Long ago there was a beautiful city with lots of large temples and houses. The city was prosperous and its residents were always very happy and cheerful. Close to the city was a large and clean lake. The water in the lake was very sweet.
But with the passage of time, the city turned into ruins and its residents moved to far away towns and cities in other kingdoms. They took all their belongings along including their cattle, bullocks, goats and horses. Even the stray dogs and cats decided to follow the residents of the city and moved out with them.
Only the mice in the city decided to stay back. Even without any residents, the natural vegetation in the city supplied enough food for the mice that they decided to stay back. The city was lined with a lot of fruit trees. They could now eat a variety of fruits and vegetables that grew in the city. Slowly, the mice grew in number and the entire city turned into a city of mice!
Several generations started living together in the city. There were grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and lots and lots of baby mice. It was one large mice family. They held their own festivals and get-togethers. They took great care of each other, in sickness and in health.
Far away from the city, there was a very dense forest. A huge river used to pass through the forest, supplying clean water to all the animals staying in the jungle. Amongst the animals, there was a big herd of elephants. The elephants stayed in harmony with other animals in the jungle. The jungle provided them with ample food, water, and shelter.
During one summer, the river ran dry due to very less rain. The animals in the forest started dying of thirst. The Queen of the elephant herd asked all the young elephants to go in all directions in search of water. After a few days, one of the elephants came back to the Queen Elephant and told her about the lake near the mice city. The Queen Elephant at once ordered the herd to leave the forest and move towards the lake.
As soon as the herd saw the lake, they started running towards it. They had not been in the water for many months and could not stop themselves from making a dash towards the lake. In their excitement, they did not notice that hundreds of mice were getting trampled under their feet.
The mice tried to save themselves, but many were killed and injured. They also feared that on their way back from the lake, the elephants would unknowingly trample many more. An old mouse suggested that they should go and narrate the whole incident to the Queen Elephant. Further, they should request the Queen Elephant to take the herd from some other route.
The mice did as suggested by the old mouse. The Queen Elephant was very sorry for the loss that the herd had brought upon the city of the mice. She assured the mice that the herd would take a different route while going back to the forest and would never come near the city of mice. The old mouse thanked the Queen for understanding their concern. He also told the Queen that the mice family would always be ready to help the elephants if need be.
Many months passed away. The King of a nearby kingdom was raising an army and wanted a lot of elephants for his regiment. His servants went to the forest and laid traps for catching the elephants. The dug deep trenches and covered them with leaves and kept lots of bananas on them.
The elephants, while trying to reach out for the bananas, fell into the traps. The servants pulled out the trapped elephants with the help of other tamed elephants. Once out of the trenches, the servants tied them up to the trees with the help of thick ropes and went back to inform the king.
The Queen Elephant was one among those who got trapped. She kept calm and started thinking of a way to escape. At once, she thought of the old mouse and his promise of helping the elephants, whenever required. She called one of the young elephants who had not fallen into the trench and was still free. She asked the young elephant to go to the city of mice and narrate the entire incident.
The young elephant did as instructed. Soon, thousands of mice came running to the forest to help their friends in this hour of need. Within minutes, they cut loose the ropes with their sharp teeth. The elephants we free again.
The Queen Elephant thanked the old mouse for remembering the promise and for rescuing the elephants from their captors. The old mouse was happy that the mice were able to help the elephants and thus repay the debt.
The elephants and the mice became great friends. They lived in peace, ever after.
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Did you like this post? Here are 10 Panchatantra stories you MUST read to your 4-6 year old kids
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the story is good.but the story is quiet lengthy.
Pretty good story, my boyfriend never fell asleep THAT quickly 😀
You even tell stories to your boyfriend? I even do the same to my girlfriend 🥰🥰
Lol I told this to my friend and instead of sleeping she woke up ..