An old man had several sons who were always quarreling with one another. No matter how much he pleaded with them to live in peace, they continued to fight and argue.
One day he called his sons together. He showed them a bundle of sticks tied firmly together.
"Break this bundle," he commanded. Each son tried with all his strength, but none could break the bundle.
Then the father untied the bundle and handed each son a single stick. "Now break these," he said.
The sons easily snapped the individual sticks in two.
"My sons," said the father, "if you stand together and help each other, you will be as strong as this bundle. But if you quarrel and are divided, you will be broken as easily as these single sticks." In unity there is strength.
