Once upon a time, there was a country where a drought caused a famine. All the crops of the people dried up and were destroyed. The people of that country started to suffer from hunger. In these difficult times, even the crows and other animals were not finding enough food. When the crows couldn’t find anything to eat for many days, they started searching the jungle for food.
Upon reaching the jungle, a pair of crows settled on a tree and made it their home. There was a pond beneath that tree, where another crow lived. It would spend the whole day in the water, catching plenty of fish to fill its stomach. Once its hunger was satisfied, it would play in the water.
The crow sitting on the tree branch, seeing the crow in the water, wanted to become like it. It thought that if it could befriend the crow in the water, it would also get plenty of fish to eat and its days would become better.
The crow went to the edge of the pond and started speaking in a sweet voice to the crow in the water. It said, “Friend, you are very healthy. As soon as you blink, you catch fish. Will you teach me this skill?”
Upon hearing this, the crow in the water replied, “Friend, what will you do by learning this? Whenever you feel hungry, just let me know. I will catch fish from the water and give them to you to eat.”
After that day, whenever the crow felt hungry, it would go to the crow in the water and eat the fish it caught.
One day, the crow thought to itself that it could also catch fish in the water. After all, how long would it depend on the other crow’s kindness?
It decided to go into the water and catch fish for itself. But as soon as it entered the water, the crow in the water warned it, “Friend, don’t do this. You don’t know how to catch fish in the water, and going into the water can be dangerous for you.”
But the crow sitting on the tree, filled with pride, said, “You are saying this because of your pride. I can also catch fish in the water, and today I will prove it to you.”
Saying this, the crow took a leap into the water. But the water was deep, and it got stuck. It tried to free itself, but it was of no use. Eventually, due to drowning in the water, it died.
Later, when the female crow came searching for the crow, she found out what had happened. She went to the water crow and asked about her crow. The water crow told her everything and said, “In trying to imitate me, that crow lost its life.”
From the story, we learn that it takes effort to become like someone else, and arrogance is harmful to a person.
