The crow and the swan

The crow worked all day long for a pail of water by dropping stones into a half-full pitcher to get water higher. The swan flew for a thousand mile above the clounds for a drink and back. The swan walked by the rivers and the animals of the jungle praised him for his grace, beauty dedication and voice. He was praised for his ability to sing though he had never personally sung. When the inhabitants of the forests asked to sing the swan made one excuse or other on every occasion, the animals mistook it for humility.

All the praise and stregth got to the swan's head, and it would make fun of those less fortunate than itself. Often it would not be in front of their faces, but with the Crow the swan didn't care. For who would even listen to that ugly small thing with the terrible thing. When it saw the crow it said, Mr. Crow how are you doing please sing for me. On different occasion, it asked for the crow to accompany him on the trip to the Arctic. The Swan told the crow he was really beautiful, if he put some effort into looking good for everyone around.

One day, the crow decided that he had had enough. He told the larger bird there was a great feast waiting by the roads far away, and invited him to the party. The Swan thought that it would do the crow a favor and agreed to go. The two birds flew towards a city together, where a group of people was repairing a road. The crow, with his clever ways knew what the thick flowing liquid was. And asked the swan to take a dip in the most delicious grub of all time, the feast of the gods. The swan thought, such a simpleton, of course I will get there first, he wouldn't be able to have it first even if it wanted to. Just then the truck poured the tar, and the swan was covered in boiling hot tar.

The swan made out of it severely burnt but alive. He dived into a river. The crow flying slowly behind, asked what happened, if the food was too hot. The white gracious bird, too proud to realize he had been outwitten by a mere crow, said he did not like the food and it burned is tongue anyway.

But all the love and admiration the animals had for the swan went out with his glorious white coat. The respect and reverence they had was replaced by mocking and pity. The swan realized not everyone is treated equally, and it is not good to be proud of something you are given when there are less fortunate than yourself around. The swan and the crow became great friends and lived together, since the Swan couldn't fly to the North Pole anymore or he'd be instantly killed because he stood out. Later they married and adopted an owl child.

The crow cheated on the swan with an eagle when their child was a teenager, but that's a topic of a wholly different story.




Moral: Don't look down upon others, for your circumstances could change soon and you could need them.