A "Murder" of Crows & Other Stories

Chapter 6 - The Old Human's Dough Balls

As soon as the winter chill left the morning air, Dorian and Agnes began to gather twigs, leaves, dried pepper flowers, and cat hair, courtesy of Honey's shedding & Guy's fighting, for their first nest in the large tree on the side of the yard.

By the time the neem trees bloomed and their jasmine-like fragnance filled the air, the Grey family's nest was complete and filled with four tiny blue eggs.

"Now comes the hardest part, my dear," said Dorian.

"I'm going to be so bored just sitting," signed Agnes, "but it has to be done."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you have enough to eat. And I'll keep you company," Dorian added, in his most reassuring voice.

And he did. He brought pieces of cat food twice a day and sometimes berries or other treats when he was able. He sat with Agnes for long hours.

On the fifteenth day, Agnes turned to Dorian and said, "Tell me a story. I am so bored."

So he told her about how he once heard a human sing the story of how a crow first taught humans to bury their dead. But that story was too short for such a long brooding.

"Well," thought Dorian, "there is another story that my grandfather told us from the old country." "Sounds good," replied Agnes.

Dorian began. "Once our family lived in a small village. There was an old human who used to leave its windows open even though there was food inside. One or two of us would sit and watch, but if it saw us, it would shout and swing a nest and stick thing at us. We did not like it."

"I wouldn't like it either," humphed Agnes, "rude humans."

"Anyway, Dorian continued, "One day it made soft food and covered it with a cloth, but then went away to another part of the house. So naturally, we took the cover off and ate it."

"Naturally," commented Agnes.

"When it came back, it screamed like a peacock and we flew away." Dorian tried to scream like a peacock, but Agnes just cocked her head at him. "Still it left the windows open and still we came in, whenever it wasn't there."

Agnes stopped him, "Why didn't it just close the windows?"

"We asked Grandfather the same thing. He said houses used to be much hotter inside so humans left windows open in the hot season." he explained.

"I'm glad the humans here don't do that." Agnes said. "Cat food delivery is better than having to forage in houses. Plus our humans don't scream."

"Yes, they are rather nice," Dorian agreed, "especially the food bringers. I should probably bring them a gift. Before the nestlings hatch, of course."

"So then what happened?" Agnes asked.

"Well, the human made the same soft food and covered it like before. As soon as it left, we flew in and ate it. But, this time we quickly left the house before it returned. We sat in a tree nearby to see what it would do then. From a safe distance its screeches and flailing movements were really comical."

"That must have been something to see," commented Agnes.

"Only this time it didn't make any sound or any movement at us. No one knew why, but we did not trust the old human."

"That was smart," Agnes interjected. "Humans that scream should never be trusted."

"Very true, my dear," agreed Dorian.

"The very next day, our great grandmother found little balls of the soft food on the old human's window sill, only it didn't smell quite right, with a sort of bitter smell. She quickly flew away and gathered other family members to check them out. They agreed they were strange and should not be eaten, but what to do with them?"

"If we leave them here, another family might not be so cautious and eat them," Great Grandmother said.

"Or the myna birds might eat them," remarked another.

"We can't allow any flying creature to eat them," stated our Great Uncle. And his was always the final word, as he was the eldest."

"The old human watched dumbfounded as each crow present flew away with one of the poisoned dough balls in their beak and proceeded to stuff each one of them into the large hole of a hollow tree near the road. One crow used a stick to push them even farther inside."

""I had no idea crows were that smart," the old human thought to herself," Dorian added.

"Wait a minute, Dorian," interrupted Agnes. "How could you possibly know that last part? Who can tell what humans are thinking?"

"I'm not sure. I guess Grandfather made up part of it," considered Dorian. "Maybe someone saw how it was watching and inferred its reaction? I don't know."

"I think that's kind of a stretch," Agnes remarked. "Do humans think we are so stupid? We're not peacocks, after all. Still, I like your story. It was nice."

"Thank you, dear," said Dorian. "We'll teach it to the little ones someday."

"I'd like that," Agnes said drowsily. 

Just then, one of the tiny eggs began to quiver...