THE GOLDEN CROW

Long ago there lived an old widow, who was very poor. She had a daughter, who was pretty and good-natured.
One day the mother asked the daughter to scare away the birds from the tray of rice which was being dried in the sun. So the daughter sat down near the tray, and scared away the birds. When the rice was nearly dried, however, a strange bird came flying towards the tray. It was a crow, but with gold feathers. The Golden Crow laughed at the little girl's efforts to scare him away and calmly ate up the rice. The girl started to cry, saying “Oh, my mother is so poor! My mother is so poor! The rice is so valuable to her.”
The Golden Crow gave her a kindly look, and said, “Little girl, I will pay for the rice. Come to the big tamarind tree outside the village at sunset, and I will give you something.” Then the Crow flew away.

At sunset, the little girl went to the big tamarind tree and looked up at the branches. To her surprise, she saw that there was a, little house of gold at the top of the tree. The Crow looked out of a window of the little house, and said, “Oh, there you are! Do come up. But, of course, I must drop the ladder first. Do you want the golden ladder, the silver ladder, or the brass ladder?”
“I am only a poor little girl,” replied' the girl, “and I can only ask for the brass ladder.” To her surprise, the Crow put down the golden ladder, and the little girl climbed up to the little gold house.

“You must have dinner with me,” invited the Crow; and he went on, “but let me see, do you want the gold dish, the silver dish, or the brass dish to eat your food from?”
“I am only a poor little girl,” replied the girl, “and I can only ask for the brass dish.” To her surprise, the Crow brought out the gold dish and the food in it was delicious.
“You are a good little girl,” said the Crow, when the little girl had finished eating, “and I would like you to stay here with me forever. But your mother needs you more, so I must send you hack home before, it get too dark.” Then he went into the bedroom, and brought out a big box, a medium-sized box, and a small box. “Choose one of these boxes, said the Crow, “and give it to your mother.”

“The rice was not much,” replied the little girl, “and the little box would be more than enough.” She then chose the little box and, after thanking the Golden Crow, climbed down the golden ladder and went towards her home. When she reached there, she gave the little box to her mother. Together they opened the box, and they were surprised and delighted to find in the box a hundred priceless rabies. The Mother and daughter became very rich, and lived in luxury.

There was another old widow in the village, but she was not poor. She also had a little daughter, who, however, was greedy and bad tempered. This widow and her daughter became very jealous of the other widow and her good little daughter. When they heard about the gift of the Golden Grow, they decided to get a similar gift. So they put out tray of rice in the sun, and the greedy little girl kept watch. But as she was so lazy, she did not try to scare away the birds which came to eat up the rice, with the result that when the Golden Crow at last turned up, there was very little rice left. However, the Golden Crow ate what remained, and the greedy girl shouted rudely, “Hey, Crow, give me and my mother wealth for the rice you have eaten.”
The Crow looked at her with a frown, but he replied politely enough, “Little girl, I will pay for the rice. Come to the big tamarind tree outside the village at sunset, and I will give you something.” Then the Crow flew away.

At sunset, the greedy little girl went to the big tamarind tree, and without waiting for the Crow to come out, she shouted, “Hey, Crow, keep your promise.”
The Crow put his head out of the window and asked, “What sort of a ladder do you want to climb up here? The golden ladder, the silver ladder or the brass ladder?”
“The gold ladder, of course,” replied the greedy little girl; but, to her disappointment, the Crow put down the brass ladder.
When the girl had entered the little gold house, the Crow said, “I must give you your dinner. But what sort of dish do you want to eat your food from? The gold dish, the silver dish or the brass dish?”
“The gold dish, of course,” replied the greedy little girl. But, to her disappointment, her food, was served in the brass dish.

The food was delicious but it was a tiny morsel, and the greedy girl was very annoyed. Then the Crow brought out one big box, one medium-sized box, and one small box, and said, “Choose one of these boxes, and give it to your, mother.” The greedy girl, of course, chose the big box, and without remembering to thank the Crow, she struggled down the ladder with her burden. When she reached home, she and her mother joyfully opened the big box; but to their disappointment and terror, a big snake came out. The snake hissed at them angrily, and then glided out of the house.

The End.

Photo Credit: Google Image
Author: Maung Htin Aung
Steemed by: Henry Aung (Kachin)