The Thirsty Crow

Books have always been my best buddies. I grew up on a healthy diet of “Aesop’s Fables” and “Jataka” and “Panchatantra” stories. During my school days I was a regular subscriber of the popular children magazines “Chandamana” and “Lotpot.”  On most of the Sundays and school holidays I would frequent the local library to borrow “The Adventures of Tintin” and “Amar Chitra Katha” comic books.

One of my favorite childhood stories is the “The Thirsty Crow” from Aesop’s Fables. I have read it many times and with every read it reveals something new and interesting.  For the benefit of those who are yet to read here is the story:

“A crow perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and hoping to find water, flew to it with delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it. He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry and dropped them one by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach and thus saved his life.”

Come let us un-ravel the fascinating elements of this fable. To breed familiarity let us call the crow – Kalu and assume he is from the dusty by lanes of north India.  Now anyone who resides in north India knows that the land there can become really hot during summers.  To add to this problem is the acute water shortage – rivers, ponds and reservoirs run dry. The water in the tap turns into a trickle and finally vanishes. For the avian population these months can be very agonizing.

That day the sun was beating down with all its might. Not a soul was to be seen on the roads except the lone stray cows. Kalu had been searching for water to drink since morning. But there was none to be found. A few households would keep water in an earthen tray and place it either on a window sill or parapet for the birds; but that day even they were dry!

Tired and exhausted Kalu perched on the branch of a tree to rest for a while. Thud!! A loud noise broke the afternoon silence.  One of neighborhood crows had fallen dead due to the extreme heat. Kalu did not want to meet the same fate. He decided to find water at any cost.

Life can at times be very cruel. There will be situations completely outside our control. We may fret, fume, tear our hair, beat our chest and wail loudly “Why me?” but things may still remain the same. Seeing one of your own die in front of your eyes can be very painful. Yet Kalu chose not to sit and brood over it or let the impending danger of water scarcity frighten him. He decided to use the weapon nature had bestowed him - the freedom of choice. He chose to fight! He chose to live!

So Kalu flew again from one roof top to another, one village to another, over dry ponds and parched fields. From the top he scoured every inch of the area for water. He could see women walking miles in search of water with earthen pots delicately balanced on their heads and children in tow. At times Kalu would rest for a while on a broken hand pump. Yet he could not find water; neither in any of the hand pumps nor anywhere!

He had flown over a couple of houses when he noticed a nondescript and ramshackle building just around the corner. He was about to skip and fly over it when something caught his eye. Curiosity got the better of him and he flew inside.  What he saw almost took his breath away! He started flapping his wings in excitement.

In one corner of the building there was a pitcher and lo and behold it contained water! Kalu thought he would faint with joy. He had at last found the elixir of life. He was about to make a dash for the pitcher when he noticed something unusual. There were few birds sitting on the rim of the pitcher and peeping in. One of them seemed to be saying something and the others were nodding their heads. Few were on the floor next to the pitcher and talking in hushed tones. A couple of crows seemed very angry. They were pecking at the pitcher in exasperation as if they wanted to break it. Strange! Why were the birds not drinking water?  Kalu decided to go near the pitcher. Alas! The water level was so low that none of birds could reach below to drink it.

Life’s paradoxes! There are instances galore when life throws up such situations with unabashed alacrity. When we are so near; yet so far from the solution we are searching.  And like the birds in the building we wonder what is happening or why is it happening to us? We resign ourselves to fate. Few of us sulk in a corner, few vent out anger like the crows pecking at the pitcher. Imagine Kalu’s plight. He was half dead due to thirst and exhaustion. He had been searching for water since morning and now he finds it only to realize he cannot drink it. This can break even a diehard optimist. So what does he do?

By now only Kalu remained in the building. The others had flown away in frustration. One of the crows even asked Kalu to come with him and forget the water as it was not fit for drinking. But Kalu was undeterred. He perched on the rim of the pitcher and started thinking hard. Time was running out; he could barely manage another hour without water. The thirst and sheer exhaustion had clouded his faculties and he found it increasingly difficult even to stay put. Yet he thought and thought, there has to be a way out of this he kept telling himself. Suddenly there was a splash! A loud one! Something had fallen in the pitcher. Due to this couple of drops of water rose and fell on Kalu. Initially he did not seem to notice and then, suddenly everything became crystal clear. His eyes lit up! On peeping inside he saw that a corner of the edge of the pitcher had broken and fallen in.

The entire tangent of Kalu’s thinking changed. If an object which falls inside the pitcher can make water drops rise; then by dropping more of such objects the level can be raised even higher. High enough for him to drink water comfortably. This was like manna from heaven. Kalu knew he would no longer die of thirst. Not only his but other lives could be saved!

Paulo Coelho in the “The Alchemist” says “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” All Kalu did was to just hang on. His calm demeanor, ability to think and non quitter attitude when faced with challenge turns him into a super crow; isn’t it? I don’t think so. Look at this way. Was the situation any different to the other birds and crows? Was the sun more benevolent to the others than it was to Kalu? So why did the others flee and not Kalu? Why did he not give up or listen to the crow who told him that the water was not fit to drink? Kalu was not a super crow but he sure knew a thing or two about psychology – more than the situation it is the reaction to it that matters most.

Kalu had won half the battle. He had found water and he knew that by dropping objects into the pitcher the level would come up high enough for him to drink. But what would he drop in the pitcher and how? He looked for something that he could find handy to hold in his beak, fly with it and then drop it in the pitcher.

Now the building where Kalu found the pitcher was in a pitiable condition.  The roof had caved in, the plaster on the walls was peeling off and there were huge cracks on the walls and gapes on the floor. Pebbles were strewn all over. Kalu picked up a pebble with his beak and dropped it in the pitcher. Just as he had thought, the water rose a bit. Kalu went ecstatic. He picked another pebble and dropped it too. The water level rose again. With a new found energy Kalu started picking pebbles and dropping them in the pitcher with gusto. With every rise in the water level he found his hopes rising. He became so engrossed that he did not even realize that the water level had come up to the brim. Kalu drank to his heart’s content. That day the water tasted extra sweet.

Jimmy Dean (the US country music singer) said, “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”  Kalu is not like us. He does not know how to crib, throw tantrums or sit and sigh and moan. He does not know how to curse his maker for a beak which is not suitable for picking pebbles. His bird instinct tells him just one thing - events that happen in a crow’s life are not in his control however; what is in his control is how he reacts to them, how well he utilizes things at his disposal and turns disadvantage in to advantage.

So that is my import from “The Thirsty Crow.”  Also, what is your guess? Do you think Kalu is educated? I don’t think so at least not in the way we pride ourselves in being educated. Actually the prevailing system of education is not even geared to provide us with life saving or problem solving skills; the one which Kalu exhibited. I think Kalu is a smart crow who knows how to live his bird life to the hilt.

By the way, what is a group of crows called?

It is called a “murder.”

Weird, isn’t it?

Photo Courtesy :

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