During a scorching summer, the water in the small lake began receding day after day, until only a narrow muddy puddle remained. The animals of the area gathered in confusion — frogs, tortoises, and birds — each wanting a different solution.

The birds wanted to fly far away and leave everyone else behind, and some frogs wanted to fight over the last drops of water. But the old tortoise, Umm al-Sabr, raised her head and said, «Arguing will not bring us water, but working together might».

She suggested they dig a narrow channel together from the dry pond to a distant river she had crossed in her youth. The birds carried pebbles with their beaks, the tortoises dug with their strong limbs, while the frogs helped by hopping over the loose soil to pack it down. The work took two straight days under a blazing sun.

On the morning of the third day, water finally arrived, flowing through the little channel to fill the pond again amid joyful cheers. Umm al-Sabr said, «See — what we could not do alone, we finished together in just a few days». From that summer on, the animals came together to talk through every big problem they faced.