Once upon a time there lived a good king, but he had seemingly invisible enemies. The obedient and faithful cranes were very worried about his fate. Danger awaited the king at every step every day, especially at night, when evil enemies could easily surround the palace.
- What should we do? - the cranes thought, having gathered for advice. - After all, soldiers are of no use. Instead of dutifully serving and protecting the king, they sleep soundly at night. And the dogs run around so much during the day and get tired of hunting that you can’t rely on them either. All that remains is for us to guard the palace so that our good king can rest in peace.
And so the cranes divided into three flocks, assigning each a guard post and establishing a strict order for changing the guard. The largest flock of cranes is located in the meadow that extends around the palace; another occupied all the entrances and exits, and the remaining sentries were placed in the royal bedchamber itself, so as not to take their eyes off the sleeping sovereign for a minute.
- What if someone gets sleepy while on duty? - asked one young crane.
“And there is one sure remedy against this misfortune,” the leader, wise from life experience, reassured him. - Let each of you, standing at the post, hold a stone in his paw. If, at any moment, someone falls asleep, the stone will immediately fall out of the paw and notify everyone else with its noise.
Since then, the cranes have been alternately awake at night, standing on one leg and changing every two hours. And no one has yet dropped the stone from their paw, remaining faithful to the accepted agreement.
It is not for nothing that these cranes are called crowned or royal cranes for their nobility of soul and devotion to duty.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru