Theme: Strategies are important.
Know this:
(1) When things go wrong in our society, very few have the knowledge to understand them.
(2) It is our duty to blow the whistle in time.
(3) The perpetrators of crime against society invariably have money power with which they can escape punishment.
(4) There are incidences when RTI activists and other whistle blowers are done to death as we read in news papers and magazines.
(5) One should plan his move such that while he makes the right move, it should not have a backlash on him.
(6) Do not clash head on with evil forces. The following story is very useful to drive home this point.
Themes: Strategies are important.
Short story 05.
An Intelligent Crow.
The author has chosen Crows as heroes in this story, after they themselves realizedthis.
Those were the days when kings ruled the country.At the edge of the capital of the city, there stood a large banyan tree. The crows and their young ones lived peacefully for several generations. Under the tree, there were many nests and sediments. A family of snakes also lived there peacefully. Even in those days humans were destroying the forest and its habitat. The snakes and the young ones realized that it was going to be difficult living there now.
Like humans who migrated from villages and towns to cities, the snakes and the young ones too moved to the city to the same Banyan tree where the crows had made their home. They occupied an anthill below the tree.
The crows woke up in the morning and flew to collect their food. Likewise did the snake and its family. The young ones of the crow and the snakes who were too young to hunt stayed behind. A bored young snake climbed the tree from its dwelling place. “Will I be able to see my nest from above”, thought the young one. When it climbed up the tree, it was happy to see the nests of the birds, the young ones, and the eggs.
A villager visiting a metro for the first time, would be excited to see the fast food shops, pizza joints and multiplexes, wouldn’t he be?
Similar emotions crossed the mind of this young snake.The young birds in their nest were frightened when they saw the young snake and were alarmed when they saw the snake eat the egg from one of the nests.
In the evening, there was commotion in the homes of both the birds and the snakes. The frightened young birds informed their parents about the snake and how he had stolen the egg. This infuriated them and they planned to take revenge on the snakes.
An elderly and knowledgeable crow spoke to the birds, listened to their opinion and in the end, decided about their plan.
As per the plan, the selected crows would sit on different trees to identify the thief in the morning and then, after obtaining necessary proof, they would take further action in the afternoon. Till such time, the crows were told to be patient to which they agreed.
Below the tree, there was a meeting among the snakes. A young snake made an announcement. It revealed a discovery, which would help the snakes in getting their food without going out to hunt, as food was available on the tree itself! On hearing this, the snakes were immensely overjoyed.
The eldest snake informed that a final decision would be taken after observing the birds leave the nest and that a bigger snake would stay put in the tree and subsequently follow the young snake to the nest.
The next morning, the crows observed the two snakes climbing up the tree. It noticed the snakes climbing up from the same tree where they resided. The crows found out the exact place where the snakes resided
and informed the elderly crow. It evolved a plan and informed the other crows about it. They got ready to implement it.
“It is not possible to drive away or kill so many snakes from the tree nor is it possible for us to move away from the tree. Therefore, we need to get the help of a third person who is more powerful than us and snakes. Humans will be of great help” said the crow.
The crows got an opportunity immediately on the same day. The princess of the kingdom was taking her bath. She had removed her precious jewels and kept them on the banks of the river. As per the crow’s plan, one of the crows picked up one jewel piece and flew to the tree. The crows immediately started making noise, which attracted the attention of the princess’s guards. They saw what was happening. They started chasing the crow with swords drawn. A group of crows followed the crow with the jewel piece, which reached their tree. The smartness of the crow made the guards reach the tree. It dropped the jewel into the snake pit in such a manner, that it attracted the guards’ attention. The guards broke open the pit to retrieve the jewel.In the process they killed the snakes and left for the palace.
In the evening, when the crows and snakes returned to their nests, the snakes noticed their dead young ones and the snake pits destroyed. They left the place at night never to return. The birds were very happy.