Fable - The Crow and the Cardinal

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The Crow and the Cardinal Once upon a time there was a field of maize next to a large, pretentious house in which lived a wealthy farmer. The corn that grew in the maize field was of a prize-winning variety – large ears, big yellow kernels just bursting with goodness, and with stalks so tall that all believed the plants to be capable of reaching all the way to heaven. The wealthy farmer loved his maize. He hated the big black crow that also loved his maize. If there was one thing that the farmer wanted to do it was to catch that corn-loving crow and cast it into the pit of the damned and departed. Traps were set all over the maize field. The smart crow saw the traps and avoided them. All sorts of other devious tricks were tried in order to catch that corn-gobbling crow. Nothing worked. So the wealthy farmer hired some experienced crow hunters, stationing them around the maize field. They were to find the crow and to get rid of it. All of those watching eyes, plus the gunpowder and the bullets – that was to be the end of that obnoxious crow. The crow had its own tactics. “I'll just come out to my maize field really early in the day before the sun comes up. Those half-asleep guards won't see me because I am dark and so is everything else at that time of day.” Crow was correct. Unseen by the guards, crow continued corn-stealing without slowing down in the least. Until - One dark morning a little, bright red cardinal bird was inspecting the tall stalks of corn in the maize field for a possible location in which to build its nest. Little bright red cardinal birds don't think too highly of arrogant, corn-eating crows. So, when the cardinal bird saw the crow, the cardinal began to squawk and whistle its loud cardinal noises. The guards heard all the commotion and ran to the sound. There, glowing red in the dawn light, fluttered the angry cardinal bird. On the corn stalk below was the crow. Moral: You may be the biggest and smartest one in the place, but if the others who also hang out there see that you are acting like an obnoxious crow, you'd best pack your bags and head out. * * * * * * * * * * Image source: Pixabay dot com * * * * * * * * * *