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Title: The Sparrow and the Crow
Author: Flora Annie Steel [
More Titles by Steel]
A sparrow and a crow once agreed to have khichrî for dinner. So the Sparrow brought rice, and the Crow brought lentils, and the Sparrow was cook, and when the khichrî was ready, the Crow stood by to claim his share.
'Who ever heard of any one sitting down to dinner so dirty as you are?' quoth the Sparrow scornfully. 'Your body is quite black, and your head looks as if it were covered with ashes. For goodness gracious sake, go and wash in the Pond first.'
The Crow, though a little huffy at being called dirty, deemed it best to comply, for he knew what a determined little person the Sparrow was; so he went to the Pond, and said—
'Your name, sir, is Pond,
But my name is Crow.
Please give me some water,
For if you do so
I can wash beak and feet
And the nice khichrî eat;
Though I really don't know
What the Sparrow can mean,
For I'm sure, as Crows go,
I'm remarkably clean!'
But the Pond said, 'Certainly I will give you water; but first you must go to the Deer, and beg him to lend you a horn. Then with it you can dig a nice little rill for the water to flow in clean and fresh.'
So the Crow flew to the Deer, and said—
'Your name, sir, is Deer,
But my name is Crow.
Oh, give me a horn, please,
For if you do so
I can dig a clean rill
For the water to fill;
Then I'll wash beak and feet
And the nice khichrî eat;
Though I really don't know
What the Sparrow can mean,
For I'm sure, as Crows go,
I'm remarkably clean!'
But the Deer said, 'Certainly I will give you a horn; but first you must go to the Cow, and ask her to give you some milk for me to drink. Then I shall grow fat, and not mind the pain of breaking my horn.'
So the Crow flew off to the Cow, and said—
'Your name, ma'am, is Cow,
But my name is Crow.
Oh, give me some milk, please,
For if you do so
The pain will be borne,
Deer will give me his horn,
And I'll dig a clean rill
For the water to fill;
Then I'll wash beak and feet
And the nice khichrî eat;
Though I really don't know
What the Sparrow can mean,
For I'm sure, as Crows go,
I'm remarkably clean!'
But the Cow said, 'Certainly I will give you milk, only first you must bring me some Grass; for who ever heard of a cow giving milk without grass?'
So the Crow flew to some Grass, and said—
'Your name, sir, is Grass,
But my name is Crow.
Oh, give me some blades, please,
For if you do so
Madam Cow will give milk
To the Deer sleek as silk;
The pain will be borne,
He will give me his horn,
And I'll dig a clean rill
For the water to fill;
Then I'll wash beak and feet
And the nice khichrî eat;
Though I really don't know
What the Sparrow can mean,
For I'm sure, as Crows go,
I'm remarkably clean!'
But the Grass said, 'Certainly I will give you Grass; but first you must go to the Blacksmith, and ask him to make you a sickle. Then you can cut me, for who ever heard of Grass cutting itself?'
So the Crow went to the Blacksmith, and said—
'Your name, sir, is Smith,
But my name is Crow.
Please give me a sickle,
For if you do so
The Grass I can mow
As food for the Cow;
Madam Cow will give milk
To the Deer sleek as silk;
The pain will be borne,
He will give me his horn,
And I'll dig a clean rill
For the water to fill;
Then I'll wash beak and feet
And the nice khichrî eat;
Though I really don't know
What the Sparrow can mean,
For I'm sure, as Crows go,
I'm remarkably clean!'
'With pleasure,' said the Blacksmith, 'if you will light the fire and blow the bellows.'
So the Crow began to light the fire, and blow the bellows, but in so doing he fell right in—to—the—very—middle—of—the—-fire, and was burnt!
So that was the end of him, and the Sparrow ate all the khichrî.
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NOTES:
The Song.—The form of words in the original is important. The following gives the variants and the strict translation—
Tû Chhappar Dâs, Main Kâng Dâs, Deo paneriyâ, Dhoven chucheriyâ, Khâwen khijeriyâ, Dekh chiriyâ kâ chûchlâ, Main kâng sapariyâ.
You are Mr. Tank,
I am Mr. Crow,
Give me water,
That I may wash my beak,
And eat my khichrî,
See the bird's playfulness,
I am a clean crow.
Tû Lohâr Dâs, Main Kâng Dâs, Tû deo pharwâ, Main khodûn ghasarwâ, Khilâwen bhainsarwâ, Chowen dûdharwâ, Pilâwen hirnarwâ, Toren singarwâ, Khôden chalarwâ, Nikâlen panarwâ, Dhoven chunjarwâ, Khâwen khijarwâ, Dehk chiriyâ kâ chûchlâ, Main kâng saparwâ.
You are Mr. Blacksmith,
I am Mr. Crow,
You give me a spade,
And I will dig the grass,
That I may give it the buffalo to eat,
And take her milk,
And give it the deer to drink,
And break his horn,
And dig the hole,
And take out the water,
And wash my beak,
And eat my khichrî,
See the bird's playfulness,
I am a clean crow.
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NOTES:
THE SPARROW'S MISFORTUNE
Verses.—In the original these are—
Saukan rangan men charhî,
Main bhî rangan men parî,
My co-wife got dyed,
I too fell into the vat.
Verses.—In the original—
Ik sarî, ik balî;
Ik hinak mode charhî,
One is vexed and one grieved;
And one is carried laughing on the shoulder.
The allusion here is to a common tale. The story goes that a man who had two wives wanted to cross a river. Both wives wanted to go across first with him, so in the end, leaving the elder to walk, he took the younger on his shoulder, who mocked the elder with the words—
Ik sarî, dûî balî;
Dûî jâî mûnde charhî.
First she was vexed, next she grieved;
While the other went across on the shoulder.
Hence the sting of the old sparrow's taunt.
Verses.—In the original—
Ik chamkhat hûî;
Chirî rangan charhî;
Chirâ bedan karî;
Pîpal patte jharî;
Mahîn sing jharî;
Naîn bahí khârî;
Koïl hûî kânî;
Bhagtû diwanî;
Bandî padnî;
Rânî nâchnî;
Putr dholkî bajânî;
Râjâ sargî bajânî;
One hen painted,
And the other was dyed,
And the cock loved her,
So the pîpal shed its leaves,
And the buffalo her horns,
So the river became salt,
And the cuckoo lost an eye,
So Bhagtû went mad,
And the maid took to swearing,
So the Queen took to dancing,
And the Prince took to drumming,
And the King took to thrumming.
[The end]
Flora Annie Steel Short Story: The Sparrow and the Crow
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