The Oldest is the Wisest

Once, a pigeon, a monkey, and an elephant lived together in a jungle. The pigeon and the monkey had made their homes on a big banyan tree in the jungle, and the elephant took shelter under the tree during the afternoon and night times. The three soon become friends.

But though they were friends, they spent a lot of their time quarreling and disagreeing with each other on many things. so at last they decided to have a leader. Now the problem was which of the three would be the leader. Then the three agreed that the oldest among them would be the wisest and should be the leader. "But how do we know which one of us is the oldest", asked the monkey. "That is simple enough. Each one of us tries to remember how this banyan tree was when we first saw it. Soon we will know who among us is the oldest, " the elephant said, and the other agreed.

so the elephant first started. "when I was a little elephant, I remember, this banyan tree was a small sapling.

The monkey then said," when I was a little monkey, I remember, this banyan tree was a small plant.

Then the pigeon said "I was born in another forest on a huge banyan tree. When I left my mother's nest and flew away to this forest, I brought a few seeds of that old banyan tree and scattered them here. It is from one of those seeds that the plant that the monkey saw and the sapling that the elephant saw.

On hearing this the elephant and the monkey said at once, "O pigeon, you are the oldest. You are also the wisest because it was your wisdom that made you plant the seed which has now become such a big tree." From then on, the pigeon was the leader among the three friends. Never again did the friends waste their time in useless quarrels and fights.