In a large jungle, there lived a monkey and a rabbit who were great friends. They shared such a strong bond that they always played together and shared their joys and sorrows.
One day, while playing, the monkey said, “Friend Rabbit, let’s play a new game today.” The rabbit asked, “Tell me, what game do you have in mind?” The monkey replied, “Today, let’s play hide and seek.” The rabbit, smiling, said, “Alright, let’s play. It will be a lot of fun.” Just as they were about to start the game, they noticed that all the animals in the jungle were running here and there.
Curious, the monkey asked a fox passing by, “Hey, what’s happening? Why is everyone running?” The fox replied, “A hunter has entered the jungle, so we are all running to save our lives. You should run too, or he might catch you.” Saying this, the fox quickly ran away.
Upon hearing about the hunter, the monkey and the rabbit were also frightened and started running. As they ran, they came quite far from the jungle. The monkey then said, “Friend Rabbit, we’ve been running since morning. Now it’s evening. Let’s take some rest. I’m tired.”
The rabbit said, “Yes, not just tired, I’m also very thirsty. Let’s find some water to drink, and then we can rest.” The monkey agreed, saying, “Thirst has struck me too. Let’s look for water together.”
Both set out together in search of water. After a while, they found a pitcher with very little water in it. Now, the rabbit and the monkey both thought that if I drink the water, my friend will remain thirsty.
The rabbit said, “Monkey, you drink the water. I’m not very thirsty. You’ve been jumping around a lot, so you must be more thirsty than me.” Then the monkey said, “No, no, my friend. I’m not thirsty. It’s you who is thirsty. I know you’ve been running a lot, so you must be thirstier than me.”
They kept insisting that the other should drink the water. A nearby elephant overheard their conversation and stopped for a moment to listen. After a while, the elephant, with a smile, asked, “Why aren’t you both drinking the water?”
The rabbit explained, “You see, my friend is thirsty, but he’s not drinking the water. He insists that I should drink it.” The monkey added, “No, it’s the other way around. The rabbit is the one who’s thirsty, but he wants me to drink the water.”
The elephant, amused by their friendship, said, “Your friendship is truly deep. This could be an example for everyone. You both can share the water by drinking half each.”
The rabbit and the monkey liked the elephant’s suggestion. They divided the water and drank it. After quenching their thirst, they rested to relieve their fatigue.
Moral of the story: True friends always care for each other, and genuine friendship has no place for selfishness.
