The old man gathered all of his sons together one day and handed them a big bundle of sticks and asked them to break the sticks. The boys seized the bundle one by one and attempted to shatter it with all their might, but they were unsuccessful. Later, he untied the bundle and gave individual sticks to them and asked them to break it. This time all of them succeeded. With this example, he taught them a lesson on the power of unity. He told them, that like the bundle of sticks, if they remain together, no one could harm them. While being separated, they become weaker just like those individual sticks and could be easily harmed. Hence, they should always be united.