The Honeyguide Bird and the Finch

Finch begged his friend Honeyguide to show him where to find honey.
"I will," said Honeyguide, "if you promise not to eat it all."
"I promise!" said Finch, but when Finch learned where the honey was, he ate all of it by himself.
Honeyguide was angry, so next time he laid a trap for Finch, smearing birdlime around the honey-hole. When Finch came to eat honey, his wing stuck. Then his leg. Other wing, other leg, beak, head: the more Finch struggled, the more tightly he was caught.
When Honeyguide found him there, he beat Finch for being so greedy.


Inspired by: "Honey Guide" in Talking Animals by Wilfrid Hambly, 1949.
Notes: You can read the original story online. The story comes from Angola. The specific type of finch in the story is the redheaded finch, Carduelis flammea, is also called "redpoll."

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