The Dinewan Emu, as the largest bird, was recognized as the king of all birds. The Gumble-gabbon bustards were jealous of the Dinewans. The Goombal-gabbon mother was especially jealous of the Dinevan mother. She looked with envy at the high flight of the Dinevans and their fast running. She thought that Mother Dinewan was showing off her superiority to her when, after a long and high flight, she descended to the ground near her, flapping her large wings and began to coo proudly. It wasn't the loud cooing of a male; it was a quiet, triumphant, satisfied sound that always irritated Gumble-gabbon.
Gumble-gabbon thought long and hard about how to end Dinewan's dominance. She decided that she could achieve this only by damaging her wings and depriving her of the ability to fly. But how to do this? She knew that she would achieve nothing by quarreling and openly fighting with Dinewan, because no Goombal-Gabbon could stand against Dinewan. Obviously, she must achieve her goal by cunning.
One day, seeing Dinewan coming towards her from afar, Gumble-gabbon sat down on the ground and folded her wings so that it seemed as if she had none.
When Dinevan talked to her a little, Gumble-gabbon asked:
- Why don’t you imitate me and do without wings? Every bird flies. And the Dinewans, to be kings of the birds, must not fly. If all the birds see that I am without wings, they will understand that I am the smartest and will make me queen.
“But you have wings,” said Dinevan.
“No, I don’t have them.” And in fact, she looked wingless, her wings were so well hidden when she sat in the grass.
Dinevan left and thought for a long time about what she heard. She discussed everything with her husband, who was just as upset as she was. They decided not to let Gumble-gabbon reign in their stead, even if they had to lose their wings to retain their kingship.
In the end they decided to sacrifice their wings. Dinevan mother set an example and persuaded her husband to cut off her wings with a Kambu stone ax, and then chopped them off for him.
As soon as this operation was completed, Dynevan the mother decided to quickly inform Gumble-gabbon about what they had done. She ran to the plain where she had left the Gumble-gabbon, and finding her still sitting on the ground, she exclaimed:
- Look, I followed your example. I no longer have wings, they have been cut off.
- Ha-ha-ha! - Gumble-gabbon laughed and, jumping up, began to dance with joy. How cleverly everything worked out! She spread her wings, flapped them and said:
“I deceived you, short-winged one.” Here are my wings! Is it worth choosing you, Dinevans, as kings if you are so easy to deceive? Ha ha ha!
And, mocking, Gumble-gabbon loudly flapped her wings in front of Dinevan. Dinevan rushed to her to punish her for deceiving her. But Gumble-gabbon flew away, and the now wingless Dinevan could not catch up with her.
Dinevan walked away, pondering her misfortune. She decided to take revenge. But how? Neither she nor her husband knew. Finally, Mother Dinevan came up with a plan and prepared to carry it out.
She hid all her little Dinewans, except two, under a large bush, and with the two little ones she went to the plain to the Gumble-gabbon. Descending from the pebble morilla ridge where her home was, she saw Gumble-gabbon with her twelve children.
After talking with Gumble-gabbon, she suddenly said:
- Why don't you imitate me? I only have two children. Twelve is too many to feed them. If you have many children, they will never grow up to be big birds like the Dinewans.
Gumble-gabbon didn't say anything, but she thought that Dinevan was right. Indeed, the young Dinevans were much larger than the children of Gumble-gabbon. The upset Gumble-gabbon thought: “Is it because my children are so small that there are more of them than Dinewan? How nice it would be to grow them as big as the Dinewans!” Then she remembered how she had deceived Dinevan, and thought that she too could be deceived. But, looking at where the Dinewans were feeding, and seeing how much larger the two young emus were than her chicks, she immediately became incredibly jealous.
“The Dinewans must not be the royal birds of the plains!” - she decided. - Gumble-gabbons will replace them. They will grow as big as the Dinewans, keep their wings and fly, which they cannot now
do Dinewans.
And Gumble-gabbon killed all her chicks except two. Then she went to where the Dinewans were feeding.
Seeing Gumble-gabbon with only two children, Dinevan asked:
- Where are your other chicks?
“I killed them, leaving only two.” They will have plenty to eat and will grow as big as
yours.
“You are a cruel mother, you killed your children.” You are a greedy mother. I have twelve chicks, and I feed them all. There's no way in hell I'll kill one of them. Even if I received my wings in return. There is enough food for everyone here. Look at the bush - it is covered with berries to feed my large family. Look at the grasshoppers - they jump around so that we can catch and eat them.
- But you only have two children!
- No, I have twelve of them. I’ll go and bring them.” And Dinevan ran to the bush where she hid her ten chicks.
Soon she was returning, her neck stretched out, her head thrown back proudly, and the feathers of her bubu-tell tail swaying as she ran. She made strange noises in her throat—the Dinevans' song of joy. Beautiful, gentle little ones with striped plumage ran alongside her, whistling the Dinevan children's song.
Approaching Gumble-gabbon, Dinevan stopped cooing and said solemnly:
- See, I was telling the truth. Here are my twelve children. You can look at them and think about your poor murdered children. And while you are thinking, I will predict the fate of your descendants. By cunning and deception you have deprived the Dinewans of their wings, and while the Dinewans are wingless, the Gumble-gabbon will lay only two eggs and have two children. We're even: you have wings, and I have children.
Since then, the Dinewan emu has no wings, and the Gumble-gabbon, a bustard, lays only two eggs every season.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru