Short Stories » Elephant and Hares

Elephant and Hares - Panchatantra Stories for Kids

Once there lived a big herd of elephants near a river. They would play, eat and rest near the river. The surrounding area had lush green grass and fruit trees, which served food for the elephants.

However, when summer came, the river dried up. There were no more fruits or lush grass left.

All the elephants reached out to their master and cried. “Oh! Our Lord! There is no water left in the river. Our infants are facing death and hunger. If we don’t move from here, surely we all will die.” The King replied, “I know a place, where there is adequate water. We all can quench our thirst there.”

The very next morning, the elephants started their journey. After traveling for five days and five nights, finally, the elephants reached their destination. As expected, there was a large lake with plenty of water.

However, there were large numbers of holes near the banks of the lake. These holes belonged to a family of hares who lived there happily.

After seeing plenty of water, the elephants jumped and rolled with joy. In doing so, they destroyed the homes of so many hares. Many of the hares got injured. The hares who ran away managed to save themselves from their wrath. The elephants didn’t care about anyone. The hares found themselves helpless against the mighty elephants.

After the elephants went back into the jungle, the hares had a meeting. They were aware that the elephants are very powerful and they cannot beat them physically. So, they decided that it's better to run away in order to save themselves from their wrath.

However, one clever hare disagreed and said, “No, we can’t leave this place. This is our ancestral home. We have been living here from generation to generation. We must think of some plan to evacuate them forever. Though we are small, with a clever plan, we can expel them”.

After explaining his plan, all the hares agreed to help. As per his plan, one hare went to the hilltop. When the king elephant arrived, a hare shouted, “You devil, you are forbidden to enter the lake. Yesterday, you cruel elephants trampled innocent hares with your foot. This lake belongs to the Moon-God.”

“Your selfish act invited the ire of the Moon-God. I am the messenger of Moon-God, he has sent me to convey to you his message. If you want to survive, then don’t even think about coming near the lake again,” he further said.

The king elephant replied, “I am sorry, for my sinful act. Oh, Moon-God! Please forgive me!!” The clever hare sitting on the hill replied, “If you want to be forgiven, come to the lake and ask me for forgiveness. You must also offer condolences to the king of hares.” The elephant king walked up to the lake, where saw the reflection of Moon.

He immediately asked the MOON for forgiveness. He also said sorry to the king of hares, who was waiting for him, as per their plan.

After that, the elephant group never come back to the lake again. The hares lived on happily forever.

MORAL: From intelligence, one can overcome even the biggest problem.