Once upon a time, long ago, there were four friends who lived in a small village. All of them lived nearby and knew each other since the time they were very young. Three of the friends were good at studies and they soon became very learned. They had studied so many books that they became convinced that there was nothing more left in the world to study or learn. The fourth friend was not good at studies and thus could not continue his studies. He started doing odd jobs at first and became a farmer.
But despite the differences all the three learned men were friends with the fourth person. One day the three learned friends decided that they should use their intellect and knowledge to earn lots of money. They decided that they should travel together to different kingdoms. They were sure that with their knowledge they would be able to earn the favour of all the kings in those kingdoms. The kings would in turn reward them and they would soon be rich.
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They were convinced that their fourth illiterate friend would not be able to make ends meet once they are gone. So they decided to take him along with them. If not anything, they could employ their friend as a servant once rich, thought the three learned friends.
The three learned friends told the fourth friend about their plan and asked him to prepare for the great journey. The fourth friend readily agreed. The three learned friends consulted the stars and decided on an auspicious day to begin their journey.
On the appointed day, all the four friends got up early and by the first light of morning left their village for the nearby kingdom. They wanted to cross the dense forest the lay between their village and the kingdom during broad daylight as there were many wild animals in it.
Suddenly, they saw the bones of a dead animal lying on the ground. The first learned friend gave the idea that this is a godsend opportunity to them to test their knowledge and skills. He suggested that they should try to bring this animal to life. The other two learned friends immediately agreed.
So the first learned friend joined the bones together using his knowledge. The second learned friend gave flesh and skin to the bones. The friends discovered that the dead animal was a huge lion. The fourth friend got scared when he saw the lion and requested his learned friends not to bring the lion back to life.
The three learned friends cursed him for being a coward. They laughed at his lack of knowledge and humiliated him. They proudly announced that through their knowledge they will be able to tame the lion once it was alive.
The fourth friend, still fearful, climbed up a tall tree nearby. The third learned friend brought the animal back to life. Once alive, the lion saw the three men smiling at him with no hint of fear. The lion roared and pounced upon the three men, killing them instantly.
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The fourth friend saw all this from the top of the tree. When the lion left, he climbed down the tree and went back to his house in the village.
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