English · Completing Story
Unity Is Strength — Completing Story
Model completing story “Unity Is Strength” (the old man and his sons) with moral — SSC & HSC.
A completing story showing that people who stay united cannot be defeated, told through an old farmer and his quarrelsome sons.
The story begins: Once there lived an old farmer who had several sons. The sons were hard-working, but they always quarrelled with one another over small matters.
The Story
The old farmer had grown weak with age. Day after day he watched his sons argue and fight, and it made him very sad. He feared that after his death his enemies would take advantage of their disunity and ruin them.
One day the farmer fell seriously ill. He knew that he did not have long to live. He wanted to teach his sons a lasting lesson before he died, so he called all of them to his bedside.
He asked his eldest son to bring a bundle of thin sticks tied tightly together. When the son returned with it, the farmer handed the whole bundle to each of his sons in turn and asked them to break it.
Each son tried with all his strength. They pressed, twisted and struck the bundle against their knees, but not one of them could break it. At last they gave up and returned the bundle to their father.
Then the farmer untied the bundle and separated the sticks. He gave a single stick to each son and asked him to break it. This time every son snapped his stick very easily, without any effort at all.
The farmer looked at his sons and said gently, "My dear children, you have seen it with your own eyes. The bundle could not be broken because the sticks were tied together, but a single stick broke at once."
"In the same way, if you remain united, no enemy will ever be able to harm you. But if you quarrel and stand apart, anyone will be able to defeat you one by one."
The sons understood the deep meaning of their father's lesson. They felt ashamed of their quarrels and promised to live together in peace and unity from that day on.
Soon after, the old farmer died in peace. His sons kept their promise. They worked together, shared everything and stood by one another. As a result they prospered, and no one ever dared to trouble them.
Moral: Unity is strength.
Frequently Asked Questions
The moral is that united people are strong and cannot be defeated easily, while those who are divided can be harmed one by one. Unity gives strength; disunity brings ruin.
He asked each son to break a tied bundle of sticks, which none could do. Then he gave them single sticks, which they broke easily. This showed that unity makes people strong.
They could not break it because the sticks were tied tightly together. Together the sticks supported one another and became strong, just as united people become strong.
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