strong hunter.  

The ant moved close to the hunter.  It came right behind his feet and climbed on to it.  Then just as the hunter was about to release the arrow, it gave a painful sting to the hunter.  The hunter yelped in pain.  The ant jumped off the hunter and ran away quickly.  The hunter could easily crush the ant.  It scurried back to the anthill.    

As the hunter yelped in pain, he lost his aim. The arrow flew harmlessly away from the bird and hit the tree.  The pigeon was saved.   He looked at the commotion below.   The pigeon was shocked and thankful that he had escaped death so narrowly.  He thanked the ant for its bravery.  

The hunters soon left the forest.  The hunt had not been successful as they expected.  The snares turned out to be empty.  The animals of the forest were too smart for them.  

A few months later the rains began.  The rains poured through the trees.  The drops of the rain fell around the anthill.  The ants scurried inside their home.  The anthill was slightly higher than the forest floor.  

The water could not enter easily.  However, one of the ants had got left behind.  He had gone out to search for food when the rain had started.  As he scampered along the forest floor, the big drops of rain fell around him.  He was terrified. He walked faster. Puddles of water were forming on the forest floor due to the rain.  Small streams began to flow from the puddles in the forest floor and into the river.  The ant struggled to cross these small streams.    While it was crossing one such stream the ant got swept away.  It struggled to get out of the stream.  But the current was strong.  Soon the stream merged with the river.  The ant was in a more dangerous condition.  The river was swift and swollen.  The ant struggled to stay afloat.  It knew that it was growing tired.  It would be only some time before it drowned.  

From the branches, the pigeon was looking below at the river.  It looked at the water which was flowing fast and strong.  Suddenly, its eye caught a small insect struggling in the water.  It looked closely.  It was the ant which had saved its life.  The pigeon felt sorry for the ant.  He knew that it was going to die.  The pigeon quickly plucked a leaf and, swooping low over the river near where the ant was struggling, put it near where the ant was struggling.  The ant managed to seize the leaf and climbed on to it.  At least, now it would not sink.  But it was still not out of danger.  The leaf was shaking wildly as the river carried it along.  

The leaf travelled for a while along the river and finally came to rest on a rock by the river bank.  .  The ant was relieved.  It quickly got out of the leaf and scurried to safety on the river bank.  The pigeon was following its every move.  But the ant had got far away from its ant-hill.  The pigeon dropped another leaf beside the ant and asked it to get on to it.  The pigeon then carried the leaf with the ant over the forest and the tall trees and placed the leaf near the ant hill.  The ant was delighted and thanked its friend.  The pigeon had returned the help of the ant.  The forest was peaceful once more.  The ant and the pigeon remained friends for the rest of their lives.  

Children, this is a story that tells the value of being helpful to everyone.  We need to help our friends and others whenever we see them in trouble.  If we help others, others will help us in our time of need.