Dusht Sarp Aur Kauve | Panchatantra Stories in English
Wicked Serpents and Crows – Panchatantra Story
There was a very old banyan tree in a forest. A crow and a poet lived by making a nest on that tree. An evil snake came from somewhere in the hollow trunk of the same tree. Every year when the season came, the poet would lay eggs in the nest and the evil snake would go to their nest and eat the eggs.
Once when the crow and the poet returned soon after getting a quick meal, they saw the evil serpent pouncing on the eggs kept in their nest. The snake went away after eating the egg, the crow consoled the poet, ‘Dear, have courage. Now we know the enemy. Will think of some solutions too.
Best Stories of Panchatantra in English
The crow thought a lot and left the previous nest and built a nest on a twig much above it and said to the poet, ‘Our eggs will be safe here. Our nest is close to the edge of the tree top and the eagles are hovering in the sky above. The eagle is the enemy of the snake. The evil serpent will not dare to come here.’
Listening to the crow, the crow laid eggs in a new nest, in which the eggs remained safe and children came out of them. On the other hand, the snake, seeing their nest empty, understood that the crow poet might have gone from there because of his fear, but the evil snake kept on reconnaissance. He saw that crows and poets fly from the same tree and return there too. It did not take him long to understand that he had built a new nest on top of that tree.
One day the snake came out of the den and discovered a new nest of crows. The crow couple had three newborn babies in the nest. The evil serpent devoured them one by one and returned to his den and started belching. When the crow and the poet returned, they were stunned to find the nest empty. Seeing the breakage in the nest and the soft feathers of the little crows scattered, he understood the whole matter. Kavi’s chest started bursting with sadness. The poet cried out. ‘So will my children continue to be the snake’s food every year?’
The crow said ‘No! It is accepted that we have a formidable problem, but running away from here is not the solution. Friends come in handy in times of adversity. We should take advice from the fox friend.’
Both immediately went to the fox. The fox heard the sad story of his friends. He wiped away the tears of the crow and the poet. After much thought the fox said, ‘Friends! You don’t need to leave that tree. I have an idea in my mind, by which I can get rid of that evil snake.’ The fox told the trick that came to his clever mind. Hearing the trick of the fox, the crow and the poet jumped with joy. He thanked the fox and returned to his home.
The plan was to be implemented the very next day. There was a big lake in that forest. Lotus and Nargis flowers used to bloom in it. Every Tuesday, the princess of that state used to come there with her friends to do water sports. Bodyguards and soldiers also accompanied them.
This time the princess came and descended into the water to bathe in the lake, then as per the plan, the crow came flying there. He glanced at the clothes and jewelery kept by the princess and her friends on the bank of the lake. The princess’s favorite diamond and pearl necklace was placed on top of the cloth, the crow made a noise of ‘Kaav-Kaav’ to attract the attention of the princess and her friends.
When everyone’s eyes turned towards him, the crow flew up after pressing the princess’s necklace in its beak. All the friends screamed ‘Look, look! He is carrying the princess’s necklace. When the soldiers looked up, a crow was actually flying slowly with a necklace. The soldiers started running in the same direction. Putting the soldiers behind him, the crow flew slowly towards the same tree.
When the soldiers were only a short distance away, the crow dropped the princess’s necklace in such a way that it fell inside the snake’s lair. The soldiers ran to the lair. His chief looked inside the lair. He saw the necklace there and a black snake near him with his horoscope.
He shouted ‘Get back! There is a snake inside. The Sardar shot a spear inside the lair. The snake got injured and came out hissing. As soon as he came out, the soldiers broke him into pieces with spears.
Lesson: By using intelligence, we can defeat the biggest force and enemy, every crisis can be solved by using intelligence.
