One day, a mosquito saw a lizard drinking from the river and said to her: “Do you believe what I saw today, my friend?” The lizard replied: “What did you see?” The mosquito said confidently: “I saw a farmer harvesting potato fruits from his field, and each fruit was as big as my head.”
The lizard replied mockingly: “And what is the size of your head, oh mosquito, compared to potato fruits? By God, deafness is better than hearing this nonsense.” The lizard took two reed sticks and closed her ears with them, then continued on her way in the forest.
While the lizard was walking, the snake saw her and greeted her, saying: “Welcome, my friend the lizard.” The lizard did not hear him and continued on her way. The snake stopped and wondered, saying: “My friend the lizard must be angry with me and plotting a conspiracy against me. My father had warned me about her changing colors and fickleness.” The snake looked around with caution and quickly hid in the first opening he saw in the ground, which was the rabbit’s burrow.
When the rabbit saw the huge snake invading his burrow, he quickly escaped through a small opening in the burrow. The crow saw the rabbit running quickly, became frightened, and felt danger. Then he flew into the forest to warn the animals and birds.
The monkey heard the crow’s warning and thought that a hunter had invaded the forest. The monkey began to jump quickly from tree to tree. Suddenly, one of the branches broke, and the monkey fell on the owl’s nest, unintentionally killing one of her young.
The owl was still outside hunting food for her young. When she returned and saw her young one, she cried and her hooting sound rose. The animals complained about the owl, who kept hooting throughout the night to the king of the forest. He called an emergency meeting.
The king asked the monkey, who said fearfully: “I did not intend to harm the little owl, but it was the crow’s mistake who warned me of danger. Without intending to, I jumped to escape, the tree branch broke, and I fell on the owl’s nest.”
The lion king said: “Then it is the crow. Where is the crow?” The crow shouted in fear: “Oh king, it is the rabbit’s mistake, for I saw him escaping from his burrow, so I felt danger.” The king said: “Then it is the crow who caused the killing of the little owl. Where is the rabbit?” The rabbit replied in terror: “It is the snake’s mistake, for he invaded my burrow, so I felt danger and escaped.” The king said: “Then it is the snake who caused the killing of the little owl. Where is the snake?”
The snake crawled and approached the lion, saying: “I saw my friend the lizard approaching, so I greeted her, but she did not respond to me. I felt she was plotting a conspiracy against me. While I was looking for a place to hide, I mistakenly invaded the rabbit’s burrow.”
The lion shook his head and said: “It is the lizard who caused the killing of the little owl. Where is the lizard who changes colors?” The lizard came crawling, with the two sticks still in her ears. The king removed the sticks from her ears and said to her angrily: “What conspiracy were you plotting against the snake, oh lizard?” The lizard replied in astonishment and terror: “A conspiracy? The snake is my friend.” The snake asked her: “Then why did you not respond to my greeting today?” The lizard replied with the same astonishment: “I did not hear you. I did not even see you. The mosquito said words to me that I could not bear to hear, so I closed my ears to it.”
The lion laughed and his voice became a loud roar. He said: “Then it is the mosquito’s mistake, who annoyed the lizard, whom the snake feared, who frightened the rabbit, so he escaped and the crow saw him, so he warned the monkey to escape, and he fell on the owl’s nest, killing her young, and she hoots in sadness over him.”
All the animals shouted in a loud voice: “Punish the mosquito, oh king.” The king issued his order to arrest the mosquito, who had not attended the meeting. But she was listening to what was going on in it, so she fled and was not found by anyone. But since that day, she lives with a tormented conscience, and therefore she approaches ears to buzz in them, with her constant question saying: “Is everyone still angry with me?” As for the owl, whenever dawn approaches, she remembers her young and continues to hoot to this day in sadness over him.