Himalayan Tales

Sparrow

SPARROW

Once upon a time, Sparrow was sitting on the wall. She was dreaming of helping coming generations. She had a walnut in her little hands.

But accidentally she dropped the walnut in a fire.
She said to the fire:- "Hello Mr Fire. Can you please return my walnut?"
Fire said:- "Sorry, I cannot because I am just starting to be hot."
Sparrow said:- "If you can't return my walnut, I will splash water on to you."
Fire said:- "Go ahead. See if I care."

Sparrow turned to the water and said:- "Hi Mr Water, can you help me bring my walnut from the fire?"
Water said:- "I have no time and I have only a few drops left."
Sparrow said:- "If you cannot help, I can bring that goat and she will drink you up."

Sparrow hopped over to the goat and said:- "Hi Miss Goat. Can you please drink that water for me?"
Miss Goat said:- "No, I am too busy eating grass."
Sparrow said:- "Miss Goat I can bring Mr Butcher to you. He can take you into his shop and sell you for food."
But Miss Goat just continued eating the grass.

Sparrow flew over to Mr Butcher and said:- "Mr Butcher, will you please take that goat?"
Mr Butcher said:- 2Sorry, I am too busy cutting up some beef and I have no time."
Sparrow said:- "Very well, I can bring a cat and ask her to eat your beef."

Sparrow was without fear and flew over to a cat.
Sparrow said:- "Hi Miss Mew Cat, can you eat that beef for me please?"
Miss Mew Cat said:- "No, I am too busy drinking milk."
Sparrow said:- "Right. I am going to bring some children and they will chase you."

Sparrow flew over to a group of children and said:- "Hello sweet kids. Can you please chase this cat for me?"
The kids said:- "No, we are too busy playing football."
Sparrow said:- "OK. I will complain to your mothers."
The kids said:- "We don't care."

Sparrow flew to the mothers who were working in the field.
Sparrow said:- "Mothers, your children will not help me. Will you please tell them off?"
The women said:- "No. We are working on our crops."
Sparrow said:- Right, I will ask the wind to help me. She might damage your crops."
The women said:- "We don't care. Go ahead."

Sparrow flew up high into the wind and said:- "Hello Windy. I am very upset. Today I see that we are not good to each other and we don't help each other enough. We all share this world and we ought to help each other."

Windy said:- "Don't be upset. This is life. Sometimes we are good and sometimes we are bad. Tell me! How can I help you?"
Sparrow said:- "I dropped my walnut into the fire. I asked for help and no one would help me get my walnut back.
Windy said:- "Right. You wait here. I will be back in a minute. I will get your walnut back to you."

So -- Windy began to build up strength. She started to blow the crops, first gently then with great bursts.
When the mothers saw their crops bending down, they understood why and they went to their children and told them off.
The kids understood why and they chased the cat.
The cat understood why. She ran to the butcher's shop and she started chewing the beef.
The butcher understood and he grabbed the goat.
The goat understood why. She struggled free and she quickly started drinking the water.
The water understood why and quickly splashed the fire.
The fire understood why and returned the walnut to the Sparrow.

Sparrow now has lots of walnut trees. People eat and take shade beneath them. Sparrow has made a nest on top of the walnut tree and sings this song:

La La La La La