11 高三 The Four Harmonious Brothers

The Four Harmonious Brothers Once in a forest, there were four animals — an elephant, a rabbit, a monkey and a partridge. A tree fed them. One day, the four animals were disputing about the ownership of the tree. The elephant claimed, “Well, this is my tree, because I saw it first.” To this, the monkey replied, “Now, elephant, do you see any fruit on the tree?” The elephant agreed that the tree didn’t have any fruit. The monkey continued, “That is because I had been feeding on the fruit of the tree long before you ever saw it.” Next, the rabbit spoke up, “I fed on the leaves of this tree when it was just a small sapling before the monkey ate its fruit and before the elephant ever saw it.” Finally, the partridge, who had been watching the argument, came forward and said, “The tree belongs to me. I found the seed and planted it, and it grew into the huge tree before the rabbit fed on it, or the monkey ate its fruit, or the elephant saw it.” The elephant, the monkey and the rabbit admitted that the partridge was the first to know the tree, so they all bowed to the partridge and regarded it as their elder brother. The four animals became friends and decided to share the tree together in harmony, enjoying the beauty of the tree’s fragrance, the nourishment of its fruit, and the bounty of its shade. They worked together to get fruit. The partridge and the rabbit found the fruit on the ground and on the lowest branches. The monkey climbed up the tree and dropped the fruit for everyone to share. The elephant could reach the highest branches with his trunk. The four animals worked cooperatively. Each one benefited and no one went hungry. Other animals in the forest often saw them together with the partridge on top of the rabbit who was held up by the monkey who rode on top of the elephant. Since then, they were called “the four harmonious brothers”. The four animals were considered as an example of peace, harmony, cooperation, interdependence and friendship.