Years ago, near Chandannagar, there was a jungle with a large banyan tree, where a crow and a koel lived in their respective nests. One night, a strong storm began in the jungle, followed by rain, and within a short time, everything in the jungle was destroyed.
The next day, the crow and the koel found nothing to satisfy their hunger. At that moment, the koel suggested, “We live so lovingly in this jungle, but now we have nothing to eat. So, why not, when I lay an egg, you eat it to satisfy your hunger, and when you lay an egg, I’ll eat it to satisfy mine?”
The crow agreed to the koel’s proposal. Fortunately, the crow laid an egg first, and the koel, having it, satisfied her hunger. Then, the koel laid an egg, but as soon as the crow started to eat it, the koel stopped him.
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The koel said, “Your beak is not clean. Wash it, and then you can eat the egg.”
Hastily, the crow went to the riverbank. He said to the river, “Give me some water. I will wash my beak and then eat the koel’s egg.”
The river replied, “Alright! Bring a container for the water.”
Now, the crow quickly went to the potter. He said, “Give me a pot. I will fill it with water and clean my beak, then eat the koel’s egg.”
The potter said, “You give me some clay; I will make a pot for you.”
Hearing this, the crow asked Mother Earth for some clay. He said, “Mother, give me clay. I will have a pot made and then bring water to clean my beak and eat the koel’s egg.”
Mother Earth replied, “I will give you clay, but you need to bring me an axe. With that, you can dig and get the clay.”
Running, the crow reached the blacksmith. He said, “Give me an axe. With it, I will dig and get clay to make a pot, then bring water to clean my beak and eat the koel’s egg.”
The blacksmith said, “I will give you a sharp axe, but you have to bring me some iron.”
Rushing, the crow went to the ironmonger. He said, “Give me some iron. I will take it to the blacksmith, get an axe, dig clay, make a pot, bring water, clean my beak, and finally eat the koel’s egg.”
The ironmonger replied, “I will give you iron, but you need to bring me some coal.”
Desperate, the crow reached the coal merchant. He said, “Give me some coal. I will take it to the ironmonger, get iron, take it to the blacksmith, get an axe, dig clay, make a pot, bring water, clean my beak, and finally eat the koel’s egg.”
The coal merchant said, “Alright, take the coal, but you have to bring me a container.”
Finally, the crow obtained the coal and returned to the riverbank. He filled the container with water, cleaned his beak, and went to eat the koel’s egg. However, as soon as he started, his burnt beak caused him intense pain, and the crow, writhing in agony, died.
In this way, with cunningness, the koel saved her eggs from the crow.
Lesson from the story: The story of the crow and the koel teaches us not to trust blindly in others. Blind trust can lead to one’s own loss.
