This was a long time ago, back in the days when animals knew how to talk to each other like people. One dove built a nest in a field and hatched chicks. The dove and dove flew to distant villages to get food, and the chicks waited for them in the nest. Their wings are not yet strong, but the grain in the field is already ripe. The pigeons saw that the peasants were harvesting crops in the neighboring fields, and ordered their chicks to eavesdrop on what the owner of the field would say to his sons.
A few days later a peasant came to the field with his three sons. He saw the ripe ears of corn and said:
- Look, everyone has already started cleaning, and we are still sitting with our hands folded.
“Don’t worry, father,” the eldest son answers. “Tomorrow I’ll call my friends, and in one day we’ll remove everything, down to the last spikelet.”
They talked, joked, and went their separate ways. The chicks remembered everything that was said, and in the evening they told their parents.
The dove got scared:
“We need to leave here this very minute, otherwise our nest will be destroyed in the morning!”
But the dove has seen a lot in its lifetime.
“Remember my words,” he said, “never rely on others.” Don't be afraid, no one will come here tomorrow.
Indeed, when the next day the eldest son went to call his friends, no one came to his aid. The peasant with his younger sons sat in the field until noon, waiting, maybe at least someone would come. And in the afternoon the middle son said:
- Father, don’t bother! Tomorrow I’ll call the neighbors and we’ll remove the grain in no time!
The chicks heard these words and immediately conveyed everything to their parents. But the wise dove said this time:
– Don’t be afraid, they won’t remove even a single grain of corn tomorrow! The next day, the peasant and his two sons went to the field, and the middle son went to fetch his neighbors. But they began to make excuses under different guise, so he didn’t bring anyone.
The peasant waited in the field all day in vain. Then the youngest son said:
– I’ll call my relatives tomorrow. After all, they are our own people - they will certainly come and help us.
In the evening the chicks told their parents about this, but the dove was still calm.
- Don't worry, everything will be fine! - he said. The youngest son went to fetch his relatives, but he also failed to persuade anyone.
And then the peasant said:
- Let's rely on others - we'll spend our whole lives in vain. Tomorrow morning we’ll take the sickles and start cleaning up ourselves. God help us, we’ll get through this in a few days.
And the chicks passed this on to their parents. Then the dove said:
“Now it’s time for us to fly away.”
And they moved their nest to another place.
And the next day, as soon as it was dawn, a peasant came to the field with his sons and began to harvest the crops.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru