Having perched on the King-Coconut tree, while he was eating the section of Jak a Crested Eagle, flying above, seizing the Golden Oriole for the purpose of the Crested Eagle’s food, flew aloft [with him].
While it was flying [away with him] the Golden Oriole says, “For the fault that I committed (i.e., the pride in his personal appearance), taking me let us go flying still higher,” he said to the Crested Eagle. Thereupon the Crested Eagle having killed the Golden Oriole ate him.
North-central Province.
This story reminds me of a little tragedy that I witnessed many years ago at Anurādhapura. While I was sitting in the veranda of the Rest-house, my attention was attracted by a friendly Black Robin (Thamnobia fulicata), a bird in habits much like the common Robin of Europe and with the same trustful confidence in man. After picking up insects on the ground close to the veranda it flew up, and perching in the shade on the lower branch of a tree a few feet distant from me, in the full enjoyment of its innocent life uttered a happy little song. Suddenly, in the midst of its notes there was a downward rush of a dark bird from behind, and in an instant the hapless Robin was being carried away in the merciless claws of a Sparrowhawk which must have been hidden in another part of the tree. The hawk was merely fulfilling the Law of Nature; the strong always devours the weak, without pity.
In A. von Schiefner’s Tibetan Tales (Ralston), p. 355, a crow which uttered agreeable (that is, auspicious) sounds when a woman’s husband was absent on a journey, was promised a golden cap by her if he returned safe and sound. When he came back in health and the crow repeated the agreeable sounds, she gave it the cap, and the crow put it on and flew about proudly with it. A falcon, seeing the cap, then tore off the crow’s head on account of it (apparently because it coveted the gold).
No. 182
The Story of the Vīra Tree Fish-Owls[1]
There was a certain Bakarāwatā City. At the same city seven Fish-Owls who were friends dwelt at one place. Out of them the name of one was Rāwanā-Face; [the names of the others were] Great-Fisher, Long-Boned-One, Dumb-One, Trap-Setter, Noisy-Drummer, Big-Fool.[2]