The Golden Book ~ Case 1 ~ The Birds v/s The Elephant

It was a beautiful day in the forest. All the animals woke up with the Sun’s rays coming from the canopies above them. However, the birds were in for a surprise. All of them suddenly found a major change in their form and shape.

The Peacock lost its majestic tail, the Parrot lost its beautiful colour and the Woodpecker was left without its sharp beak.

The Ducks were unable to swim properly, the Eagle wasn’t able to glide, the Koyal (Cuckoo bird) was not able to sing its sweet song.

But the hummingbird was hit the worst, it wasn’t able to flap its wings as fast as it did earlier. All the birds were shocked to see that even the Owl, the wisest bird wasn’t able to give advice!

Everyone was in awe and wanted to find the root for this problem.

One day, after noticing the changes for a while, the king of the birds , the Hornbill called an emergency meeting.

Commencing the meeting, it said, “As you all know, my dear subjects that drastic changes have been seen in us from the past few days. If anyone happens to know anything about it, you must tell me right away.”

Listening to this, the hummingbird said shyly, “Your Majesty, I know something, a couple of days before the changes started happening, I saw the Vulture eating flesh from a dead elephant . He was having so much fun and was mocking me for not eating it and going after the nectar of flowers. The elephant’s sister came and saw the sight. It got very angry and cursed the Vulture. It said, ‘You naughty bird! You have done a very big mistake. You are taking pride by eating my brother? You don’t know what we elephants go through and what we do for you all. And now, when my brother is dead, instead of praying at his corpse, you are eating it, with such glee! I curse the whole bird kind that all birds will loose their special features so that none of you are able to disrespect us!’”

The birds were shocked at hearing this and a huge chaos was created. Some birds wanted to go straight to the Vulture and set him straight. The others, who were herbivores, wanted to talk to the she-elephant and request her to take back the curse.

The second idea was considered and the Hornbill, along with a few other birds went to the she-elephant.

The she-elephant was still mourning for its brother. At the sight of the birds, it became ferocious and asked them to go away.

The birds pleaded their case and the Hornbill came forward to talk to the elephant. “Dear, please listen to us. It is natural for the Vulture to eat the dead. Like you eat plants, and they don’t complain, because it is the nature’s way, similarly, the Vulture feeds on the dead. I know it must have been hard for you to see your brother’s corpse being eaten by the Vulture, but think about it in from the point of view of the Vulture. He feeds on the decaying. We understand that the Vulture was also wrong in taking so much pleasure and boasting about himself. But please, understand that if there aren’t any Vultures, where will all the dead bodies of animals and birds go? Please understand the nature’s way of healing itself and showing wonders.

The birds pleaded again. This time, the elephant said, “Ok! I will take back the curse, but first the Vulture should apologize and I have something to say to him as well.”

The birds flew to the Vulture and it flew back to apologize. The elephant said, “I am sorry I acted selfishly and thought that you were disrespecting us, in fact, you were just doing what mother nature has asked you to do. Please find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Then, she took back the curse and went on her way back to her herd.

The birds didn’t feel the same they had done before the curse for a few days but then it started. The Peacock regained its tail, the Parrot became, well, ‘parrot green’ again and all the other birds were normal again.

What does this story tell me, you ask? Well, it tells that you should be able to adapt to changes, and that you should be able to apologize for your mistakes. No matter which team you are on, you must be able to look closely at both point of views and be able to take rational decisions.

And remember!

Everyone has their own space in nature, in this world and in your life. Let them use that space according to them.