Deep in a forest stood a very tall tree. Its leafy branches spread out like strong arms.

This tree was the home of a flock of wild geese. They felt safe there. One of the geese was a wise old bird.

He noticed a small creeper at the foot of the tree. He spoke to the other birds about it.

“Do you see that creeper?” he said to them. “Let us destroy it”.

 “Why must we destroy it?” asked the geese in surprise.

“It is so small. What harm can it do?” “My friends,” replied the wise old bird, “that little creeper will soon grow. As it creeps up this tree, it will become thick and strong.”

 “What of that?” asked the geese. “What harm can a creeper do us?”

“Don't you see?” replied the wise bird, “with the help of that creeper, it will be possible for someone to climb this tree. A hunter can come up and kill us all.”

“Well there’s no hurry,” they replied, “the creeper is very small. It would be a pity to destroy it now.”

“Destroy the creeper while it is still young,” the old bird advised. “Now it is tender and you can cut it easily. Later it will become hard and you will not be able to cut it.”

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” answered the birds. But they did not destroy the creeper. . They forgot the wise old bird’s advice. As the creeper grew, it began winding its way up the tree.

Stronger and stronger it became, until it was as strong as a thick rope.

One morning when the geese had gone out in search of food, a hunter came to the forest.

“So this is where the wild geese live,” he said to himself.

“When they come back in the evening, I shall catch them.”

The hunter climbed up the tree with the help of the creeper. He got to the top and spread his net there. Then he climbed down and went away.

 In the evening, the geese returned home. They did not notice the net. As they flew into the tree, they were trapped. They struggled hard to get out, but could not.

 “Help! Help!” cried the geese. “We are caught in the hunter’s net. Oh! What shall we do?”

“Don’t make a fuss now,” said the wise old bird. “Long ago I told you to destroy the creeper, but you did not. Now see what has happened. Tomorrow morning the hunter will come back and kill us all.”

“We were foolish,” wept the birds. “We are very sorry we did not listen to you. Please tell us what to do?”

“Then listen carefully,” replied the wise bird. “When the hunter comes you must all pretend to be dead. Just lie still. The hunter will not want dead birds. He will throw us to the ground. It will then be easy for him to climb down, collect the dead birds, and take them home. When the last of us has been thrown down, we must quickly get up and fly away.”

In the morning the hunter came to the tree and climbed up. He looked at the geese in the net.

“They are all dead,” he muttered to himself. He threw them out of the net one by one. The birds lay still until the last one had been thrown down. Then, all at once, they got up, flapped their wings, and flew away.

The hunter was taken by surprise. From the top of the tree he watched all the geese fly away.