It was a long time ago. The raven and the owl lived together - they got food together, divided everything equally, and knew no need. They lived a long time, grew old and became whiter than snow with gray hair.
So one day the owl says to the raven:
“You and I have grown quite old, but we have never been beautiful.” All the birds have colorful outfits - red, black, gray, but you and I are only visible in the short summer.
“And it’s true,” said the raven, “you can’t see us when we’re sitting in the snow.”
“Let’s decorate each other,” suggested the owl. - First you me, and then I you.
The raven agreed. He took the black grease from the lamp, pulled out a feather from his tail and told the owl to get ready. The owl sat down on a stone, and the raven carefully began to paint it. He walks around the stone and draws beautiful black spots on each feather. A raven paints an owl, and he thinks: “I’ll try to make her a beauty. She’ll see my work and make me handsome too.”
The raven tried for a long time. The owl got tired of sitting and thought: “The raven tortured me. When his turn comes, I’ll paint him in no time.”
Finally the raven finished his work and said:
- Look how beautiful I made you! Now dry in the wind and paint me!
The owl dried up in the wind and told the raven to get ready. The raven sat on a stone, and the owl said: .
- No, sit next to the stone. I will paint you differently. Close your eyes and open them when I tell you!
The raven sat down by the stone, closed his eyes, and waited. Meanwhile, A. the owl took a lamp with black fat deposits, perched on a stone and doused the raven from head to tail. In an instant the raven turned black.
“Now,” says the owl, “dry in the wind, and then open your eyes and look at yourself.” Although I painted you quickly, now everyone will notice you both in winter and summer!
The raven dried up in the wind, opened its eyes and shouted:
- What have you done! You made me black! Now every little bunny, every mouse will see me from afar! How will I get my food? You made me noticeable!
Owl said:
- I wanted to be handsome! The raven got really angry:
- I tried so hard to paint you! You are now a beauty! And you made me black! And my children will be black! Get out of here, owl, get out!
The owl got scared. Flew away from the raven.
Since then, the raven became black, and the owl became motley. And the owl tries not to meet the raven - she is afraid of him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru