Once upon a time, near a city, lived a big banyan tree. Lots and lots of crows lived in its branches! Their king was named Meghavarana.

Nearby was a cave where many owls lived. Their king was Arimaradana. The owls were mean; they hated the crows and would attack them at night.

King Meghavarana called a meeting with his five ministers. “The owls are hurting us,” he said. “What should we do?”

His ministers gave different ideas: Some said to make peace, some said to run away, and some said to fight.

But the king wasn’t happy. He asked an old, wise minister named Sthirajeevi for help.

Sthirajeevi had a clever plan. “We’ll trick the owls!” he said. “Pretend I’m a traitor. Make it look like I’m fighting with you, then fly away to the Rshyamukam Mountain.”

The crows followed the plan. They pretended to fight with Sthirajeevi and then flew away. The owl spies told their king.

Meanwhile, Sthirajeevi went to the owls. He pretended to be friendly, telling them he hated the crows and knew where they hid. The owls took him in.

Secretly, Sthirajeevi gathered lots of twigs near the owl’s cave entrance. Then, he secretly flew back to the crows.

“I made a big pile of twigs,” Sthirajeevi said. “Let’s set it on fire!” The crows did, and all the owls were safe!

The crows went back to their banyan tree, and everyone lived happily ever after. Remember: Never trust your enemies!