The Bundle of Sticks
Aesop
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Retold by The Legendary Connection
TLC#00105
Once upon a time, there was a father who had a family of sons. Although he loved them dearly, they had a bad habit: they were always arguing. Day after day, they quarreled and bickered over the smallest things. No matter how many times their father tried to teach them the importance of getting along, they didn’t listen. The more he talked, the more they fought.
One day, after a particularly noisy argument, the sons sat around the house, each sulking in his own corner. Their father thought to himself, “I need to show them a lesson they won’t forget.”
He called one of his sons over and said, “Please go outside and bring me a bundle of sticks.”
The son did as he was told and soon returned with a bundle of sticks, all tied together. The father gathered all his sons and handed the bundle to the eldest.
“Try to break this bundle of sticks,” the father said.
The eldest son tried his hardest. He bent and twisted the bundle, but no matter how much strength he used, the sticks wouldn’t break. He passed the bundle to the next brother, who tried as well, but the result was the same. Each son, one after the other, gave it their best effort, but none could break the bundle.
Their father smiled and took the bundle from them. He then untied the string holding the sticks together and gave each son a single stick.
“Now,” he said, “try to break these sticks one at a time.”
The sons quickly snapped the sticks, each breaking their stick easily and without much effort.
The father looked at his sons and said, “Do you see what this means? When the sticks were bound together, none of you could break them, but when they were divided, they were weak. It’s the same with you, my sons. If you continue to quarrel and remain divided, you will be as weak as a single stick. But if you stand together and help each other, you will be as strong as the unbreakable bundle.”
The sons looked at each other, finally understanding what their father had been trying to teach them all along.
From that day forward, they made a great effort to work together and support one another, realizing that in unity there is strength.
“The Aesop for Children with Pictures by Milo Winter.” Https://Www.gutenberg.org/Files/19994/19994-h/19994-H.htm, 2 Dec. 2006, www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19994/pg19994-images.html#Page_20. Accessed 22 July 2024.