One morning two old hoopoe, a male and a female, felt that this time they would not fly out of the nest. A thick veil covered their eyes, although the sky was cloudless and the day promised to be sunny. But both of them saw only a cloudy haze and could no longer distinguish anything around them. The birds were old and weak. The feathers on the wings and tail became dull and broke like old branches. The strength was running out.
The old hoopoes decided not to leave the nest anymore and together wait for the last hour, which will not be slow to appear.
But they were mistaken - their children appeared. At first, one of the sons appeared, accidentally flying past. He noticed that the old parents were unwell and had a hard time alone, and flew to notify the other brothers and sisters.
When all the young hoopoes were gathered near their father’s house, one of them said:
— From our parents we received the greatest and most priceless gift - life. They fed and raised us, sparing neither strength nor love. And now, when both are blind, sick and no longer able to feed themselves, our sacred duty is to cure them and nurse them back to health!
After these words, everyone got down to business together. Some immediately began building a new, warmer nest, others went to catch bugs and worms, and the rest flew into the forest.
Soon a new nest was ready, where the children carefully moved their old parents. To warm them, they covered the old people with their wings, just as a hen warms her unhatched chicks with her own warmth. Then the parents were given spring water to drink, fed, and the matted down and old brittle feathers were carefully plucked out. Finally, the rest of the hoopoes returned from the forest, bringing in their beaks a herb that healed blindness. Everyone began to heal the sick with the juice of the miraculous herb. But the treatment was slow, and we had to be patient, replacing each other and not leaving the parents alone for a minute.
And then a joyful day came when the father and mother opened their eyes, looked around and recognized all their children. So the sons, gratitude and love, healed their parents, restoring their sight and strength.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru