Once the birds gathered and began to judge and sort out who was bad in what way. One is reproached for one thing, the other for another, and each honestly admits if she is guilty of anything. And why talk for a long time, because everyone knows each other.
It was the cuckoo's turn.
- Eh, cuckoo, cuckoo, you should be ashamed more than anyone else, you’re laying your eggs in other people’s nests!
Everyone thought that she would bow her head in shame and not say a word in response, but they were mistaken. The cuckoo ruffled its feathers and opened its beak:
- Just think! You reproach me for laying eggs in other people’s nests, but don’t say a word to the fish, but they throw their eggs directly into the water.
“Don’t worry, cuckoo,” said one old bird, who had hatched many cuckoo eggs, “if we had to feed the fish’s babies, then the fish would get a lot from us, too!”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru