The Old Man and His Sons
Once there lived a farmer in a village. He had three quarrelsome sons who used to quarrel with one another. The farmer was exceedingly sick of their cat and dog life. He tried his best to create unity among them, but all his efforts proved fruitless. His sons always turned a deaf ear to his advice. This grief told upon his health and he took to bed. He was worried. He wanted to unite his sons before his death.
One day he hit upon a plan to materialize his dreams. He sent for his sons and asked them to bring some sticks. When they had brought the sticks, he ordered them to tie all the sticks in a bundle. His order was carried out. He ordered them to break the bundle one by one. They were astonished, but obeyed. The struggle started. Everyone tried his best to break the bundle, but in vain. When they failed, he asked them to untie the bundle. One of them untied the bundle. He asked them to break the sticks one by one. It was not a difficult task. So, all of them broke all the sticks within no time.
It was a right time for the farmer to teach them a lesson. He advised them that strength lies in unity. As long as the sticks were united, they could not break them. If they remained united like sticks, they would be strong and undefeated. But, if they kept on quarrelling, they would become weak and opponents would crush them. They got the point and promised their father never to quarrel again.
Moral: Union is strength.
Possible Morals:
- United you stand, divided you fall.
- Union is strength.
