Somewhere in the jungle, a pair of sparrows had made their nest in a huge tree. In due course the female sparrow laid her eggs there.
One day because of the tremendous heat, an agitated elephant came and stood under the shade of the tree. With his trunk, he caught hold of the branches supporting the sparrow’s nest and pulled them down. The nest fell to the ground and the eggs were smashed. Luckily the sparrows managed to escape but, because she had lost her eggs, the female sparrow was heartbroken and began to cry loudly.

A woodpecker listening to her sobs felt touched. He went over to her and said, “My good sparrow, what’s the point of crying, for what is to happen, will surely happen?”

“That’s true”, said the female sparrow, “but this wicked elephant has killed my children. If you are my friend, please find some way of destroying him, so that I can forget the loss of my eggs.”

“I will.’said the woodpecker, “Now I too have a friend, a fly. Lets go and ask her to help us, destroy this cruel elephant.” And so, the woodpecker went with the female sparrow to the fly and said to her, “My friend, this sparrow is a dear friend of mine. A wicked elephant has destroyed her eggs. Please help us find a way to kill him.”

“Certainly I’ll help you, my good friend”, replied the fly, “otherwise, what is a friend for? Now I too have a friend a frog Lets go and ask him to help us destroy this cruel elephant.” And so they all went together to the frog and told him what had happened.

Then the frog said, ” What can this elephant do against us, if we work together? Listen, I have a plan. Fly! When the sun is at the highest point, you go and buzz in his ears, so that in sheer ecstasy, he closes his eyes.
Then, woodpecker! You peck his eyes, and blind him. Then I will sit at the edge of the pit that’s nearby and croak. When the elephant is thirsty, hearing me croak, he will come to the pit, thinking it is a lake of water. He will fall right in and, being unable to get out again, he’ll die. Now, if we follow this plan, we’ll have our revenge.”

The others agreed and they carried out the plan successfully. The elephant groped his way to the muddy pit, fell in and died.

❖ Even the low and humble achieve results when they work together.