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At dawn, while the others called out to the deer, the crow flew in every direction looking for her. In a clearing, he spotted the deer with her foot caught in a net. “Don’t worry,” he told her calmly. “We’ll think of something.” The crow rushed back to his friends. The tortoise had an idea: “Mouse, hop quickly on the crow’s back.” And they flew off to rescue the deer.
Without wasting time, the mouse bit through the net. Just then, the anxious tortoise reached the spot. “Why did you come here? If the hunter returns, you’ll never escape!” the deer exclaimed. And the hunter did return! Hearing his footsteps, all of them ran away, but the tortoise was too slow. The hunter picked him up and tied him to a stick.
“Oh no! Because of me, poor Tortoise is in trouble,” said the deer. Suddenly, the deer leaped up and ran to the pond near the path. She lay down absolutely still, while the crow pecked at her. When the hunter dropped the tortoise and picked up the deer, the mouse quickly cut the cords and released the tortoise. While the tortoise slipped into the water, the deer darted off and the crow simply flew away. The hunter trembled with fear. He had never seen an animal come back to life. Thinking that the forest was haunted, he ran for his life. The four friends went home and were happy to be together again.