In a kingdom, there lived six friends: a rich man, a mathematician, a mechanic, a smith, a physician and a painter. They set off to find their fortunes. Reaching a land full of rivers, they each planted a tree. “We will follow one river each to its source and return here. If anyone’s tree is withered, the others must find him,” they decided. The rich man stopped to speak to an old couple down the way. They asked him to stay and marry their daughter. She was beautiful and the rich man married her. They lived content and happy. But one day, the King happened to see the wife and fell in love with her. He told his soldiers to get rid of the rich man. They took him to a stream and buried him in a deep pit under rocks. The friends returned to find the rich man’s tree withered. So, they set off to search for him.
End of Friendship
The friends reached the river but saw no sign of the rich man. The mathematician calculated and found where the man was buried. The smith broke the rocks with his tools and located his body. The physician’s medicine revived him. The rich man told the story about the wicked King taking away his wife. The mechanic built a large wooden bird and the painter painted it beautifully. The bird was hollow and could be flown by someone sitting inside. The rich man got into the bird and flew to the palace. The colourful bird attracted attention and the wife came to the roof to see it. The rich man came out and rescued his wife, taking her back with him. But when his friends saw her, they all wished to marry her. They fought among themselves in a fit of jealousy and so they all killed one another!
