One day a magpie addressed her chicks with the words:
“My children, you have already grown up, and the time has come for you to get your own food and live your own life.”
She said so and, leaving the nest, flew with the chicks to the neighboring grove. She showed them how to catch midges and insects, how to drink water from a taiga lake. But the chicks don’t want to do anything themselves.
“Let’s fly back to the nest,” they whine. “It was so good when you brought us all sorts of worms and shoved them into our mouths.” No worries, no hassle.
“My children,” the magpie tells them again. – You have already become big, and my mother threw me out of the nest when I was very young...
– What if they shoot us with a bow? - the chicks ask.
“Don’t be afraid,” answers the magpie. – Before shooting, a person takes aim for a long time, so that the nimble bird always has time to fly away.
“All this is true,” the chicks began to chatter, “but what will happen if a person throws a stone at us?” Any boy can do this without even aiming.
“In order to take a stone, a person bends down,” answers the magpie.
What if a person has a stone in his bosom? - asked the chicks.
“Whoever with his own mind came up with the idea of a stone hidden in his bosom will be able to save himself from death,” said the magpie and flew away.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru