THE STORY OF THE

HERON AND THE

CROW
In a huge fig tree, outside the town of
Ujjain, lived a magnanimous heron
and a wicked crow. Though they
were poles apart from each other in
nature, they had started to enjoy
each others company.
On a very hot summers day, a tired
traveller stopped to rest under the
cool shade of the fig tree. He put his
bow and arrows down beside him
and went to sleep.

After some time, the shadow of the

tree moved, leaving the travellers
face exposed to the sun. The
traveller was getting disturbed by the
sunlight and was not able to sleep
peacefully.
When the kind-hearted heron saw
this, he spread out his wings to
protect the traveller from the sun. The
wicked crow was watching all this. It
was not in his nature to help anyone
or to tolerate others happiness. It
was an eye sore for him to see the
traveller sleeping soundly under his
tree. The crow just wanted to take
delight in troubling the traveller
somehow. So, as soon as the
traveller opened his mouth to yawn,
the crow relieved himself right into his
mouth and flew off.

The man sprung up on his feet and

looked angrily around him. He
spotted the heron sitting with his
wings open on the tree and mistook
him for the culprit. He picked up his
bow and arrow and shot the bird
dead.
If only the hapless heron had known
that the company of the wicked often
brings trouble, he would have stayed
alive.