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Once upon a time, somewhere in a jungle all the birds, parrots, cuckoos cranes, nightingales, peacocks, doves, owls and the rest of them had a meeting.
They began to hold a discussion with great zeal. ‘Garuda is our king,’ they said, ‘but he is so busy in the service of Lord Vishnu, that he doesn’t bother about us. What is the point of having a master who is just a namesake! He never helps us to get out of the traps set by hunters! It is said As a boat without a helmsman just drifts with the tide, So too the people come to grief, when their king takes, no care for them. So never put your faith in such a king ‘And so,’ continued the birds ‘let us consider the matter carefully and elect a new king!’
When the birds looked round at one another, they noticed that the owl had very impressive features and everyone said, “The owl shall be our king. Bring the things that are necessary for the coronation!”
“The birds collected water from the holy rivers and also hundred and eight different roots.”
The throne was decorated lavishly and a tiger skin was spread over the ground in front of it. They drew a map of all the continents and the oceans. They beat the drums and blew the conches. Brahmins began to recite the Vedas and beautiful maidens sang songs of joy.
“But just as the owl was being led to the throne to be crowned, a crow arrived on the scene and demanded, ‘What is the meaning of this great gathering of birds?’ When the birds saw crow, they said to one another, ‘Let’s have his opinion too.”
‘Firend,’ replied the birds, we birds have no king of our own, and so we have decided to crown this owl as our king. You have come just in time to give us your opinion.’
‘Well,’ replied the crow with a smile, ‘my advice is against crowning the owl our king. Why choose this ugly and blind-by-day owl, when we have amongst us the best of the birds-peacocks, cuckoos, swans, nightingales cranes, pigeons, and so on! I certainly advise against it! His crooked nose and his squint eyes make him look cruel, even when he is not angry. Whatever would he look like if he was really angry? What could we possibly gain by electing such an ugly vicious-looking leader. We already have Garuda, and just by mentioning his name, you can keep your enemies at bay.
And live happily ever after as Hares mentioned the name of Chandrama.
“How was that?” asked the bird. And the crow told, this story. THE HARES AND THE ELEPHANTS