Once upon a time, there was an old farmer who lived in a village with his three sons. The sons were strong and capable, but they constantly quarreled among themselves. Their endless arguments and lack of unity often left the old farmer worried.
One day, the farmer fell seriously ill. Realizing that his days were numbered, he decided to teach his sons an important lesson so that they could live in harmony after he was gone.
He called his sons to his bedside and said, “My dear sons, I have something very important to tell you.” Then he asked one of them to bring a bundle of sticks tightly tied together with a rope.
The sons were puzzled but did as their father instructed.
The farmer handed the bundle to the eldest son and said, “Try to break this bundle of sticks.”
The eldest son held the bundle, exerted all his strength, and tried to break it. But no matter how hard he tried, the bundle remained intact. He gave up and handed it back to his father.
The father then asked the second son to try. He too struggled and failed. Finally, the youngest son gave it a go but met the same result.
The old farmer smiled and said, “Now, untie the bundle.”
The sons untied the rope, and the sticks fell apart. The farmer then handed each son a single stick and said, “Now, break these sticks one by one.”
This time, the task was easy. Each son effortlessly broke the sticks.
The farmer looked at his sons and said, “Do you see what happened? When the sticks were tied together, none of you could break them. But when separated, they broke easily. This is the strength of unity. If you stay united like the bundle of sticks, no one will be able to harm you. But if you keep quarreling and live divided, you will be as weak as these single sticks.”
The sons were deeply moved by their father’s wisdom. They promised to put aside their differences and work together as a team.
From that day forward, the brothers lived in harmony and built a prosperous life together, never forgetting the lesson their father had taught them.
Moral of the Story:
Unity is strength. When we work together, we are stronger and can overcome any challenge.