Page 41 - Moral Stories Vol 5

To his surprise, the trees around stretched tall and stopped the clouds to give some showers. Showers of rain cooled the air. He thanked the trees for bringing the rain and moved on.
Now, it was time to return home. He started walking back, and on his way, he found a deer lying down and groaning2 in pain. He found that the deer’s leg was wounded and it was not able to move around. He felt pity for it and wanted to help it. He looked around and found a Neem tree close by. The Neem said, “Use my leaves to extract some juice. It can help to cure the wound quickly.” Ananda did the same and gently helped the deer to get back to its home.
It was well past noon and he hurried back home. He again felt thirsty and wanted to drink the coconut water that he had saved. As he was about to drink it, he saw an old elephant approaching him. The elephant looked tired and weak. He told Ananda that he was too thirsty but could not walk to the river because he was old and weak. Ananda shared the coconut water with the elephant and moved on.
Ananda was hungry but this time he wanted to save the delicious fruits for his friends and Guru.
Soon, he reached his gurukul and was exhausted3 by the day’s journey. He approached his Guru and offered him the fruits that the mango tree gave him.
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