The Four Friends

Every evening, four friends met beneath the banyan tree. Crow arrived from the treetops with news. Mouse popped out between the roots. Deer came along the sandy path, and Turtle climbed out of the pond, taking his time.

“You are late,” Mouse said one evening.

“I stopped to watch a dragonfly,” Turtle replied. “It took three tries to land.”

Deer made room beside him. Mouse set four smooth pebbles on a root: one for each friend. Then they told one another about their day, until the pond turned the colour of the sky.

The next evening, three friends were waiting. Deer had not come. Mouse touched the unused pebble. Crow watched the path. Turtle listened to the reeds.

“Perhaps he found sweet grass,” Mouse said.

They waited until the first bat passed overhead. Still no Deer.

“He always calls when he is near,” Turtle said quietly.

Crow stepped onto a higher root. “I will follow his path. Stay where I can find you.”

He crouched, opened his wings and flew into the trees. Mouse moved closer to Turtle. Neither of them felt like telling a story now.

Crow searched above the winding trail. Then he heard a small, frightened call.

Below him, Deer lay caught in a net. A loop held one leg, and every tug pulled the ropes tighter.

“I thought it was only fallen grass,” Deer said. “Now I cannot get out.”

Crow landed on a low branch where Deer could see him.

“Stop pulling. I have found you.”

Deer let his head rest. His ears were still trembling.

“I will bring Mouse,” Crow said. “Watch this branch. I will come back to it.”

This time, Deer nodded.

Crow hurried back. “A net, beyond the bend. We need your teeth, Mouse.”

Mouse was already standing. “Show me.”

The bramble path was too slow, so Crow lowered himself beside the root. Mouse climbed onto his back and held the feathers gently.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

They lifted into the last warm light.

Turtle watched them go. He knew he could not keep up. But he also knew the short path beside the reeds.

“I am coming too,” he said, and started walking, one steady step after another.

Mouse climbed down beside the knot. The rope was thicker than his tail.

“Please hurry,” Deer whispered.

“I will be quicker if you keep still,” Mouse said, as kindly as he could.

He set his paws against the knot and gnawed. A strand broke. Then another. Crow watched the trail while Deer held his leg still.

Soon there was a small opening, but not enough.

Mouse changed his grip and worked at the last stubborn twist. At last the loop fell loose.

Deer drew his leg out slowly. Only then did he stand.

“You are free!” Turtle called from the edge of the clearing.

Deer turned towards him. Then Crow gave a sharp warning. Footsteps were coming along the trail.

Deer slipped behind the trees. Mouse vanished beneath a root. Crow flew to a branch. Turtle tried to reach the reeds, but the hunter was already there.

Finding his net empty, the man looked down and saw Turtle. He put him into a woven carrying bag and tied the mouth with a cord.

From their hiding places, three friends watched the bag swing away.

“We cannot leave him,” Deer whispered.

Crow followed high above the hunter. Ahead, the trail forked beside a patch of reeds. The pond lay just beyond.

He returned to Deer and Mouse. “We can get ahead of him.”

Deer looked at the narrow path. “If I lie still in the open, he may come to look.”

“I will stay beside you,” Crow said.

Mouse peered at the bag’s thin cord. “And I will wait where he puts that down.”

They took the shortcut. Deer chose a clear patch by the fork. Mouse hid close to the reeds. This time, each friend knew where the others would be.

Deer lay with his eyes almost closed. Crow fluttered beside him, then looked up at the approaching hunter.

The man stopped. He set his bag on the ground and took a step towards Deer.

Behind the reeds, Mouse waited.

Another step.

Inside the bag, Turtle felt the ground beneath his shell. He heard a familiar whisper.

“It is me. Stay low.”

Mouse gripped the cord. Deer wanted to leap up, but he could still see the bag was tied. He stayed still. Crow moved a little further along the path, drawing the hunter’s eyes away.

The cord was thinner than the net, but Mouse could not afford a mistake. He bit through one side, then pulled until the knot loosened.

The mouth of the bag opened.

“Now, Turtle!”

Turtle pushed his head out, found the earth with his front feet and crawled into the reeds. Mouse followed him.

Only when both were hidden did Crow call. Deer sprang up and bounded past the fork. Crow flew after him.

The hunter turned back to his bag. Its loose cord lay on the ground. Beyond the reeds, a small ripple spread across the pond.

The moon was rising when they met beneath the banyan. For a while, nobody spoke.

Then Mouse noticed the four pebbles. He nudged Turtle’s pebble back into line.

“I was afraid,” Turtle said.

“So was I,” said Deer.

Crow folded his wings. “I kept looking back to make sure everyone was there.”

Turtle settled between his friends. “You were.”

Across the pond, a dragonfly found a reed and landed on the first try. This time, all four watched it. They stayed together until their breathing grew quiet and the moonlit water hardly moved.