Four Friends Indeed (continued)

It happened one day that the crow, who had been rescued by the man, found a beautiful necklace lying beneath a tree near the palace of the king. Looking at the necklace, he thought, "This will be a good present to give to the man who saved me," so he flew down, picked it up, took it to Han and thanked him once more for his help.

The next day as Han was walking into the village; he met Shu and said, "You won’t believe what just happened. At first, I didn't think that crow would be much of a friend, but look at this, he has brought me these magnificent jewels." Shu recognized the jewels, for the queen believed that they had been stolen and had posted a reward for catching the thief. So Shu took leave of Han and went to the king at once, told him where the necklace and the thief were to be found, and claimed the reward.

The king rewarded Shu handsomely, and immediately sent his men to arrest Han and put him in his prison. In that dark old dungeon, with no bed to lie on, the walls dripping moisture, no food to eat, and no friend to bring him any, Han was about to starve to death. It just so happened that the mouse he had rescued lived there, and as he was passing by Han’s cell, he noticed him there. “How did you end up here?” the mouse asked. Han related the story of his arrest and the ingratitude of Shu, the man he had saved, and said he was about to starve and would surely die unless help came very soon. “Oh dear, oh dear,” said the mouse, “Wait, I will be right back.” With that the mouse went away. He entered into the king's palace, took some food from his table, carried it back to Han and saved him.