Near a pond in a forest lived a crow, a mouse, a tortoise and a deer. The four were close friends. They met every day, talked and looked after one another.
One day the deer was caught in a hunter’s net. Hearing his cry, the other three friends rushed to help him.
The mouse gnawed through the net with his sharp teeth and the deer escaped. The crow sat on a tree keeping watch. Just then the tortoise, slowly searching for his friends, also reached the spot, and the hunter caught him and put him in his sack.
The mouse and the crow were alarmed. Then the crow thought of a plan. The deer went some distance away and lay in front of the hunter as if dead, and the crow sat on top of him pretending to peck.
The hunter thought the deer was dead. He put down the sack and ran to pick up the deer. At that instant the mouse gnawed through the sack and freed the tortoise, who slipped into the pond. The deer jumped up and ran. The hunter was left empty-handed and all four friends were safe.