Deep in a forest lived four friends — a crow, a mouse, a deer, and a tortoise. They were as close as family.
One day, the deer went grazing and did not return by evening. His three friends grew worried. The crow flew high into the sky to look — and spotted the deer trapped in a hunter's net.
The crow flew straight to the mouse. The mouse scurried through the undergrowth to the deer's side and began gnawing at the net with his sharp little teeth.
Soon the net was cut and the deer was free. All four friends ran to each other with joy. But just then — they heard the hunter's footsteps. He was coming back.
Everyone ran. But the tortoise was slow. He fell behind. The hunter caught him and stuffed him into a sack.
Now the other three put their heads together. They made a plan. The deer lay down in the middle of the path and played dead. The crow settled beside him, as if pecking.
The hunter spotted the deer. 'A dead deer!' he thought. He set down his sack to pick it up. That instant, the mouse sliced open the sack. The tortoise scrambled out. The deer leaped up and bounded into the forest. The crow flew off. The hunter was left with empty hands.
The four friends met again in the forest and sat together. They had learned something that day — true friendship means using every gift you have for each other.