This was a long time ago, at the very beginning of the world, when the earth was still unfinished. There were mountains, valleys, forests and fields on it, but there were no rivers, lakes, or springs of cold water. People still had this way: they would dig a deep well, get water and live comfortably. But what about animals and birds? After all, you can’t run to a distant sea if you want to drink, but puddles dry up quickly after rain, and the water goes into the ground. And the animals and birds gathered in a large meeting to decide what to do. We thought for a long time, thought this way and that and decided to dig large reservoirs, lakes, rivers and streams, dig springs. And while they work, so that neither the wolf of the lamb, nor the kite of the chicken, nor the fox touches the hare. And everyone agreed with this. Only the Pigalitsa Kanya has an idea of something about herself: she’s walking around on long legs, stroking her white chest.
“There are many of you,” he says, “even without me.” I don’t have claws, my legs are thin, where can I dig the ground with them? My feathers are white, I’ll still get dirty. And I’m not used to running on the ground. Whether it’s a matter of swimming in the sky, here I feel like I’m at home with my father.
“So you,” the animals and birds were indignant, “want us to work for you?”
“But I’m not asking you,” the Kanya answers arrogantly, “the dew will fall, I’ll drink from a leaf, it will rain, my wings are fast, I’ll swallow drops on the fly.” How much water do I need?
Animals and birds see that this is bringing discord into a large gathering, which can ruin the whole thing if there are still such hunters. And a large meeting of animals and birds decided to curse the canya with a terrible curse:
- So that the kane, nor her entire family, should ever drink water from rivers, streams, lakes, springs, or from the blue sea itself.
And they got to work themselves. Moles were looking for water veins underground. The bear was writhing and uprooting stones. Wild pigs dug ditches with their snouts. The partridges were raking the ground. The first swallow took the lump of earth in its beak, carried it to a hillock and poured it out. And after her, all the other birds began to carry earth in their beaks from future river beds. They worked for many years until rivers and lakes were dug up all over the land, and the earth from them was carried out grain by grain onto the hills. But life has come for them to be good: live wherever you want, wherever you want to raise your children, there is water everywhere. And they became so accustomed to the places where they worked together that they began to settle most often near the water, and geese, ducks, seagulls, and among the animals - beaver, otter and many others, remained to live on the water. Kanya also settled near the water. Even if she wanted to drink water from a river or spring, she couldn’t: the water got stuck in her beak. Only then can she get drunk when a drop of dew simply rolls down her throat or raindrops fall directly into her mouth.
Even if dry weather happens, birds and animals will not grieve: small streams will dry up - large rivers and lakes will remain. And then the cane’s grief is bitter, and it begins to fly and glide:
- Drink, drink, drink...
And it floats around until it rains.
That's why, when the kani fly and ask for a drink, people know that it will rain soon.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru