In a village, there lived a farmer who had three sons. All three of them used to fight a lot with each other. The farmer was growing old, and he was worried about what would happen to his sons after his passing.
One day, he called his sons and said, "Go to the forest and bring back three sticks each." The sons went to the forest, collected the sticks, and brought them back.
First, the father asked each of them to break one stick. The eldest son broke his stick easily, followed by the second son, and then the youngest son. All of them broke their sticks without any difficulty.
Then, the father asked them to take two sticks each and try to break them. The eldest son managed to break them, though it took a bit more effort. The second son also broke his sticks with some difficulty. The youngest son struggled but eventually managed to break his sticks as well.
Finally, the father took all the sticks and tied them into a bundle. He gave the bundle to his sons and asked them to break it. Each of them tried their best, but none of them could break the bundle. The father then asked, "What lesson did you learn from this?"
The sons replied, "We don’t understand. Please explain it to us."
The father said, "A single stick, representing a single person, can easily be broken. Two sticks together are harder to break, but they can still be broken. However, three sticks together — representing the three of you united — cannot be broken. This shows that there is strength in unity.”
Source: Recorded in Lahore, as a part of Clicks and Culture, our collaboration with Beaconhouse School System.
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