It was a bright spring day. The sun was high in the blue sky, and the flock of sheep was grazing on the hills. The small lambs with their soft white wool and curly tails were playing with each other. The shepherd saw that his flock was safe and happy, so he slept under the shade of the branch of an old large tree.
Suddenly, an eagle flew in the sky and swooped down on one of the lambs. He did this quickly so that none of the other lambs could make a sound to wake the sleeping shepherd who heard nothing.
A crow was sitting on the tree under which the shepherd was sleeping. He had seen how the eagle had preyed on the lamb and carried it to his nest. The crow said to himself: How easy a way to get a good dinner. Why don’t crows hunt like eagles and eat fresh food instead of old food with a bad smell.
The crow decided to do exactly what the eagle had done. It seemed easy enough. All I had to do was decide which sheep I wanted, swoop down on it, grab it firmly with my talons, and fly away with it. If the eagle could do that, then I could too!
The crow looked down at the flock of sheep to determine the lamb he wanted. He chose a large lamb that had big horns and thick wool. He started talking to himself: It will be a good meal for me. The crow started thinking about his prey seriously to the point that saliva started dripping from his mouth.
The crow swooped down silently and quickly onto the lamb, exactly as he had seen the eagle do. He drove his talons strongly into the wool and said to the lamb: And now it’s time for you to fly with me to the nest. Then the crow tried to fly with all his might with his wings, but he couldn’t lift him. The lamb was large and very heavy for the crow to carry. The crow tried again and again, but without success.
The lamb saw the crow on his back and was very annoyed. The crow was still trying to carry the lamb away. The lamb started crying and saying: Get away from me, leave, please, let me go. He jumped and tried to shake the crow off his back.
The crow was in real trouble and realized he wouldn’t be able to carry the lamb away. He decided to leave him and escape by himself from the jumps of the annoyed lamb. He tried to fly away, but found he couldn’t move. His talons were stuck in the lamb’s thick wool. He tried to pull but got more and more tangled.
The crow screamed in fear and despair. The lamb started running around the tree. The shepherd woke up with this terrible noise. Were his sheep in danger? Until he saw the lamb circling with the crow on his back, and the crow trying to escape from the lamb’s thick fur.
The shepherd started laughing when he saw this scene. The lamb stood, and he calmed him with gentle words. The shepherd took a pair of scissors from his bag, freed the crow from the wool, and held him saying: What did you think you were going to do? The crow answered: I was trying to do as the eagle did. The shepherd burst out laughing again.
The crow was very embarrassed. He only wanted the shepherd to allow him to go so he could fly far away to his nest and hide his foolish head. Finally, when the shepherd allowed the crow to go, he flew as fast as he could.
The shepherd said to him: Next time you want to be an eagle, be careful. As for the crow, he felt his stupidity and foolishness and promised himself that from now on he would only do as other crows do!
Translated from the story: The Crow and The Eagle