Pigeons and Hunter story
Long ago, there was an old, intelligent Sambhu in flock of pigeons. He was the chief of the pigeon flock. His name was Sambhu. Once, there was a terrible famine in the place where they lived. There was nothing left to eat nearby. All the pigeons in the flock were hungry. Sambhu ordered the flock of pigeons to fly to another place in search of grains.
Sambhu gave the responsibility to a young pigeon to see where grains would be found on the ground. That young pigeon was flying lowest. Due to hunger, all the pigeons were losing their strength. The young pigeon saw grains scattered in one place. He gave this information to Sambhu. Seeing the distress of the hungry herd, Sambhu ordered the pigeons to come down.
All the pigeons came down and started pecking at the grains. However, those grains had been thrown by a hunter (fowler) who had set a net on a tree. As soon as the group of pigeons began to pick the grains, the hunter dropped the net. Now, the entire group of pigeons got trapped in that net.
Sambhu, the leader of the pigeons, said regretfully, “Oh, the hunter had thrown this net. We were so distraught with hunger that we did not think before pecking at the grains.”
Some of the pigeons started shouting, “Save the pigeons!” while others cried. Someone said, “Now the hunter will kill all of us.”
Sambhu was deep in thought. He said, “The net is very strong. None of us can break it alone. But there is great strength in unity. If we all come together, we can defeat even death.”
One of the pigeons asked, “Sir, tell me clearly what you want us to do.”
Sambhu answered, “All of you together hold onto the net with your beaks. When I tell you to fly, all of you fly away together.”
All the pigeons obeyed the Sardar and made further plans. The hunter came towards the pigeons and was about to reach the net. But before he could do so, Sambhu spoke quickly. All the pigeons flew away at once, lifting the entire net with them. The hunter was amazed by this sight. Before he knew it, the pigeons had escaped with the net.
Seeing the pigeons flying with the net, the hunter ran after them. He hoped that the pigeons would not be able to fly far with the net attached.
When Sambhu, the leader of the pigeons, saw the hunter returning, he became a little bit scared. However, he had a plan to escape from the net. His friend, a rat, lived on a nearby hill. The Sambhu ordered the pigeons to fly towards the hill where his friend the rat lived. Soon, all the pigeons landed near the rat’s hole.
The chief shouted to his friend, “Brother, come out of your hole! I need your help today.”
Rat recognized the voice of his friend Sambhu and came out of the hole. Sambhu explained the situation briefly and asked the rat to cut the net as soon as possible. Rat quickly cut the net, and all the pigeons were free.
Sambhu, the leader of the pigeons, thanked his friend. Then, the flock of pigeons flew away freely in the sky.
Lesson:
The story of the Swan and the hunter teaches us that there is strength in unity. By working together, even the impossible can be possible.