The Swan and the Owl

Once upon a time there lived a swan named Pushpak.  Pushpak lived on the shores of a lake.  The lake was in the middle of the forest.   The lake was a large one with many fish in it.  The thick forest around the lake was home to many animals.  The forest contained many trees of huge size.  The trees were very tall.  They spread their branches wide across the forest.  Many birds lived in the branches.
All the animals and birds which lived the forest would come down to the lake to drink water when they felt thirsty.  The swan, Pushpak lived there with its friends and his many relatives.  The swans would go out every morning deep into the lake.  They would feed on fish and other small sea creatures such as crabs.

The swans built their nests on the shore of the lake.  There, they raised their young babies.  The babies of swans are called cygnets.  This was the happy and beautiful life of the swans.
One day, an owl came down to the lake to drink water.  Owls had come earlier to the lake to drink water.  They too lived in the forest.  They would usually drink the water and fly away.

The swans did not mind the owls.  They went about their own business.  Over time, one of the owls became friendly with a swan.  The swan too liked the owl’s company.  The swan and the owl spent many hours together.  They became good friends.  They talked about their lives and their families.
However, many swans did not approve of their friendship.  “It is not right to talk to strange birds which are different from us”, they said, “their habits are different from ours”.  But Pushpak would not listen to them.

This went on for many days.  One day, the owl asked the swan to come over to his home.  The owls stayed in the other side of a forest, a few kilometres from the lake. 

Pushpak told the other swans of his plans to visit his new friend’s home across the forest.  They other swans tried to dissuade him from flying across to a strange place with a friend who has too different from them.  But Pushpak would not listen to them as usual.  He felt that he could make himself at home with his new friend.  Besides, he wanted to see how the owls lived.

Thus Pushpak flew off with the owl to the owl’s home in the trees.  The owl had made his home on top of a tree.  Owls are nocturnal birds, which, means that they hunt only during the night.
Pushpak struggled to keep awake at night when his friend the owl went hunting.  The owl would hunt small mice and other animals living in the forest floor.  Pushpak was beginning to grow tired of the owl’s routine.

One evening Pushpak and the owl were sitting on top of a branch.  A king was passing below the trees on the road.  He was returning from a hunting trip.  A large retinue of servants and soldiers were part of the hunting party.   The servants were carrying the animals caught in the hunt.  The soldiers were armed with spears, bows and arrows.

It was late in the evening, when the owl started to hoot.  Owls make a peculiar sound called hooting.  You can hear the sound if you happen to walk by a forested area in the evening.  The sound is considered to be inauspicious by many people.

When the king heard the sound, he was alarmed.  He was greatly disturbed, feeling that something bad was going to occur to him and to his kingdom.  The owl, though, kept on hooting.  It did not know the commotion it was causing.    The angry king ordered his soldiers to shoot at the owl.  But, it was evening time and was quite dark.  The soldiers could not see clearly.  They just shot a few arrows in the direction of the sound.

One of the arrows flew in the direction of Pushpak, the swan and hit him.  He fell down dead from the branch of the tree.  That was the sad end of the swan.

Children, this story tells us to be careful when choosing our friends.  We spend a lot of time with our friends.  Thus, is necessary to know about our friends, their habits and ideas.  Choosing a friend with bad habits or ideas can be dangerous to us.

The Owl and the Crow

Pakshivan was a huge forest.  It was home to hundreds of different birds.  There were parrots, eagles, peacocks, hornbills, magpies, sparrows, egrets and cranes.  The forest was a true paradise of birds where everyone lived in harmony with one another.

Things went along quietly in the forest.  The trees where the birds lived provided plenty of food.  The cool waters of the river which flowed through the forest provided for drink.

One day, the birds had an idea.  Life was good but it was boring.  The birds had everything they wanted but were still dissatisfied.    They thought, “Maybe we should have a king over us.  He will guide us and make us do something.  He may have ideas on how to improve things in the forest and make life more interesting”.

The parrot was the first to have this idea.  He was very talkative.  He soon met all other birds and the idea spread through the forest.  Some birds felt that a king was unnecessary.  But many agreed with the parrot.

Now that everyone agreed that the birds needed a king, the next step was to find a suitable person who would serve as the king.  After thinking for a long time, the birds finally decided on the owl.

The Owl was very happy.  “We must have a grand coronation for our king”, the peacock said, “All the other animals of the forest should envy us and respect us even more”.  The other birds agreed.

They set about making the arrangements for the big day.  The birds chose a dry lake bed in the middle of the forest as the venue where they would crown the new king.

The birds flew far and wide across the forest and collected the choicest flowers to decorate the venue.  The parrot brought the most tasty fruits from the trees.  The  peacock decorated the throne of the new king with his own feathers.  Every bird contributed in its own way.

A crow was passing by the forest.  He was curious to know the reason for this hectic activity.  He asked a few birds about this. “We are going to have a new king”, the birds said.  “Who is the king?”, the crow asked.  “He is an owl.”, they replied.

The crow was amused.  “How could anyone have an owl as a king?”, he thought.

The crow had come in search of food.  He lived in a village nearby.  He was a very inquisitive bird.  Nothing gave him more pleasure than interfering in the affairs of others.

He flew over the venue of the proposed coronation.  A peacock was busy readying the throne for the

new king.

The crow went to the peacock and said, ”I know that you are having a coronation”.  The peacock nodded with pride.  The crow continued, “I fail to understand as to how an owl can become the king of the birds”.  The peacock looked, shocked at the crow’s arrogance.  He gave an angry look.

The crow then said, “You are such a beautiful bird.  How can a bird as ugly as an owl be your king”.

The peacock thought for a while.  There appeared to be reason in what the crow said.  “Why did I not think of this earlier?”, he said to himself.  He stopped working.

The crow flew away and met the parrot who was busy collecting fruits to serve the guests on the big day.

“You are such a sweet bird.  You can even talk.”, he told the parrot.  “How can a bird who can just make hooting noises be king over you.”, he said to the parrot. The parrot too felt like the peacock.  He felt that he had been misguided.

The crow flew around the forest and met the other birds and told them the same thing.  Soon, all the birds felt that they had made a wrong decision.  The owl was in no way better than they.

Gradually, all the arrangements for the coronation of the owl came to a halt.

The owl meanwhile was getting ready for the big day.  When he heard of the cancellation of the coronation, he was furious and disappointed.  He sent other owls, who were his friends, in search of the crow.   The owls found the crow talking to a partridge.  He was again explaining why the owl would be a bad king.

The angry owls fell upon the crow and attacked him.  The crow was lucky to have escaped. He was severely injured.  He flew away to the village he came from.  He never dared come near the forest again.

Children, this story teaches us not to be intrusive and needlessly interfere in others’ business.  We should give our opinion and advice only if someone asks for it.