Who else wants to read a great story about friendship?

Once upon a time, there lived two friends in a small village. Their names were Neeraj and Dheeraj. Both of them went to village together. They were great friends and were always seen together. They had promised their loyalty and faithfulness to each other.

As they grew up, Neeraj’s father shifted to a city and started a business of his own. The business prospered and the family grew rich. A few years later, Neeraj’s father died and Neeraj took over his father’s business. He built a big palatial house and employed many servants. He led a luxurious life. However, he was not proud of his wealth and luxurious living; he was a king and helpful person. Often he remembered Dheeraj, his childhood friend.

One day, his servant announced that a poor man was at the door. He said that he was a close friend of Neeraj and wanted to see him immediately. Neeraj told the servant to find out what his name was. The servant went to find out the person’s name. He came back within a few minutes and said, “Sir, his name is Dheeraj”.

Hearing Dheeraj’s name, Neeraj jumped with the joy and rushed to the front door to welcome him. The two childhood friends were glad to see each other after so many years. Neeraj embraced Dheeraj and took him inside. He asked him why he was in such a poor state. Dheeraj told him that his shop in the village had been burnt and he had to face financial crisis. He had come to the city in search of a job.

Neeraj was sad to hear Dheeraj’s plight. He said to him, “From now onwards, you will live with me and help me in my business”. So Neeraj and Dheeraj got united once again. Dheeraj began to assist Neeraj in his business.

However, the rich friends of Neeraj did not like Dheeraj. They thought that Dheeraj was there to betray Neeraj. They warned Neeraj against him. But Neeraj had great faith in his childhood friend and trusted him more than any other person.

Soon his business began to flourish even more and Neeraj began to go out of the city on business trips. On such occasions, Dheeraj became the sole in charge of his business in the city. Neeraj’s other friends became jealous of Dheeraj. “How can Neeraj trust a poor villager more than us?” they would often think. They tried to poison Neeraj’s ears against Dheeraj. “If you really want to help your poor friend, then give him some money and send him back to the village”. They said to him. But Neeraj did not listen to them. He was a faithful friend and knew very well that Dheeraj would never betray him.

One day, Neeraj went out of the city on some business trip. Dheeraj was alone in the house with a few old servants. At night, he went out and sat in the garden in front of the house. There he heard some men speaking to each other. One of them was saying, “Neeraj has gone out of the city. There are only a few old servants in the house. Let us break into the house and run away with his costly possessions”. Dheeraj realized that they were the thieves and they had been keeping close watch over the house. He could not let his friend’s house robbed in his absence.

However, he knew that he and the old servants would not be able to overpower the strong thieves physically. So, he thought of overpowering them through his intelligence.

He went inside the house and closed all the doors and windows of the house. Then, he quietly called all the servants to the open courtyard and gave them a musical instrument each. He asked them to play the instruments as loudly as they could. The servants did as they were told. Hearing the sound of the music, the leader of the thieves shouted at the younger thief who had brought them there saying that Neeraj was not in the city. “You said Neeraj is not in the city and yet, the music sound is coming out of the house. I think Neeraj has returned and he is enjoying with his friends. We cannot break into his house and land into trouble. Let us run away from here as soon as possible”. The thieves ran away from the house. Dheeraj had saved his friends house from being robbed.

When Neeraj returned after a few days, the servants told him how his friend had saved the house from being robbed. Neeraj was full praised for him. He felt proud of having such a faithful friend with him. His other friends also changed their opinion about Dheeraj. They also praised his intelligence and stopped talking ill of him.