It was a very long time ago, when all birds lived in warm lands. In Altai, only rivers chirped. The southern birds heard this song of water and wanted to find out who was ringing so loudly, singing so merrily, what joy happened in Altai.
However, flying to an unknown land was very scary. In vain did the golden eagle persuade its falcons and hawks, owls and cuckoos. Of all the birds, only the titmouse dared to go north.
- Listen! - the golden eagle shouted to her. - If it’s good there, come back now and show the birds the way!
The titmouse, straightening its wings, flew away.
Then she saw the rolling mountains. Altai was as pink as evening. A tit descended from the sky into a flowering maral bush. Snow flakes fell from the clouds, but the maralflower bloomed and bloomed so profusely that neither leaves nor branches were visible because of the pink petals.
The tit looked down. All the snow in Altai was in bloom. Light yellow and blue flowers stood shaggy, like bear cubs. The tit wanted to eat, and right there, in the snow, she found last year’s grain, and a dried berry was lying nearby, and even further away a worm was swarming.
The titmouse in Altai's mind began to play, and his head became light. She forgot why she flew here, who sent her. She doesn’t even remember where she was born. Suddenly the sky turned black. The tit saw the bird army. A formidable golden eagle was flying ahead of everyone.
- Dil-kel! Dil-kel! - the titmouse shouted. - Spring, come! Spring, come!
And the golden eagle is already circling above her.
- Why didn’t you come back? Why didn’t she invite us to this region?
- I bow to you to the ground, great golden eagle! In this region there is ice in seven rows. Snow falls from seventy clouds. I’m sitting here, calling on spring with all my might: “Dil-kel! Dil-kel! Spring, come! Spring, come! It was at my request that the warm wind blew. Dil-kel! Dil-kel!
I was just about to fly after you. “Spring, come! Spring, come!
The golden eagle landed on a branch, raised its wing and looked through the wing at Altai: there were mountains covered in snow; snow lay in the valleys.
- Dil-kel! Dil-kel! - the titmouse screamed.
And where this song was heard, the snow actually shrunk and flowed down in streams.
“This time I forgive you,” said the golden eagle to the tit. “Next year we will see whether you are telling the truth.”
Since then, to prevent the deception from being revealed, the tit begins its spring song before all other birds:
"Dil-kel! Dil-kel! Spring, come! Spring, come!" And other birds start singing after her.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru