The crow and the sparrow

Kaakamma was still hungry after eating the food offered. You see crows eat a lot more than sparrows. But Kakamma kept quiet.

Kaakamma, the crow, lived in a mud house. Gubbamma, the sparrow, lived in a brick house. One day, there was heavy rain. Kaakamma’s mud house was washed away. Kaakamma was completely wet. She knocked at Gubbamma’s door, “Gubbamma, Gubbamma, open the door,” she called out to her friend.

“Who is that?” Gubbamma asked cautiously.

“I’m Kaakamma, your friend. My house was washed away in the rain. Please open the door and take me in.”

Gubbamma was kind-hearted. She opened the door and took her friend in. She gave her a towel to wipe herself and made her sit in front of the fire to warm herself. She gave her dinner.

Kaakamma was still hungry after eating the food offered. You see crows eat a lot more than sparrows. But Kaakamma kept quiet.

“Let me spend the night with you. I’ll go away in the morning,” said Kaakamma.

“All right, you can sleep in the veranda,” said Gubbamma.

“Let me sleep inside with your kids. I love kids,” pleaded Kaakamma.

Gubbamma agreed. “Here, I’ve made the bed for you. You may sleep here,” said Gubbamma.

The little sparrows were already asleep. Kaakamma lay down next to a plump sparrow.

Gubbamma kissed the babies, adjusted their blankets, put off the light and left for her room.

As soon as Gubbamma left, Kaakamma grabbed the little sparrow next to her and bit hard into her. There was a loud yell.

The baby sparrows woke up and started crying. Gubbamma rushed in and switched on the light. Kaakamma was in pain. Her beak was broken. She had tried to eat up the little sparrow next to her. But it turned out to be a wooden toy!

Gubbamma gave Kaakamma a stern look. “You are ungrateful. I gave you shelter and food, and you tried to eat up my young ones. Thank God, their toy saved their life.”

Gubbamma threw Kaakamma out and shut the door.

It was raining hard. Kaakamma knocked at many doors. No one took her in. She had to spend the whole night out in the cold, getting wet in rain.

Story: Subba Rao | Illustration: Marath Mohandas | Colouring: Snehangshu Mazumder

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