Village sparrows are accustomed to feeding on grain and, as soon as the grain ripens, they flock in flocks to lek.
One day, a peasant spilled wine leaven on the drain and hid nearby in a hut. Soon a flock of sparrows arrived. Jumping from place to place, they began to peck the leaven along with the grain. The sparrows quickly became intoxicated, and the peasant easily caught them.
But one sparrow did not have time to get drunk and, albeit with difficulty, flew up a tree.
As soon as the wine began to take effect, he, forgetting about the danger that had just threatened him, sang joyfully:
“I’m not afraid of anyone, I’m not afraid of anything!” After the phoenix, I am the greatest of birds!
At the same time, he chased away the cicada from the tree, pecked the swallow chick several times and, pleased with himself, sang again:
“I’m not afraid of anyone, I’m not afraid of anything!” After the phoenix, I am the greatest of birds!
Soon a magpie landed on a branch, and the sparrow decided to treat it the same way as with the swallow chick. The magpie saw that he was drunk, did not want to mess with him and flew away. The sparrow became even more self-satisfied: he not only sang with joy, but also danced.
The whole forest quickly learned that the sparrow had taken full possession of the tree. The dove doubted and decided to check for himself whether this was so. And who would have thought: as soon as he sat down on the tree, a sparrow began to peck at his head!
Taken by surprise, the dove flew away and landed on another tree. The sparrow thought that the dove was also frightened of him, and sang again:
“I’m not afraid of anyone, I’m not afraid of anything!” After the phoenix, I am the greatest of birds!
The pigeon was very annoyed; he sat on a nearby tree and watched the antics of the drunken sparrow. Then he hurried to the kite:
“Brother, the sparrow has captured the whole tree, and none of the birds dares to go down there.” He drove away a cicada, pecked at a swallow and a magpie so that they had to fly away, and I barely sat down on a tree when I lost more than a dozen feathers! And yet he still sings all the time!
- What is he singing? - “I’m not afraid of anyone, I’m not afraid of anything! After the phoenix, I am the greatest of birds!” He doesn’t even consider you, big brother!
Before the dove had time to finish speaking, the angry kite spread its wings and flew to the tree where the sparrow was sitting. A dove, a magpie, a swallow and a cicada followed him. And at that moment, when the sparrow began his song again in a ringing voice, the kite fell on top of him like a stone... but missed.
And the sparrow darted into the thicket of thorny bushes that grew under the tree. The kite rushed after him, but he was very large and could not get through the thickets. Then he stopped and asked angrily:
- Well, which of us is greater - you or me? - You, of course! “You are even greater than the phoenix,” the sparrow answered in a trembling voice. - Oh, you turtle son! Will you still brag? “Forgive me, I ate too much wine and chatted drunk,” said the sparrow, and tears fell from his eyes.
The kite looked at him, grumbled something angrily and flew away.
The kite had long since disappeared from view, and the sparrow still did not dare to crawl out of the bush. The swallow, dove and magpie gathered around laughed contemptuously, and the cicada endlessly repeated:
- Chi, Chi - shame, shame!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru