The stories from the Panchatantra are well-written, with lots of visuals and simple narratives, making them popular among children. These stories typically include animals as primary characters and are based on the daily activities of the animal kingdom. They teach children about human behaviours and reactions by using simple animal stories. ‘The Four Friends And The Hunter’ is one such story from the Panchatantra. The full story talks about friendship as an important aspect of our lives and teaches us a moral about it in a pleasant and lighthearted way. Read ‘The Four Friends And The Hunter’ story in English here.
Origin And History Of The Four Friends And The Hunter Story
‘The Four Friends And The Hunter’ is originally one of the Panchatantra stories, a collection of short and interesting stories with valuable lessons. These were compiled by the great Hindu Scholar Pandit Vishnu Sharma in Sanskrit many years ago and remain relevant even today.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
Story Type Of ‘The Four Friends And The Hunter’
‘The Four Friends And The Hunter’ is a well-known Panchatantra story, introduced to children as a moral story.
Story Characters
The story’s main characters are the four friends, i.e., the deer, the crow, the rat, the turtle, and the hunter.
The Deer: The deer is swift and uses his speed to escape from the hunter’s net and save his friend.
The Crow: The crow uses his flight to locate the hunter, which played a significant role in the four friends’ escape in the story.
The Rat: The rat is witty and uses his presence of mind to save the turtle’s life.
The Turtle: The turtle is slow and gets trapped by the hunter. The story proceeds as his friends try to save his life.
The Hunter: The hunter is an evil person who comes to the forest searching for prey. However, he learns a lesson when the four friends escape.
‘The Four Friends And The Hunter Story’ For Children
Once upon a time, in a big jungle, lived three friends – a crow, a rat, and a turtle. They spent most of their time together.
One day, they were talking near a lake when a deer walked up to them. Upon seeing the deer for the first time in the jungle, the turtle asked, “You seem to be new here. We have never seen you.”
“Yes”, replied the deer. “I lived in the nearby jungle but have no friends, so I came to this jungle searching for friends. Will you be my friends?”
“Yes, of course!” jumped the three friends in joy.
The four of them became very good friends within a short period.
After a few days, they saw a hunter coming toward the jungle.
“Oh no!” said the crow. “What do we do now? The hunter is coming towards us.”
As soon as they saw the hunter approaching them, they fled away to save their lives. The crow flew high and sat on the highest branch of the nearby tree. The deer ran very fast and hid in the bushes. The rat slipped into a small hole nearby.
The poor turtle, however, could not do any of these. He was running slowly, and the hunter saw him and put him in his sack. Even though the hunter was disappointed that he could not catch a bigger animal, he was happy that he had caught something at least.
As soon as the hunter left with the turtle, all three friends came back from their hiding spots and met at one place.
“He took away our friend!” said the crow. “We should do something to save him”, he added.
After thinking for a few minutes, the deer shrieked, “I have a plan!”
He shared his plan with his friends, who readily agreed to implement it.
The crow quickly flew to locate the hunter, and the deer followed him. After some time, he spotted the hunter with the sack in his hand.
The crow signalled the deer, and he quickly overtook the hunter from a different route. He lay down at a little distance on the path, pretending to be dead.
When the hunter saw the deer, he thought, he must be dead, and he left the sack there itself and ran towards the deer to catch it.
Meanwhile, the rat reached the place where the sack was kept, and he quickly tore the sack with his teeth and freed the turtle. After the rat and turtle left, the crow quickly signalled the deer to get up.
As soon as the deer got the signal, he suddenly got up and bolted into the dense forest. The hunter was taken aback as to what had just happened.
He was very sad about losing the deer and returned to the place where he had dropped his sack with a heavy heart. After returning, he found the sack empty, and the turtle was not there anymore.
He realised what had happened and left the forest empty-handed.
After the hunter left, the friends breathed a sigh of relief, and the turtle thanked all of them for saving him.
Story Summary
The summary of ‘The Four Friends And The Hunter’ is given below:
Once upon a time, in a jungle, lived four friends – a deer, a crow, a turtle, and a rat. They were very good friends and spent most of their time together. One day, they saw a hunter coming toward them. All of them were terrified and ran for their lives. The crow flew to the highest branch of the nearby tree; the rat hid in a nearby hole while the deer ran fast and hid in the bushes. The turtle, however, could neither hide nor run and was eventually caught by the hunter. The hunter put him in his sack and went away.
The three friends then thought of a plan to save the turtle. The crow flew high to locate the hunter, and the deer followed him. As soon as they found the hunter, the deer overtook him from a different route and lay still at some distance, pretending to be dead. The hunter saw the deer and dropped his sack to run towards it. Meanwhile, the rat came to the spot and bit the sack with his teeth to free the turtle.
On the other hand, the deer ran away in the dense forest as soon as the hunter came closer. The hunter was taken aback as to what had happened and returned to the place where he had dropped his sack. To his surprise, the sack was empty, and the turtle was missing. He returned home empty-handed, and the four friends celebrated their escape.
Moral Of The Story
The story teaches us that there’s strength in unity.
In the given narrative, the hunter was stronger than the four friends, and despite this, the animals worked together to save their friend. Similarly, in life, we should always remain close to our family and close friends who are supportive and cheer for us come what may.
How Can Children Apply The Moral Lesson Of The Story In Their Real Life?
This short story teaches children the value of relationships and friendships in life. Kids need to understand that real friends stick around during good as well as bad times. If they see their friend getting bullied, doing the wrong thing, or going through a tough time, they should take a stand and help them. Children should always be surrounded by helpful and cheerful people because they allow children to see life in a different light and keep negativity away.
Stories with pictures are particularly intriguing to read and listen to because they enhance kids’ imagination and make storytime more enjoyable. When your child is bored at home, read this story to them and open up the world in a new light for them.
Also Read:
Rapunzel Story for Kids with Moral
The Lion And The Mouse Story with Moral for Children
The Ant And The Grasshopper Moral Story for Kids
