The rich man was annoyed when he heard the bird’s laughter. “Why are you laughing?”
“You are supposed to be a smart man, but you are so foolish.” The bird’s voice sounded from the tree.
The rich man was stunned. “What do you mean?”
The bird answered. “If instead of giving me my freedom, you had kept me you would have been a very rich man because in my body I have a diamond the size of a hen's egg.”
The man was shocked for a second and then he berated himself for letting the bird go.
Then the man caught himself and turned his attention to the tree, trying to focus on the bird. He could not find it, but he tried to speak in a reasonable voice. “Nature around you will be harsh. But if you come to my cage I will always give you a warm place and give you enough time to fly around freely. And I will give you as much water and bread as you want. Come with me and you will be better off with me than being free.”
The bird laughed louder on hearing the words of the rich man. “You are foolish, because you have not learned anything from my words. I told you that you should not grieve over things that have already happened. But you are still grieving that you gave me my freedom. I told you that you should not wish for things that you cannot obtain. And yet you think that you can get me to voluntarily enter a prison.” The bird laughed again. “And how can you be so foolish to believe that my little body can carry a diamond the size of an egg?”
The bird flew away from the tree. “You are the most foolish man ever.”
The rich man realized his mistake and the wise bird flew away from there.
Adapted from Polish Fairy Tales
No comments:
Post a Comment