30. The Crow's Revenge



A snake raided a crow's nest and ate her chicks.
The crow vowed revenge.
She knew where the royal ladies bathed, leaving their jewelry beside the pool. The crow squawked loudly to make sure the queen saw her, and then she flew off with a golden necklace in her beak.
"Guards!" screamed the queen. "Go get my necklace!"
The crow then dropped the necklace in front of the snake's hole.
When the guards arrived, they saw the necklace and they saw the snake. They clubbed the snake to death and retrieved the necklace.
That's how the crow got her revenge!

Inspired byThe Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder. It is in Book 1, Story 8. Compare to a similar story in Raju's Indian Fables.
Notes: Compare the story of the snake and the heron's chicks: The Crab's Advice.

Here is an illustration from a 15th-century Panchatantra:




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