A winner cannot stand alone forever. He needs friends to grow.

Fable story is not only story of the animals that can talk but it also story of  non-human being characters like the plants and other things which can talk. It is a short fable story of dialogue between Green Bamboo Tree and a young farmer.

The Young Framer and the Green Bamboo

A young farmer rolled out a plaited on the ground under the banyan tree, put his flask and a piece of bread on it, and sat to take a rest. He put off his conical bamboo hat and drank fresh water from his earthenware flask. He poured fresh water to his open mouth and it flew through his throat and refreshed his body. He enjoyed the stillness and heard the song of crickets.

As he was single and lived alone, no wife delivered food and water for him during break time. He was an only son and both parents had passed away. Sometimes, he had a dream to develop his village. His village needed good access to other places so that his village could sell fruits and vegetables to the other villages or cities. His village needed a bridge which once day in the future he could build. He thought he could do everything alone as he had been managing his farm alone. He had multi talents and he thought he could use his talents to develop his village. He was independent and he never hoped the help by others. He thought everything would be better and perfect when he did his work without involving the others. However, he started to feel tired. He felt something empty in his life which he needed to fill in. His loneliness made his life more difficult. Being alone was unpleasant.

As the wind blew, bamboo trees were dancing in front of him

“Young farmer, you look tired. You are frowning. There must be something annoying your mind,” said a green bamboo tree.

“My life becomes more difficult. I feel something that I don’t have in my life but I cannot define it,” said Young Farmer.

“When you face problem, why don’t you share with your friends?”

“Is it necessary? Do you know that people in my village are not smart? They cannot solve my problem. It’s better not to tell about my life to anyone. I will find a way alone and solve my problem,” said Young Farmer.

“At least, you need friends to share. You need friends to listen. What you need is togetherness. I know so far you have done many things alone,” said Green Bamboo.

“But, I have done all work successfully without others,” said Young Farmer.

“But, you are tires,” Green Bamboo interrupted.

Again, green bamboo trees waved their bodies, following the direction of the wind.

“Behold the ants around your bread. The ant is smaller than the bread but each communicate with others and together, they start taking small parts of the bread. Together, they bring the part of your bread which is bigger than their body,” said Green Bamboo.

Young Farmer took his bread, blew on the ants at it, and cleaned it with his right hand.

“Look at your hat! The maker plaited and united the bamboo straws to form a hat which protects your head from sunlight,” said Green Bamboo.

“I want to build a bridge. My village needs a bridge,” said Young Farmer.

“So, take me out. You should also take my friends. A bamboo is not strong enough but together we can do better. A cluster of bamboo trees is stronger than a bamboo tree. Make a bamboo bridge with us but don’t do it alone! Like a cluster of bamboo trees, like the marching ants, you need to work together with your friends,” said Green Bamboo.

“Thank you! Now, I know something empty which I need to fill in,” said Young Farmer, smiling at the Green Bamboo.

After work, Young Farmer went back to his village. He met other villagers and talked about his plan to build a bridge and develop the village. He chatted, laughed together, and shared his story with his friends.

A week later, together, they built a bamboo bridge and a village bamboo hall.

“The clusters of bamboo trees have made me learn that I need to fill in my life with friendship and togetherness,” said Young Farmer.

The End

The author of the short fable story, titled “The Young Framer and the Green Bamboo” is Mas Wahyu Didik alias YW Purnomosidhi, a blogger who loves fable, traveling, and swimming.