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Once upon a time, a lonely hawk lived on a tree by the riverside. He was young and handsome but he had no friends. One day, he saw a beautiful she-hawk and wanted to marry her but the she-hawk refused to marry him, as he had no friends. "Will you marry me if I make three friends?" he asked. She said that she definitely would. The hawk then went looking for friends. He saw a huge tortoise. The hawk asked him, "Dear tortoise, will you be my friend and help me in my hour of need?" The tortoise agreed, "Call me whenever you need me and I shall come." The hawk also promised him his help at any time and then flew in search of the second friend. He came upon an osprey and asked her if she would be his friend. The osprey accepted his friendship. He went on searching for a third friend. He saw a tiger and requested him to be his friend. The tiger accepted. The hawk flew back to the she-hawk and said, "I have made three friends. Will you marry me now? "The she-hawk agreed to marry him. After some months, she-hawk gave birth to two baby hawks. One day, two hunters came and sat under that tree. They were tired and hungry. It was getting dark and the hunters decided to spend the night and lit a fire. The hawk-babies on the tree could not bear the heat. They started crying. The hunters heard their cries. One of them said, "There are birds on this tree. Let us catch and roast them and eat them." The she-hawk suggested that they seek help from their friends. The hawk went to the osprey and told her his problem. The osprey dived into the river and then flew over the fire. The water from her wet feathers fell on the fire. She repeatedly dived into the river and flew over the fire. The water from her feathers put off the fire. In the meantime, the hawk went to the tortoise. When the tortoise heard about the hawk’s problem. The tortoise reached the tree. The hunters saw the tortoise and one of them said, "Look there is a huge tortoise. Let’s forget about the hawks and catch this tortoise." The other hunter agreed. They made a rope out of their shirts and tried to pull the tortoise. But strong tortoise pulled the two men into the water. With great efforts, they swam back to the bank. The hawk was worried again. He flew to the forest and called the tiger. The tiger rushed towards the riverbank. Seeing the tiger, the hunters ran and never came back again. The hawk thanked all his three friends. He also realised that it is important to have friends. The female-hawk was wise in advising the hawk to make friends before marrying him. — Author unknown
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