One poor student was such a scientist that he even knew the language of birds. His name was Gong Yechan.
One day, while sitting at home reading a book, Gun Yechan suddenly heard a bird singing outside the window. The student looked out the window and saw a pretty bird on a tree.
“Gong Yechan, Gong Yechan, there is a white ram on the southern mountain!” Bring it home, take the meat for yourself, and give the intestines to me,” the bird sang several times.
Gun Yechan decided to check if the bird was singing the truth. He took a rope, went to the southern mountain, and reached the very top. And sure enough, there lay a dead white sheep.
Gong Yechan tied the ram with a rope, put it on his back and brought it home. The ram was so large and fat that Gun Yechan ate to his fill for many days.
And he threw away the intestines! In my joy I completely forgot to give them to the bird.
Several days passed. Gun Yechan was sitting and reading his books and suddenly the bird sang again:
“Gong Yechan, Gong Yechan, there is a white ram on the southern mountain!” Gong Yechan, Gong Yechan, there is a white ram on the southern mountain!
Gong Yechan was overjoyed, grabbed the rope and quickly ran towards the mountain. From afar, he noticed a crowd of people surrounding something on the top of the mountain. He shouted to them: “Don’t touch, don’t touch!” This is mine, I killed it!
The people, hearing his cry, ran to meet him, grabbed him and tied his hands with a rope. Gong Yechan couldn't understand anything.
- Why did you tie me up? he asked.
“You said you killed him.” “Now we will send you to the judge,” the people answered and led him to the place where he found the white ram. Now a dead man lay there.
Gong Yechan was brought to the judge and tried. Then he told everything about the bird: how it flew to him, what it sang to him, how he found the white ram.
“Are you telling me that the bird asked you to give her the intestines of a ram?” - asked the judge. -Did you do it?
And only then Gun Yechan remembered that he had not fulfilled the bird’s request, and realized that everything that had now happened to him was the bird’s revenge for his ingratitude.
The judge ordered Gong Yechan to be put in prison because he did not believe what he said. But still I decided to check whether it was true that the student understood bird language.
The next day, the judge took the chicks from the swallow’s nest, which was built under the roof of his house, and hid them in a box. The mother swallow restlessly circled over the house and chirped pitifully. Then the judge ordered Gong Yechan to be brought in and asked him:
“You said that you understand the language of birds.” Tell me, what is this swallow whispering about?
Gong Yechan listened and said: “Mr. Judge, Mister Judge, there was no resentment or enmity between us, why did you take my children and hide them in a box?”
Then the judge said to Gong Yechan: “Now I believe everything you said in court.” Go home, but remember: you must be grateful to everyone who does you good, even to a little bird.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru