LEVEL 1.10: THE FARMER AND HIS SONS

THE FARMER AND HIS SONS

A farmer had five sons. They were strong and hardworking. But they always quarrelled with

one another. Sometimes, they even fought. The farmer wanted his sons to stop quarrelling

and fighting. He wanted them to live in peace. Plain words of advice or scolding did not have

much effect on these young people.

The farmer always thought what to do to keep his sons united. One day he found an answer

to the problem. So he called all his sons together. He showed them a bundle of sticks and

said, “I want any of you to break these sticks without separating them from the bundle.”

Each of the five sons tried one by one. They used their full strength and skill. But none of

them could break the sticks. Then the old man separated the sticks and gave each of them

just a single stick to break. They broke the sticks easily.

The farmer said, “A single stick by itself is weak. It is strong as long as it is tied up in a

bundle. Likewise, you will be strong if you are united. You will be weak if you are divided.”

Moral: United we stand, Divided we fall.