The Crows and the Cobra

On a certain tree in a forest, a pair of crows had built their nest. In the hollow of the same tree lived a cobra. The cobra had eaten up their young ones and both of them were worried. They did not know who had stolen their young ones.

The next time the female crow laid eggs, she kept a close watch over her nest. She saw a cobra sliding up the tree and then disappearing into the hollow again after swallowing the eggs. As soon as the male crow came back, his wife said, ” have found out our enemy. It is a cobra which dwell beneath our tree. We cannot live here any longer. Let us leave this place and build our nest somewhere else”.

The male crow replied wisely “One who is clever really has the strength. What use is one’s strength if he does not have intelligence. Besides running away from a problem will not really solve it. We may encounter a more dangerous enemy than this. So even though the cobra is more powerful than us, we can get rid of it if we plan carefully. Listen to me now”. The crow continued, “Tomorrow morning, the princess will come to bathe in the river nearby with all her attendants. She will remove all her jewelry before she enters the water. Pick up a gold chain and fly back here fast and drop it in the hole where the cobra lives. Then you see what will happen”.

The next morning the female crow did exactly that. When the princess came to have her bath, the crow swiftly picked up a chain in her beak and flew straight towards the tree and dropped it in the hollow. The servants guarding the clothes gave chase to the crow.

Seeing it dropped into the hole under a tree, they began to poke about. On seeing a snake there, they beat it with sticks and killed it. Then recovering the chain, they went back leaving a dead snake behind. The two crows who were watching from the branch of the tree were very happy to be rid of their enemy at last.