The jackdaw the eagle and the shepherd

07/25/20 • 3 min

THE EAGLE, THE JACKDAW, AND THE SHEPHERD

Jackdaw sat in a tree, amazed, his eyes fixed on an eagle, soaring overhead. He watched as the eagle swooped over a flock of sheep, grazing on the grassy hills, his wings glinting like gold in the late summer sun. Jackdaw sighed. More than anything he wished he could be like Eagle.

“He’s so beautiful.” Thought jackdaw. “So magnificent, and so powerful.”

Then, suddenly, Eagle swooped down, fast. He shot past the shepherd on the hill and grabbed a lamb in his outstretched talons. The shepherd ran to save his lamb, but with a triumphant cry, the eagle flew off, the lamb dangling from his claws, and disappeared toward the distant mountains.

Jackdaw watched it all, longingly, day dreaming that he were an eagle.

“Ha, ha, ha! You could never be like Eagle,” came a small voice.

Jackdaw glanced up to see a caterpillar on the branch above, laughing at him.

“Look at your sooty black feathers,” the caterpillar went on, “and your raggedy little wings. What do you eat? Nuts and fruit? Baby birds? You couldn’t catch anything as big as an eagle could catch.”

“I could catch you!” Snapped the jackdaw. The caterpillar darted behind some leaves, then laughed,

“And I could catch a lamb,” Jackdaw said. “Ha, I could catch a ram if I wanted,”

“Show me!” retorted the caterpillar, boldly popping up again.

“I will!” Said Jackdaw.

He set off, flapping his scraggy black wings, cawing loudly. He made so much noise, the shepherd on the hill looked over to see what was happening.

With a dramatic dive, jackdaw plopped down onto a ram’s back and grabbed its fleece with his claws. “Easy!” He cried. He looked around, pleased with himself, then flapped his wings to take off again. Nothing happened. The ram wouldn’t budge.

“He’s too heavy.” Panted Jackdaw. He looked around, embarrassed. “I’ll just fly away quietly,” he thought, “and pretend the whole thing never happened.” But he couldn’t. He was stuck. His claws were caught in the ram’s fleece, and no matter how hard he pulled and tugged... he was trapped.

From either end of the field, the shepherd and the caterpillar watched jackdaw. They both laughed.

At last the shepherd sauntered over to the struggling bird. He carefully placed his hands around Jackdaw’s belly and untangled his claws. Then he clipped his wings, put him in his bag and that night, took him home to his children.

“What is it? What kind of bird is it?”

“Well, it’s a jackdaw,” the shepherd replied, “But he seems to think he’s an eagle. Here,” he added, holding him out. “You can have him for a pet.”

And the moral is – don’t pretend to be something or someone you’re not.

THE EAGLE, THE JACKDAW, AND THE SHEPHERD

“He’s so beautiful.” Thought jackdaw. “So magnificent, and so powerful.”

Jackdaw watched it all, longingly, day dreaming that he were an eagle.

“Ha, ha, ha! You could never be like Eagle,” came a small voice.

Jackdaw glanced up to see a caterpillar on the branch above, laughing at him.

“I could catch you!” Snapped the jackdaw. The caterpillar darted behind some leaves, then laughed,

“And I could catch a lamb,” Jackdaw said. “Ha, I could catch a ram if I wanted,”

“Show me!” retorted the caterpillar, boldly popping up again.

“I will!” Said Jackdaw.

He set off, flapping his scraggy black wings, cawing loudly. He made so much noise, the shepherd on the hill looked over to see what was happening.

From either end of the field, the shepherd and the caterpillar watched jackdaw. They both laughed.

“What is it? What kind of bird is it?”

“Well, it’s a jackdaw,” the shepherd replied, “But he seems to think he’s an eagle. Here,” he added, holding him out. “You can have him for a pet.”

And the moral is – don’t pretend to be something or someone you’re not.

Previous Episode

Little Red Riding Hood part four

Then he ate all the sausages in Little Red Riding Hood’s basket, and the bread and butter, and all the jam and honey. Greedy, that’s what he was, greedy!

The wolf, now full of food, including two people, felt happily tired, he lay down on granny’s bed and fell into a deep sleep. Snore, snore, snore!

Back in the sturdy wooden home of Little Red Riding Hood’s family, her mother was getting very worried. Little Red Riding Hood should have been home by now. The snow hadn’t stopped falling, making her even more worried.

“Maybe she stayed with granny.” Said Little Red Riding Hood’s father. “She’s a clever girl, she knows not to try to come home in this weather when she’s safe and warm in her grandmother’s cottage.”

“I know, husband, but I have a terrible feeling that something is not right. Please go to grandmother’s cottage and make sure they’re safe.” Said Little Red Riding Hood’s mother. Because the woodcutter was big and strong, and afraid of nothing, and because he knew that there was no reasoning with his wife when she’s in this sort of mood, the woodcutter put on his warmest cloak, took his sharp axe from where it hung on the wall, and walked into the freezing, snowy night, into the woods, onto the path to grandmother’s cottage.

The snow was deep, but the woodcutter had long, strong, legs, he soon arrived at grandmother’s cottage. All was still – the woodcutter tapped on the door with his gloved hand. No reply. Inside, the wolf slept deeply, too deeply to hear the knocking. The woodcutter peeped in through one of the windows – to his horror, he could see the wolf lying on the bed, his big tummy round and fat, full of food, and, the woodcutter realised, full of his daughter and her granny! Mad with anger the woodcutter kicked the door down, and with a tremendous blow of his axe, he split the wicked wolf in two before it could even wake up. But killing the wolf didn’t stop the sorrow the woodcutter felt from the loss of his daughter and her granny, until – a miracle! The wolf had eaten Little Red Riding Hood and her granny so quickly that they were both still alive! A bit sticky, from being inside the wolf’s tummy, but alive! There they stood, blinking their eyes, and delighted to see Little red Riding Hood’s daddy, who was crying for joy at the sight of them. Little Red Riding Hood and her granny cleaned themselves up and had a cup of tea with Little Red Riding Hood’s daddy before heading back to the village to tell Little Red Riding Hood’s mummy all that had happened to them. Of course, she didn’t believe a word of it.

THE END

Next Episode

Mulan

A long time ago, there lived a girl in ancient China named Mulan. Mulan's father was a retired general. He had come home sick and frail. He was too old to fight, but not too old to teach Mulan how to ride a horse and use a sword. Girls usually did not learn these skills. But Mulan's father believed everyone should know how to fight, even girls.

One day, the government officials sent warriors to Mulan's village. War was coming. Men were needed for the army. The military leader of the group posted a list of names in the village square. Each name represented one volunteer, one man from each family.

Mulan saw her father's name on the list. She knew her father would never survive another battle. Mulan's brother was a young child. There was only Mulan who could take her father's place. But the military did not take girls as replacements for fighting men.

Quietly, the next morning, before her father could report for duty, Mulan stole his armour. She disguised herself as a man and reported for duty. The warriors accepted Mulan in her father's place, thinking she was a young man. Later that day, as the all men taken from the village marched away, Mulan saw her father, standing by the side of the road, shaking his head in confusion. He had reported for duty but was told he was not needed. That made no sense to him. He had not yet returned home and did not know that Mulan was missing.

Mulan was very careful over the years. No one ever suspected that she was a girl. When the war was over, Mulan received a special award from the emperor himself for her outstanding courage. The emperor gave her a horse, a bagful of gold, and wished her a safe trip home.

Her family greeted her with joy. Her brother was delighted with the gift of her military clothes. He dressed in them immediately. Mulan dressed once again in the clothes of a woman. That evening, Mulan and her family gathered together to watch the sunset.

A few days later, two of the men who had served with Mulan stopped by her home, on their way home. When Mulan came forth to greet them, they could not believe their eyes. One of them shouted, "You are not Mulan! What have you done with our friend?"

After recounting many shared memories, they finally believed that Mulan was the person they had believed was a man, who had fought by their side in many battles. They spread Mulan's story across China. Mulan's story inspired many young women, who demanded to learn how to ride a horse and use a sword, just like Mulan.