A family of hawks came to live on a tree in a forest: Papa Hawk, Mama Hawk and Baby Hawk. They were new to the place. So after a few days, Mama Hawk asked Papa Hawk to make some good friends. “Friends always help in times of need,” she explained, “But who do I make friends with?” asked Papa.
“I have seen a kingfisher, a turtle and a lion at the lake near by. Why don’t you go and make friends with them?” she advised. So off went Papa Hawk and before long he had become great friends with all the three.
One night, some hunters came to rest under the tree. They were tired and had found nothing throughout the day. But the flies and the mosquitoes would not let them sleep. Finally, they lit a fire to keep away the insects.
Baby Hawk had never seen a fire before and he got frightened. Hearing his cries, the hunters became alert. “There are birds on this tree,” they said, “We’ll catch them in the morning.” Mama Hawk heard them and woke Papa Hawk up. “Go and get some help,” she urged and he went off to the kingfisher.
The kingfisher saw the fire and decided to put it out. He dived into the lake and came out wet. Quickly, he flew to the fire and shook the water drops over the fire, putting it out. Every time the hunters lit the fire, he put it out. But after many trips, the little bird was exhausted.
Then Papa hawk went to the turtle. He too came to help promptly. He brought mud from the lake and rolled into the fire putting it out. When the hunters saw the turtle, they decided to catch him instead of the hawk. They had neither nets or bags to hold the turtle, so they decided to use their shirts to tie up the turtle. When the turtle saw this, he jumped into the lake to save himself.
The hunters were now left without anything, so they once again decided to catch the hawk. Papa Hawk flew off to find his third friend who was out in the forest.
The lion heard the whole story and he immediately agreed to help. The Hawk flew ahead and soon the lion reached the tree. He let out a loud roar close to the tree. The hunters nearly jumped out of their skins!
“A Lion! Run! Run!” said one and they ran till they were right out of the forest. The Hawk warmly thanked his friends.
