THE Crow once caught the Wren, and said to
her, "I will eat you now. ' The Wren wailed to herself "oh, my little
daughter, my little daughter, who will look after you when I am dead?" The
Crow thought to himself, "This Wren is old and tough, but her daughter
will be young and soft, 'and so he suggested to the Wren, I will let you go if
you will promise to give me your daughter to eat on the seventh day from now.'
The Wren promised and the Crow let her go.
On the seventh day, the Crow came to the
Wren asked for her daughter.
"You eat all sorts of rubbish," said
the Wren your beak is dirty. My daughter is clean and sweet, and unless you
wash your mouth in front of me, I cannot put my daughter in your beak.
"All right," replied the Crow,
"I will come back. with some water. ' Then he flew away.
The Crow went to the Water, and said:
"Water, Water, come with me,
To wash the Beak,
To eat the little Wren.’
The Water replied, "How can you take
me away without a pot? So, go and get a pot first."
"All right," said the Crow, and flew
away.
The Crow then went to the Pot and said:
Pot, Pot, come with me,
To fetch the Water,
To wash the Beak,
To eat the little Wren.'
"I am willing to come replied the Pot,
but I have a hole in my side. So please go and fetch some mud to fill up the
hole.'
"All right, 'said the Crow, and flew
away. The Crow then went to the Mud and said:
"Mud, Mud, come with me,
To
mend the Pot,
To
fetch the Water,
To
wash the Beak,
To
eat the little Wren. '
"I am willing to come replied the
Mud," but I am too hard to mend the Pot. So please ask some buffalo to
come and wallow here.
"All right," said the Crow, and
flew away. The Crow then went to the Buffalo and said:
Buffalo, Buffalo, come with me,
To
wallow the Mud,
To mend the Pot To fetch the Water,
To
wash the Beak,
To eat the little Wren.'
"I am willing to come replied the
Buffalo," but I am too weak with hunger to wallow. Please get me some
grass to eat. "
"All right, 'said the Crow, and flew
away. The Crow then went to the Grass and said:
" Grass, Grass, come with me,
To
feed the Buffalo,
To
wallow the Mud,
To
mend the Pot,
To fetch the Water,
To
wash the Beak,
To
eat the little Wren. '
"I am willing to come replied the Grass,
but the Buffalo is such a big eater, and he needs more of me. If you can give
me some fresh land, I will grow more until there is enough of me for the
Buffalo."
"All right, 'said the Crow, and flew
away. The Crow then went to the Land and said:
Land, Land, come with me,
To
grow the Grass,
To feed the Buffalo,
To
wallow the Mud,
To
mend the Pot,
To fetch the Water,
To wash the Beak,
To eat the little Wren, "
" I am willing to come replied the
Land, "but, you see, I am covered with forest. How can the Grass grow on
me, unless the forest is cleared? '
"All right," said the Crow, and flew
away. The Crow then went to the Forest and said:
Forest, Forest, go away,
To
clear the Land,
To
grow the Grass,
To feed the Buffalo,
To
wallow the Mud,
To mend the Pot,
To fetch the Water,
To
wash the Beak,
To
eat the little Wren. '
"I am willing to go away," replied
the Forest, "but I cannot move, as the roots of my trees are stuck in the
ground. If you will please fetch a fire, and bum me up, the Land will be
cleared".
All right, "said the Crow, and flew away.
The Crow then went to the Fire and said:"
Fire, Fire, come with me,
To
burn the Forest,
To clear the Land,
To
grow the Grass,
To
feed the Buffalo,
To
wallow the Mud,
To mend the Pot,
To
fetch the Water,
To
wash the Beak,
To
eat the little Wren.’
"I will come replied the Fire. The
Crow in great joy flew back towards the Forest with the Fire in his beak, but
before he could reach it, his beak had become so badly burned that he had to
drop the Fire. Giving up all hope of eating the little Wren, the Crow flew home
in disgust.


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