In one southern country, somehow all the birds flocked to their general meeting.
“It’s very hot, it gets sultry here in the summer,” they said to each other. “We ourselves are suffering without water, and our eggs in the nests in such heat are rotting, and the chicks are dying without being born.” Shouldn't we choose someone smarter and stronger, and shouldn't we send him to look for another country, more northern than ours?
And it was decided to send a golden eagle: he, they say, with his strength, will not be lost on the road; If he gets hungry, he will always find food; if there is no water, he can do without water. And besides, God did not harm this bird with its intelligence.
“Fly, golden eagle, find out everything, and when you come back, you’ll tell us.”
Having said goodbye to his golden eagle wife and small children, the golden eagle flew north - only a large black shadow spread across the ground.
The golden eagle flew away, and a teal, a small bird, the smallest of all the duck breed, began to hover around his wife. For some reason—maybe its beautiful plumage—the golden eagle’s wife also liked the teal. She gave him some assignment, and he carried it out with extraordinary agility. Little by little they became friends, and then entered into a love affair. The little teal was blissful for a whole year!
After a year, still accompanied by a larger black shadow, the golden eagle arrived.
Having learned about the return of the golden eagle, again all the bird people gathered in one place. Everyone was interested in finding out what places their envoy had visited, what he had seen, what good news he had brought.
- Where you’ve been, what you’ve seen - tell me, as soon as possible! - everyone shouted in unison. - We're tired of waiting.
“There’s nothing special to talk about,” the golden eagle began. - I flew in vain. For birds that live in trees, there is not a single decent tree there. For those who settle on the water, there is not a single lake, not even a single hollow with water where they could swim. The land there is covered with thick fog, winds and whirlwinds blow through it. Uncomfortable, unpleasant land!..
Meanwhile, a lively teal appeared in the golden eagle's nest.
- What are you, what are you, boy! - the golden eagle flapped its wings at him. “Didn’t you hear: my husband is back!”
“That’s why I came,” answered the brave teal. “His bird people won’t let go soon, and no one will notice that I’m not there either.” We will have our final mercy, say goodbye properly, it is unknown when we will have to be together again.
A teal climbed into a huge nest of a golden eagle, kisses, has mercy on his beloved, says all sorts of tender words,
And I didn’t notice how time flew by and the golden eagle appeared.
- Oh, where should I hide? - the teal chickened out. - You can’t fly away - the golden eagle will definitely see you.
- Sit on a twig under the nest. Luckily for you, it’s getting dark, and the short-sighted golden eagle won’t notice you,” said his lover.
Teal did just that.
And the golden eagle just managed to sit in the nest - immediately to his wife:
- Prepare yourself and prepare the children for the journey. There, in the north, there are wonderful places. And it’s not hot, and there’s just enough forest to hide in in case of emergency, and there’s plenty of all kinds of game, just for hunting.
- And many bird people are going to fly there? - the wife asked the golden eagle.
“Nobody will fly,” answered the golden eagle. “I told them that the country is unpleasant, windy and frosty, if they fly, everyone will freeze... So we will move there alone, breed in freedom and live like gentlemen.”
Teal listens to all this. He listens and hears that the silent golden eagle began to do with his wife the same thing that he, the teal, had just done: kiss and show mercy. The teal was jealous: after all, after a year, he had become accustomed to considering the golden eagle’s wife almost his wife. The teal could not stand it and shouted “Chus!” fell off his branch and flew away.
Frightened by the cry of the teal, the golden eagle suddenly shook itself in its nest, and it collapsed to the ground with a crash.
-Whose voice is this? - the golden eagle asked his wife menacingly.
“You ask about some voice, although you yourself only heard the sound of a broken and fallen branch,” the cunning wife, like all women, calmly answered.
- Something doesn’t look the same.
For some time the golden eagle still had doubts. But he still had no evidence. So that was the end of the conversation.
The next morning a bird meeting gathered again, and Chirov said at it that there was good land in the north.
- How do you know? - they asked him.
“I climbed under the golden eagle’s nest: I’ll listen, I think he’ll tell his wife.” So he told her how rich the land is in the north, very rich... Don’t believe me? Yes, his nest has collapsed - you can take a look and make sure that I am telling the truth.
- Well, if yours is true, then we need to choose another respected bird and send it north again. Once you start a job, you need to finish it.
Just then a golden eagle came to the meeting with a leisurely step.
- How did you spend the night, most respected? - the birds asked him, pretending to know nothing.
- Not very good. My nest has fallen.
Here the bird people grinned and winked at each other: it turns out that the teal really told the truth!
And the golden eagle was told this:
“You, most respected one, told us yesterday that no one could live in the northern country.” We listened to you with attention, although your words saddened us very much, since we hoped for good news. This hope does not leave us even after your story. What if you were unlucky and didn't end up in good places? It cannot be that in the country from which the cool wind comes there is not a good place for us!.. So we are thinking of sending there another bird, equally respected by all of us. Maybe she will be luckier. And we want to ask you: won’t our decision seem offensive to you?
- What grievances can there be? - answered the golden eagle. - Any insults are inappropriate here.
Then the feathered people turned to the crane:
- Old crane! You are held in high esteem and respect by all of us. You are very distinguished and fly well. If you come across a dry place, you will go down and eat worms or reptiles. If you encounter water, you can walk on water and catch your own fish. That's why we choose you as our intelligence ambassador. Explore new northern places for all of us! Let's hit with our brow, Mr. Crane!
The crane did not take long to ask.
“Thank you for your trust,” he said, bowing to the gathering of birds. “I’ll try to justify him to the best of my ability.”
But then, out of nowhere, a nondescript little duck nicknamed Lahaattka squeezed into the very middle of the feathered assembly.
- Are you all crazy, or what? — the Lahaat woman spoke in an unpleasant, creaky voice. - For such an important task, choose such a stupid bird! What advantages did you see in her? Long legs, an equally long neck and a stupid cry in the evening dawn? Is it too little? After all, this ridiculous bird has neither intelligence nor memory. Believe me, she will get to the first lake she comes across, swallow up to her throat’s worth of frogs and, forgetting where and why she was sent, will return back. You'll see...
What was it like for the newly exalted crane to hear these impudent, abusive words from some stupid duck! What was it like for him to endure such humiliation!
And he couldn't bear it. Without saying a word, he stepped towards the lahaatt and angrily brought his mighty beak down on her.
The crane beat the Lahaatt woman until she broke her legs and broke her wings. It is quite possible that he would have pecked the duck to death, but other birds came to the rescue.
- Hurt! It hurts unbearably! — the barely alive Lahaat woman moaned. - And we call this freedom of speech! Everyone is free to say at such a meeting what he thinks, but it turns out that if the weak says something that the strong do not like, then the strong can deal with him right away. What a shame!.. Now do you even see who you chose, what a wise and prudent gentleman he is?!
“And in fact, it was in vain that you, crane, gave the lahaattka lynching.” For her impudent words, according to the law, she would have suffered severe punishment. So it’s time to remove you from that high position, but is there another, more worthy bird?
At this the Lahaat woman creaked indignantly:
- No, listen to what our elders say! They say that, apart from the crane, there is no one worthy among the birds. What is this, a mockery? Have you gone blind and can’t you see that there’s a brave eagle sitting over there? His name alone is worth something! Who else can see so keenly and so far? What other bird flies so high? Who else is as smart and generous as him? Or will you again choose not by your mind, but by your beak?
“But to think that this bird, which suffered for a common cause, speaks correctly,” the elders agreed. “After all, the eagle is truly the best of the best among our feathered tribe.” Who else has the same mighty wings as the eagle? And who can equal him in wisdom and prudence? Let's ask Mr. Eagle.
It cost nothing for the eagle to fly to the same places where the golden eagle had been shortly before. And, returning back, he said:
— The places are excellent. There, not a single egg will rot, not a single chick will die. There’s no point in wasting time—everyone should go there.
In the noisy preparations for the long journey, the birds completely forgot about the crippled Lahaattka. And just before departure we heard her creaky voice:
- What is it - you are leaving me alone? Are you leaving it to certain death?
The birds were ashamed and came to this decision:
“It’s the crane’s fault that the lahaat woman can’t fly like other birds; it’s he who broke her legs and wings.” So let him put the lahaatta on his back and fly with her.
How the crane reacted to this decision remained unknown then, and now no one really knows. It is only known that the Lahaatka appears in our northern places very, very rarely. The golden eagle, however, flies in, but hides in the forests.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru