Crows and Owls were always enemies of each other. It went so bad that the owls which were nocturnal birds, always hunted the crows which were sleeping during the night. The numbers of the crows were reducing far too much, so the king of the Crows got his ministers together so that they could discuss this problem.
That was when the oldest minister of the King Crow told him the reason for the enmity between the owls and the crows.
“All the birds have always considered Garuda, as their king, your majesty.” The old crow spoke. “But the problem was that once Garuda had become the mount of Lord Vishnu, the God of Preservation, the birds felt that Garuda was no longer able to come and protect the birds from the poachers. That was the reason that all the birds had decided to crown another king who could come and protect them from the onslaught of the poachers.”
“All the birds have always considered Garuda, as their king, your majesty.” The old crow spoke. “But the problem was that once Garuda had become the mount of Lord Vishnu, the God of Preservation, the birds felt that Garuda was no longer able to come and protect the birds from the poachers. That was the reason that all the birds had decided to crown another king who could come and protect them from the onslaught of the poachers.”
The King Crow was confused as he heard his minister. “What happened after that?”
The old minister sighed. “The Owl presented itself as the perfect king. The other birds even agreed to it.”
“Then…” The Crow King was even more confused. “The Owl is not the king of birds now. What happened?”
The old minister nodded at its king. “Our ancestor put a stop to it, your majesty.”
Before the king could ask the next question, the minister continued. “The crow had come to the place during the early hours of the morning. The owl had just left for home, thinking that it was going to be crowned as the king the very next day. The crow came to the gathering of the birds and told the birds that Garuda was still the king of birds and that he had not relinquished his position. In these circumstances, crowning someone else as the king was not advisable.”
The king crow stared as the Minister Crow continued. “The crow was a very intelligent one and his logic made most of the birds uneasy. At that time, the crow told the other birds of another story where two animals paid for their foolishness by choosing the wicked cat as their judge. The crow told the birds that by choosing the owl as their king, the birds were inviting the same foolishness among themselves.”
The King Crow sighed as he looked at his minister. “So the Crow was able to talk the birds out of crowning the owl as their king?”
The Minister Crow nodded sadly. “Yes, your majesty. The other birds left the place abruptly. The Owl naturally could not know that. When he came the next day, he waited for the other birds to come and when he finally got tired, his wife told him about what the crow had done.” The Minister Crow studied the king. “Since that day, the crow and the owls have been enemies, your majesty.”
- From the Panchatantra
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