Once, there lived a horse and a buffalo, in the gorgeous meadows of Tall Mountain. The fresh green grass and swiftly flowing river across the mountain provided sufficient food and water for the buffalo and the horse. They soon became friends and started living happily. One year suddenly there was no rain, the river dried up and the grass turned brown. The horse and the buffalo started fighting over grass and water and soon the friends turned in enemies. One day during their regular fights, the buffalo became angry and hit the horse with its sharp horns. The horse was badly injured and ran away to save his life.
Gradually, the horse became better. However, he still remembered how the buffalo had hurt him, and started making plans to take revenge on him. The horse thought for many days and finally decided to take help from a man. After hearing the plan of the horse, the man refused to help him and said to him, “This fight is between the both of you; you should settle it among yourself, why do you need my help? Anyway a buffalo has very sharp horns and I am very scared of them.” The man refused to help and went away.
The horse was determined to take revenge, he pleaded with the man and convinced him by saying that if the man helped him take revenge on the buffalo, then he would help the man in capturing the buffalo and keeping him forever… The man laughed and said, “What will I do with the big buffalo?” The horse replied, “Buffaloes give extremely sweet and healthy milk. If you drink its milk every day, you will also become very healthy and strong.” The man thought about it for some time and then agreed to the proposal of the horse.
The horse told the man, “All you have to do is carry a big, thick stick and hit the buffalo with it every time I run past it. A buffalo cannot run like me and will soon be hurt and tired and you can capture it easily.”
The following day, they left for the meadows early morning. As per the plan, the man sat on the horse’s back with a big, thick stick and started hitting the buffalo as the horse ran past it. Soon the buffalo was hurt and fell to the ground; the man captured the buffalo and tied him to a tree next to his hut.
The horse was very happy that he got rid of the buffalo and also because he had the whole meadow to himself. Happily he started walking towards the meadow, when he found himself tied to the tree; the horse was surprised and asked the man, “Why did you tie me up?” The man replied, “Dear horse, how did you think that I will let you go? You are extremely useful to me. Apart from teaching me how to capture a buffalo, you also taught me how to ride a horse. I will keep you both for my future help and will take very good care of both of you.”
The poor horse felt very sad and betrayed, and finally realised that he shouldn’t have betrayed his friend the buffalo, by sharing the secret of his milk with the man. He understood that he was being punished for being greedy and revengeful. Since that day the horse promised that he would never betray any one’s trust and would never be revengeful. That is why, through the ages, horses have been faithful companions of humans.
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