It is told that there was a crow living in a nest on a tree, and beside its tree was the burrow of a large black snake. Whenever the crow laid eggs, the snake would wait until the crow’s chicks hatched from the eggs, then attack the chicks and eat them.
The crow became sad and went to a friend, telling him what the snake was doing. He said to his friend, “I will lie in wait for the snake’s burrow until it sleeps, then I will attack it and peck its eyes in revenge for my chicks.” His friend replied to him, “Do not do that, my friend. Perhaps if you do that, the snake will kill you, and you will become like the bird who lay in wait for the crab and killed itself.” So the crow asked his friend what the story of that bird was. His friend told him:
It is said that there was a bird living beside a pond, and this bird fed on catching fish from the pond. Until it grew old and its vision weakened, and it could no longer hunt. When hunger afflicted it, it thought of a trick to catch fish without effort.
One day, a crab passed by it, and it thought of executing its plan. It pretended to be sad. The crab asked it, “Why do I see you sad?” It said to him, “I saw today two fishermen who want to catch fish from this pond, but one of them said to his companion that I know another pond that has more fish than this pond. So let us go there first to finish the fish there, then we will return to catch the fish existing in this pond.”
The crab hurried to the pond and told the fish what the bird said. The fish hurried to the bird quickly and asked him, “What should we do?” The bird said to them, “I know a pond near here with many fish and great waters. I can take you there.”
The fish believed the bird’s words and agreed with him to transport two fish every day. He would take two fish every day and go behind the hills, then eat them. One day, the crab came to him and asked him to transport it like the fish.
While the bird was with the crab and had approached the place where he ate the fish, the crab saw the fish bones. He knew the bird’s intention. He struck the bird’s neck with his hand until he killed it. The crab returned to the fish and told them what he did and that the bird died as a result of his trick.
The crow said to his friend, “Why did you not tell me that story?” He said to him, “I wanted you to learn that some trickery may destroy its owner, so be patient.” The crow said to his friend, “So what should I do to save myself from that snake so that it does not kill my chicks again?”
He said to him, “Go to the people’s houses and try to steal some jewelry, then go to the snake’s burrow and throw the jewelry there. So the crow flew until he found a group of ladies. He snatched a necklace from them and flew away. The women screamed, and the people chased the crow until he reached the snake’s burrow and threw the necklace inside it. When the people reached the necklace’s place, they found the snake inside it. The people gathered around it and killed it so that it would not harm anyone. The crow rejoiced that he was saved from the killer of his chicks forever.
From stories of wisdom and prudence.