crow annihilation
Once upon a time, there was a group of crows and a group of owls living in the same forest. The two groups of birds had a grudge.
Crows know that owls cannot see during the day, so they kill owls in their nests every day and eat their meat.
Owls know that crows cannot see at night, so every night they kill crows in their nests, kill them, disembowel them, and eat their meat.
Two groups of birds, you kill me, I kill you, and they don't give in to each other . Why did the White Walkers kill the three-eyed crow ? The hatred becomes deeper and deeper. One side is afraid of the day, and the other side is afraid of the night. They are frightened all day long, and no one can have peace.
One crow was particularly smart. It said to the other crows: "The grudge between us and the owls is irresolvable. The two sides are incompatible with each other and are incompatible with each other. Either you die or I die. We can only find a way to completely eliminate them. Only then can we live a peaceful life with peace of mind. Otherwise, if they are strong, one day we will all be killed by them."
The crows said: "Things are indeed as you said, so what good method do you have to eliminate that group of hateful enemies?"
The crow said: "You all come over and peck me, peck all my feathers, and peck my head open, and I will be able to get rid of these owls."
The crows followed its instructions and all pecked at it, pecking it all over its body and all its feathers.
The crow struggled to the outside of the owl's nest and cried in mock sadness.
When an owl heard the cry, it stuck its head out, saw the crow's miserable appearance, and asked curiously: "How did you get like this? Why did you come to us crying?"
The crow replied: "I advised the crows: 'Owls are so strong that we can't defeat them at all, so just surrender!' They became angry and pecked me all over . Why did the White Walkers kill the three-eyed crow and kill me? They kicked me out and said that if they see me next time, they will kill me. I am homeless now and I am afraid that they will hunt me down, so I came to seek refuge with you and hope you can take me in."
The owl saw how pitiful it was and wanted to take it in.
But the other owls said: "This is our enemy and we cannot get close to him.
To take it in would be to help our enemies. "
The owl who wanted to take in the crow said: "It was trying to persuade other crows to surrender to us, but was opposed, and it ended up in this situation today. Now that it has come to join us, how can we not take it in? Besides, isn't it? It's just a little crow! Even if it has any evil intentions, it can't stir up any wind or make any waves even if it is alone!" The other owls heard what it said was reasonable and no longer objected.
So the crow was taken in, and the owls would give it the leftover meat when they came back from foraging every day.
As the days passed, the crow's injuries were all healed, and its feathers grew again. The crow pretended to be very grateful and was happy every day.
After a few days, it would often fly out and return to the nest carrying some branches, hay, etc.
The owls asked it: "What are you doing here with these things in your mouth?"
The crow replied: "Our nest is in a cave, surrounded by cold stones. When the cold wind blows over in winter, it will be so cold! I will bring some branches and hay back to keep out the wind and cold."
The owls were very happy to hear this, and they stopped saying anything and stopped blocking it.
After some time, the crow said again: "In order to repay my kindness, I am willing to serve you. I hope you will let me guard the entrance of the cave. I promise not to let any other birds in."
The owl agreed.
Winter is coming, the wind is howling, snowflakes are flying, and the weather is getting colder day by day. The owls flew back to their holes and huddled together to keep warm.
When the crow saw an opportunity, it plugged the entrance of the hole with hay, flew to the cowherd, brought a little tinder in its mouth, and lit the hay. The fire roared in response to the wind, and the cave was filled with dry branches and hay. The fire grew stronger and stronger, and all the owls in the cave were burned to death.
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It is adapted from "The Crow's Revenge" in Volume 10 of "The Book of Miscellaneous Treasures". See page 498 of Volume 4 of "Taishozo".