Good stories, apart from developing literacy, also convey beliefs and values that can shape children’s personalities and perceptions of the outer world. Stories like the ‘True Friends’ story in English can encourage kids to inculcate reading habits and are a great way to teach respect, selflessness, and gratitude to kids to help them develop strong friendships from an early age. Let’s learn more about the ‘True Friends’ story.
Origin And History Of The ‘True Friends’ Story
The story is said to be one of the Jataka tales. The folk tale is also titled ‘The Woodpecker, Tortoise, And Deer’ in some books.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
Story Type Of ‘True Friends’
This story is a favourite bedtime story, but you can read it to your child anytime they need one. Gradually, you can get your child to read along and improve their language skills and vocabulary.
Story Characters
The story revolves around three friends – a deer, a woodpecker, and a tortoise. We are also introduced to the character of a hunter who plays the role of an antagonist.
True Friends Story For Children
A long time ago, there lived three friends, a tortoise, a deer, and a woodpecker, in a forest surrounded by a lake. They were very close and spent time playing with each other. One day a hunter came to the forest. The hunter, who had just arrived in the forest, was delighted to see the footprints of a deer near the lake. He followed the footprints and set a huge leather trap along the lake’s edge. At late night, the deer felt thirsty and visited the lake, but, unfortunately, he fell into the trap. The deer was shocked by the massive trap and cried out of fear and pain, ‘Please, someone help me, I have been trapped!’ The woodpecker noticed the sound and flew down from the top of the tree. The tortoise too, heard his friend’s voice and came out of the lake to discover what exactly had happened. Both of them were horrified to see the trap.
The woodpecker suggested the tortoise chew the trap with his teeth to set their friend free. As the tortoise was busy rescuing the deer, the woodpecker flew away to find out the hunter’s house to keep him engaged. When the woodpecker located the hunter’s house, she flew over the hunter’s head and started pecking. The hunter cried out in extreme pain and tried to flee through the backdoor, but yet again, the clever woodpecker was already aware of the situation and continued attacking him. The hunter was startled and stayed in his house for a while. When he mustered up the courage to come out and kill the bird with a knife, the woodpecker flew back hurriedly to her friends and yelled, ‘Beware! The hunter is approaching!’
The tortoise had already gnawed away at the leather trap helping the deer to escape. The deer ran into the forest, and the woodpecker flew up to the tree top. However, the tortoise was so tired that he could not get away. The hunter picked him up and put him in a bag, which he tied to a nearby tree. When the deer saw his friend getting captured, he thought of a plan and slowed down to let the hunter see him and release the tortoise.
The hunter started chasing the deer with his knife, but the deer was too fast to be caught. The hunter entered the deep forest while following the deer and lost his way in the woods. The deer quickly got out of the forest and reached the lake. He tore open the bag where his tortoise friend was trapped using his sharp horns. The tortoise was rescued, and there was a little reunion as the woodpecker joined them. The deer asked his friends to hide in the forest until the hunter goes away. The tortoise hid in the water, the woodpecker flew away to her nest, and the deer hid in the thick woods.
When the hunter finally found his way out of the forest, to his surprise, he found out that the tortoise had also escaped. He was hopeless and frustrated and determined not to return to this forest and lake again. Finally, the three friends were relieved and lived happily together for the rest of their lives.
Story Summary
Here is the summary of the ‘True Friends’ story:
Long ago, a deer, a tortoise, and a woodpecker lived happily in a forest surrounded by a lake. They lived in great joy until a hunter arrived in the jungle one day. He noticed the footprints of the deer along the lake and planted a leather trap to catch him. At night when the deer went to the lake to quench his thirst, he was captured. He cried for help. The tortoise and the woodpecker heard the cries and followed the voice to discover that their friend was trapped. The tortoise started tearing off the trap with his teeth while the woodpecker flew away, searching for the hunter’s house to stop him. As the hunter was about to come out following the deer’s cry, the woodpecker pecked him on his head and forced him to stay inside his house. When the hunter finally decided to come out and kill the woodpecker, she flew away and alerted her friends. The deer went to the forest, and the woodpecker flew away, but the tortoise was captured by the hunter. Seeing this, the deer slowed down so the hunter could chase him. When the hunter ran toward the deer with a knife, the deer ran into the deep, and so did the hunter chasing him. The hunter lost his way while the deer returned to his friends, tore down the bag with his horns, and rescued the tortoise. They hid until the hunter finally gave up on the place and set out for his home. The three friends finally reunited and lived happily ever after.
Moral Of The Story
The moral of this story is, ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’. The friends who stay by your side during difficult times are true friends.
How Can Children Apply The Moral Of The Story In Their Real Life?
This short story can teach children how they can be emphatic towards their friends and help them in difficult times as true friends. If one gets this story with pictures, it will also help kids identify new animals and learn their names.
Share it with your child for them to enjoy and learn new moral lessons while developing curiosity and improving their reading skills.
