"Not my shell, but your bones are left to dry with the bones of the Fishes," said the Crab.
XVIII.
WHY THE OWL IS NOT KING OF THE BIRDS
Why is it that Crows torment the Owls as they sleep in the daytime? For the same reason that the Owls try to kill the Crows while they sleep at night.
Listen to a tale of long ago and then you will see why.
Once upon a time, the people who lived together when the world was young took a certain man for their king. The four-footed animals also took one of their number for their king. The fish in the ocean chose a king to rule over them. Then the birds gathered together on a great flat rock, crying:
"Among men there is a king, and among the beasts, and the fish have one, too; but we birds have none. We ought to have a king. Let us choose one now."
And so the birds talked the matter over and at last they all said, "Let us have the Owl for our king."