A flock of mountain pigeons lived there in the lower reaches of the Aravali ranges. They had a King Hill Pigeon who was bold, smart, and a great warrior. One day, it happened that the flock had flown a very long distance in search of food and in the process all the pigeons got tired. The king of pigeons motivated his fellow Hill Pigeons to fly some more. One of the pigeons on the hill could notice some grains of rice lying in the field under a huge banyan tree.
They were all happy to find the food and happily landed on the ground. As soon as they began to eat the grains, they found themselves trapped in the net. They tried their best to get out, but to no avail. Suddenly, they saw a fierce hunter coming towards them. He seemed so happy to find a large number of Hill Pigeons trapped within the net. The entire herd was terrified of this. However, the king of Hill Pigeons was quite smart and bold. He mustered all his wits and guts and formulated a plan to get out of this dilemma. He addressed the fellow Hill Pigeons in a firm voice, “If we want to be free from this hunter’s trap, we must all apply our collective strength to fly together holding the net in our beaks. Then we’ll see what to do.” do the following, first escape from here.” he ordered them to get up and fly with a unified force.
At this, each pigeon picked up a part of the huge net and flew off forcefully taking the net with it. The hunter was amazed to see them escape along with the huge net. He went after the birds, screaming fiercely, but could not catch them. Soon, they were out of sight high in the hills.
Seeing that the hunter gave up the chase, the king said to his companions, “Now we are safe and must free ourselves from this net. My friend, Mitthu Mouse lives nearby only. He will certainly help us.” They flew to a place where the Mitthu stayed.
When Mitthu saw a flock of hill pigeons running towards him, he was terrified by the sight and ran home. The king pigeon immediately called out, “Dear friend, I am your old friend, the king pigeon. We want your help. Please come out and help us.” Hearing this, Mitthu walked out of his house and was shocked to see King Pigeon and his friends trapped in the huge net. The Mitthu said, “Oh my God, how did this happen to you?”
The Pigeon King narrated the entire incident to Mitthu the mouse. Mitthu replied, “Don’t worry. I will release you soon.” Mitthu began to cut the net to free King Pigeon. At this, the king pigeon said, “No, Mitthu, I will be the last to free myself. Please free my countrymen first. I have to save them first, and then I can think of myself.”
Mitthu appreciated the king’s sentiments and admired him for his noble thoughts. As per the king’s wish, Mitthu cut the net and released the pigeons from the hills one by one. Soon all the pigeons on the hill were released, including the king pigeon. They all cheered and said, “Hip hip hooray!” They conveyed their heartfelt thanks to Mitthu the mouse for this great help, said their goodbyes with best wishes, and flew home.
Morale: Unity is the greatest strength now and forever