A crow named Laghupatanaka once watched from his banyan tree as a flock of doves, trapped in a fowler's net, flew away together carrying the net with them, and were set free by a clever mouse named Hiranyaka who nibbled through every knot. Amazed by the little mouse's skill and loyal heart, the crow begged for his friendship. Hiranyaka hesitated — crows eat mice, after all — but the crow's sincerity won him over, and the two became inseparable.
When hard times came, the crow carried his little friend to a distant lake, home of his old companion Mantharaka the tortoise. Soon a graceful deer named Chitranga, fleeing from hunters, joined them too. The four friends spent their days by the water, sharing food and stories, each life richer for the other three.
One evening Chitranga did not return. The crow flew high and searched until he found the deer caught fast in a hunter's snare. He hurried back, took Hiranyaka on his back, and the mouse's sharp teeth soon cut the deer free. But slow Mantharaka, anxious for his friend, had crawled after them — and just then the hunter returned. His snare was empty, but there was a fine tortoise! He bound Mantharaka to his bow and strode off.
The three friends acted at once. Chitranga ran ahead and lay down near the hunter's path as though dead, while the crow perched on him, pretending to peck at his eyes. Seeing an easy prize, the hunter set the tortoise down and hurried toward the deer. In a flash, Hiranyaka gnawed through Mantharaka's bonds and the tortoise slipped into the water; the deer sprang up and bounded away; the crow soared into the sky; the mouse vanished into a hole. The hunter stood blinking at the empty forest, wondering if he had dreamed it all, and went home empty-handed. And by the lake that evening, four friends laughed together, knowing that true friendship is the greatest treasure of all.