Once upon a time there was a very poor widow. She had only two children, a son and a daughter. When they had grown up, seeing that their mother could no longer provide for them, they left her house and went each one his or her own way to find work. The girl went to a place where they were building houses, and there she worked day and night carrying bricks and mortar to the builders. The son went to a weaver and learnt there to weave clothes.
     Not long after that, the mother grew very ill, and knowing that her end was approaching, she sent for her children to come to her. When the message reached the daughter, she was carrying a heavy load of bricks in her apron.
     She did not hesitate for a moment, and saying, "I must not leave my poor mother alone," she dropped the load of bricks and ran home as fast as she could, and there she found her mother on the point of death.
     When the message reached the son, he was sitting at his weaving. He said, "Let her die. I cannot give up my work. Here I am, and here I stay."
     And there he stayed quite alone, working away, surly and grumbling all the time.
     When the mother saw her daughter, who had left everything and had come to her, she raised herself on her bed and, kissing her on the forehead, blessed her, saying: "Daughter, thou hast been sweet to me and a joy in my last hour. Mayst thou always be sweet to all."
     When she heard what her son had said, and why he had not come, she cursed him and said: "As thou hast said so shall it go with thee. Day and night shalt thou be weaving incessantly and never see the joy of it: what thou doest, others shall destroy. In a corner shalt thou sit, far away from everybody, and hated by everybody."
     And with those words she died, and her blessing and curse both came true. The girl was changed into the busy active bee, whose honey sweetens everything, and of whose wax candles are made to be lit before the ikons of the saints and in the churches, and put by the head of the dying and the dead. The brother was changed into the spider, who sits alone and sullen and spiteful in the corner and weaves his webs, never finishing: whoever sees a web brushes it away, and whoever can, kills the spider.

Why Is The Bee Black, And Why Has It A Narrow Waist

     When God created the bee she was white in colour, hence her name albina, the white one. One day, however, God sent the bee to the Evil One to ask him for his advice, whether God should make one sun or several. The bee went to the Evil One and told him God's message. Then she slyly hid herself in his bushy hair, for the bee knew that he would talk to himself aloud, and she would be able to find out his true thought. And so it happened: for no sooner did he think that the bee was not within earshot, than he started talking aloud to himself and said:
     "One sun is better than a number of suns, for if there were a number of suns the heat would be much greater than my fire and I should not be able to torture and to burn. Then, too, if there were several suns, they would shine all day and all night, and the people would not be able to fall into my power. One sun would be best." When the bee had heard his reasoning and the conclusion to which he had come, she started flying back to God. As she started, the Evil One heard her buzz and, filled with anger at the trick which the bee had played him, he struck her across the body with his whip. The white colour was then turned black and the body of the bee nearly cut in twain. The waist became as thin as a thread. In the beginning it was white, and hence the name. It is due to the merit of the bee that there is only one sun now in the heavens and not many.

Why Are The Locusts Voracious

     It is related that when the Emperor Por married his daughter he made a great banquet, as big as had never been done before, for he called all the kings and governors, and so many guests came together that one might have thought that they would eat up even Por's ears.
     But Por the emperor knew what he had to do, and he prepared food for all. He opened casks of wine, which had been kept closed for a thousand years, and he spread tables in a field as large as a country, and he brought musicians who were so skilled that one would have liked to listen to them forever.
     Everything had he prepared, only one thing had he forgotten. He did not call the priests and the nuns. The priests he left out just because he wanted to insult them, and he did not think of having the marriage service performed in a Church.
     "What do I want them for " he said, "all this can be done without their blessing, and to have popas (priests) always about you in your house is not quite a lucky thing, for it is well known if you meet a popa in your way you are sure to have no luck, for you have met the devil."
     The priests, seeing that Por mocked at them, and the mothers of the Church got very angry. They began ringing the bells and praying, and they fasted three days on end, hoping God would hearken to their prayer and would punish the emperor Por in such signal manner as God alone in his wisdom could do.
     And God, as it seems, hearkened to their prayer, for while the tables were laden with meat and drink, and all the guests had sat themselves down to eat and drink, suddenly the heavens grew dark, a mighty wind arose, and out of the sky came down a thick black cloud of winged things with large mouths, voracious and hungry.
     They settled on the tables and devoured every bit of food that could be found, and drank every drop of wine. The guests turned sick at this horrible sight and, falling ill, they all died there and then. From a wedding feast it became a huge burial, the fame of which spread throughout the lands. No one knew why this misfortune had befallen them, only Por understood what had happened, and before his death he said:
     "Nothing can be done without the mercy and grace of God. And this has been my punishment."
     These were the locusts which God sends upon men when they forget the true God.

(The Emperor Por is none else than the Indian King Porus who plays so important a part in the legendary history of Alexander the Great.)

Why Is The Wasp The Gypsies' Bee

     A Gypsy found a hive in the forest, and taking it home, went about bragging of his wonderful hive and of the honey. A clever Rumanian, finding a wasp nest, told the Gypsy that his bees were making gold, and induced him to change with him. Since then the bees belong to the Rumanians.

Why Has The Nightingale Twelve Tunes And Why Does The Turtle-Dove Coo

     Once upon a time the nightingale met the turtle-dove. After greeting one another, the nightingale said, "Sister, let us keep awake during the night and learn some tunes to sing."
     "Quite agreeable," said the turtle-dove, "and in the morning we shall see what each one of us has learned."
     In the following night the nightingale kept awake and listened attentively to all the sounds that could be heard. She heard the shepherd playing on his pipe, and the wind whistling, and the dogs barking, and lambs calling, and many more sounds, and thus learned no less than twelve tunes. The turtle-dove, lazy as she is by nature, did not keep awake, but went to sleep as soon as the night grew dark. She slept almost the whole night through, and awoke only at the break of dawn. There was no sound to be heard. It was all quiet. Suddenly she heard a man driving his horses to the fields shouting "trr, trr." This sound she picked up, and no other. In the morning she went to find her sister the nightingale, and asked her whether she had heard anything, and whether she had learned many tunes. If so, would she mind singing to her.
     The nightingale replied, "Oh, I have heard many songs, and have learned many tunes." And without waiting any longer, she began to warble her songs. The turtle-dove sat listening, lost in admiration at the beautiful singing of the nightingale. When the latter had finished her songs, she asked the turtle-dove: "And what have you learned, sister mine."
     The turtle-dove, full of shame over her laziness, owned that she had not kept awake, but had not gone to sleep, and that the only sound and song she had learned was "trr, trr," which she had picked up from the man who was driving his horses to the field. And so it has remained to this very day. The nightingale sings all the night through and stops towards the morning, when the turtle-dove awakens and starts its "trr, trr."

Why Is The Nightingale The Songster Of The King

     The king of the birds, feeling one day in a good humour, wanted to find out which of his subjects could sing the best. So he sent an order to his birds to select from amongst themselves those whom they thought to be the best singers. All the birds came together, and, after having heard many of the birds who said they could sing, they selected three from amongst them and sent up, as the best singers for the king to choose from, the yellow thrush, the blackbird, and the nightingale. The thrush, with his beautiful golden feathers which glow in the light of the sun, was allowed to go first as the most beautiful of them; nay, he put himself at the head and walked first. The blackbird, which has a yellow beak, and whose feathers are shining like silk, walked immediately behind, whilst the little nightingale, small of build, with the drab-coloured feathers, followed meekly in the rear. When they reached the palace, the king, seeing how beautiful the thrush looked with his golden feathers, received him affably and placed him at the head of the table. The thrush, swelling with pride, began its song. The king listened attentively, and being pleased with the song he praised the thrush very much. Then came the turn of the blackbird; when the king saw it, he welcomed it and ordered a chair to be brought near the table. The blackbird took its place and started singing. It sang much more beautifully than the thrush. The king was very pleased, and he expressed his delight. The last to come in was the nightingale. When it entered the hall, it bowed down to the earth before the king, touching the floor with its little beak. When the king saw that little ungainly bird, so small and meek and skinny and of no appearance, he wondered what that bird wanted at the court, and somewhat angrily he asked:
     "What do you want " without even offering her a seat, as he had done to the other guests.
     "May it please your majesty, do not be angry with your servant; I have been selected by the other birds to sing here before your majesty."
     "Very well then; sing, I will just see what you can do."
     The nightingale, which did not even dare to look at the king, just cleared her voice and started singing as she alone knows how to sing, not like the others. When the king heard her singing, he was quite taken aback with the beauty and sweetness of her voice; he was full of admiration, for the nightingale had thrown the other birds into the shade (lit. had put them under a bushel).
     When the nightingale had finished her song, the king did not allow her to stop in the doorway where she had been standing any longer, but called her up to the head of the table, and gave her the seat of the thrush, and, when the meal was over and all the guests rose from the table, it was the nightingale who walked first, and the blackbird, which sang better than the thrush, walked immediately behind, whilst the thrush, in spite of his grand array, now came third, feeling abashed and ashamed by his failure. And from that time onward the nightingale has been recognized as the best singer amongst them all, and all the birds must bow their heads before her.

Why Does The Cuckoo Lead A Restless Life

     Once upon a time there lived in a village a man who was so poor that sometimes days passed and he could not get a crumb of bread. So one day he said to his wife, "What is the good of my stopping here any longer. We are both dying of hunger; I will go away into the wide world and see what luck may bring." So he took up his axe and went along. Before he left, his wife said to him: "Do not go far away, and do not forsake me and the children, for we have no one else to look to for help." So he went away. Walking alone, he came to a forest. At the edge of the forest he saw a beautiful bush with shining leaves, and all the twigs of equal length. It was so beautiful that the man thought, "I will just cut it up." When he drew near, how great was his astonishment when he saw the bush bending its boughs towards him, and speaking with a human voice, it said, "Do not touch me, do not hurt me, for I will do you much good."
     "What good can you do me " enquired the man.
     "Go back to the village and they will appoint you headman. Just go and try."
     Amazed as he was on hearing the bush speak, he said to himself, "I lose nothing if I go back; I shall see whether the bush is speaking the truth. If not, woe unto it," and so he returned. No sooner had he come near the village, when he saw the people coming out to meet him, and without asking him any questions, they, for reasons of their own, appointed him to be their headman. His poverty was now a thing of the past, and he lived in cheer and comfort. This went on for three years, and then, for the same reasons unknown to him, the people changed their minds, and without saying anything to him one day he was the headman, the next he was so no longer. They had put another man in his stead. So he returned to his want, and again began to feel the pinch of poverty. For a time he went on as best he could, but not being able to stand it any longer, he again took his axe, and going into the forest he went to the bush, and said, "Now I am going to cut you down." The bush again began to speak, and said to the man, "Do not touch me; I will do you much good. You have seen what I have done before. You go now to that and that town and they will appoint you to be judge."
     Believing the words of the bush, the man continued his journey, and came to the town of which the bush had spoken to him; and there, as had been foretold, without asking him a single question, the people appointed him to be mayor over the place. The man now lived in affluence and comfort, forgetting his time of poverty and suffering he had gone through. Here, again, after three years, just as he was appointed without a question, so he was dismissed by the people without a question.
     The evil days came back, and he was looking about for a crust of bread, but could not find any for himself and his family. He bethought himself again of the bush, and, taking his axe upon his shoulder, he went away to find it. The bush said to him: "Don't touch me; much good will I do for you, still more than I have done hitherto. You go to such and such a kingdom, and there they will appoint you to be their emperor."
     He did as he was bid, and as he came near the town, all the people came out to meet him, and they appointed him to be their emperor. He took his wife and children with him, and there he lived in great state, great power and riches. The law of that land was that no man could be emperor for more than three years, so when the three years came round he lost his position and another emperor was appointed in his stead. He had meanwhile assumed great fortune and no longer feared poverty. But his wife was ambitious, and was not satisfied at living in affluence and wealth. Envious of the other emperor, she nagged the man and worried him and sneered at him for being so meek and being satisfied with his lowly state, and made him go to the bush to ask for something more. She wanted him to be better treated than any emperor. The poor man, what was he to do. He could not stand the trouble in his house, so again taking his axe upon his shoulder, he came for a fourth time to the bush. When the bush saw him, it said:
     "What has brought you hither. You are no longer in want of anything."
     "Well," he said, "my wife has sent me to you. She says you must make me as great as God, greater than all emperors."
     The bush grew angry, and said to him:
      "O miserable wretch, always dissatisfied! I have made thee headman and judge and emperor, and thou lackest nothing. Thou art not in want of anything. Now, because thou hast become impudent and insolent, for thy impious wishes thou shalt be punished. From the man thou hast been thou shalt henceforth be a bird, restless, without peace, and without quiet, flitting from tree to tree, and from branch to branch, always dissatisfied, without a home, without a family, and thy name shall be Cuckoo. Tell thy wife, who, because she had been urging thee on and driving thee to do this impious thing, that she shall become the hoopoe; puffing herself up she shall cry whoop, whoop." And so it has remained to this very day.

Why Is The Cuckoo Silent In Winter

     After the creation of all birds, God called them together and told them they should elect a king to rule over them.
     The birds, like human beings, would chatter and chirrup, and talk and fight, and never come to any decision.
     When God saw that it was going on without end, and that it was no good waiting for them to make their choice, he picked up the goldfinch and said, "This is to be your king." The birds submitted, as they were bound to do, and making their obeisance to the new king, each one departed to its own place. Although the gathering had lasted for some time, the cuckoo was still missing, and who was the last to come but the cuckoo. When all the birds had departed, he turned up and made his obeisance to the new king. The goldfinch looked at him and said, "Hallo, cuckoo, where have you been "
     "Oh, I lost my way in the forest, and it took me a long time to come here."
     I will forgive you," said the goldfinch, "but on one condition; you know the forest so well. Go and make me a nice palace out of the best of the trees."
     The cuckoo, glad to have got off so cheaply, said, "Willingly will I do so," and went away.
     You know the cuckoo, how light-headed and unstable he is: he says one thing one day and forgets it the next, so, light-heatedly he flew from tree to tree and allowed the summer to pass without remembering the promise which he had made to the goldfinch.
     When autumn drew near he suddenly recollected that the goldfinch expected him to build him a palace out of the best of the trees, for the goldfinch wanted to live in a shining palace. And that was just what the cuckoo never intended to do.
     Fearing the wrath of the king, he stopped singing and hid himself in the thickest part of the forest. The goldfinch waited month after month to see the palace, and seeing the cuckoo flitting from tree to tree and hearing him singing, thought he was busily at work. But when the autumn came, and no trace of any palace could be seen, he looked around to see where the cuckoo was. But catch him if you can, for he had disappeared.
     And that is why the goldfinch never had the palace which he desired. And that is also the reason why the cuckoo stops singing from the feast of St. John, lest he be discovered by the goldfinch and taken to task for his broken promise.

Why Is There Enmity Between The Crow And The Hawk

     The crow was in very great distress, for however she tried and whatever she did, she could not rear a family. No sooner were the young hatched, than the hawk would come and pick them up. In vain did she try to hide them in the hollows of a tree or in the thickets of a bush, as sure as death would the hawk find them and eat them. Not knowing what to do, she bethought herself and said, "How would it do if I try to get the hawk to be godmother, for then, being a near relation, she is sure to spare my little ones " Said and done. She went out of her place to search for the hawk, and finding her, she said, "Good morning, sister."
     "Good morning," replied the hawk.
     "How pleased I should feel," said the crow, "If you would become the godmother to my children."
     "With pleasure," replied the hawk, "why not " And so they made up a covenant of friendship and of good-fellowship between them.
     Before leaving the hawk, the crow said to her, "Now, sister, I have one request to make."
     "Granted," replied the hawk, "what is it "
     "I only beg of you to spare my children, do not eat them when you have found them."
     "All right," replied the hawk, "I shall certainly not touch them, but tell me how they look so that in case I meet them I may spare them."
     "O," replied the crow, "mine are the most beautiful creatures in the world, they are more lovely than any other bird can boast of."
     "Very well, rest assured. Go in peace." And they parted.
     The crow, being quite satisfied with the hawk's promise, began flying about the next day trying to find something with which to feed her children. The hawk the next morning went about her own business and tried to find some nice little young ones to eat. Flying about, she saw the young ones of the thrush, the blackbird, and of other beautiful birds, and she said to herself, "Surely these are the children of the crow; look how lovely and beautiful they are, I am not going to touch them."
     She went all day, without finding any little birds but these; and she said to herself:
     "I must keep my word to my sister, I am not going to touch them." And she went to bed hungry. The next day the same thing happened, and still the hawk kept her word and would not touch them.
     On the third day she was so hungry that she could scarcely see out of her eyes. Roaming about, the hawk suddenly lighted upon the nest of the crow. Seeing the little, miserable, ugly things in the nest, the hawk at first would not touch them, although she never dreamt that these ugly things were the children of the crow, so much praised by her for their beauty, and thought they must belong to some hideous bird. But what is one to do when one is hungry One eats what one gets and not finding anything better, she sat down and gobbled them up one by one, and then flew away.
     Not long after the hawk had left, the crow came in, feeling sure this time to find her little ones unhurt; but how great was her dismay when she found her nest empty!. First she thought her little birds had tried their wings and were flying about in the neighbourhood, and she went in search of them. Not finding them, she began to be a little more anxious, and hunting a little more closely, found on the ground near some rushes some tufts of feathers with little bones and blood. She knew at once that the hawk had again been there, feeding on her children.
     Full of wrath and fury, she went to find the hawk. Meeting her, she said, "A nice sister and godmother you are! After you had promised most faithfully not to touch my children, no sooner had I turned my back on them, than you come and eat them."
     "I do not understand what you are saying," replied the hawk. "It is you own fault. You told me your children were the most beautiful in the world, and those which I have eaten were monsters of hideousness. If I had not felt the pinch of hunger so strong, I would not have touched them, not for anything, such ugly things they were! They nearly made me sick."
     "Is that the way you keep your promise " replied the angry crow; "After having eaten them, you even have the impudence to tell lies and insult me. Off with you! And woe betide you if I ever catch you, I will teach you to behave properly."
     From that day on, the hawk, if it gets near the crows, attacks them. And from that day on there is implacable hatred between the crows and the hawks.

Why Should The Oak Tree Not Boast

     In a clearing of a huge oak forest, there grew up a tiny little tree. All the other trees looked upon it with pleasure, it was so green and so tender. Suddenly a sparrow flying over the trees came down and settled on that little sapling, which bent under the weight of the bird. Angrily, the little tree said to the sparrow, "It is a great shame that thou shouldst have come and settled on me, I who am so weak and tender and scarcely able to stand up, why didst thou not go and settle on one of those huge trees of which the forest is full."
     The sparrow, feeling shamed and angered at the words of the little sapling, replied, "Very well, I am going, but when thou shalt be on thy death bed I will come back, and thou wilt have to render me account for these offensive words which thou hast spoken to me." And the sparrow went away.
     Now it is known that an oak tree lives for nine hundred years: for three hundred years it grows in strength and might, the next three hundred years it rests quiet, and during the last three hundred it slowly decays and dies. First the heart, that is, the core, dies, then the wood is slowly eaten away, the branches fall off, and at the end of nine hundred years the tree is changed into dust. And so it happened with that little sapling. It grew for three hundred years, it stopped still for the next three hundred years, and finally it decayed and died at the end of the last three hundred years. When the last day of the nine hundred years had come, and scarcely anything was left of the tree but dust, the sparrow came back, and rolling about in the dust it said: "Dost thou remember when thou wast a mere sapling, how thou didst insult me, thou didst believe thou wouldst grow on forever. Dost thou see that my word has come true, thou proud tree of the forest, now thy head is lying low and thou hast been changed into dust, thou hast been humbled, whilst I am still living on in strength, and I am now as I have then been." This longevity of the sparrow makes him the dread of the peasants and farmers, and among the means taken to save the crops from the inroads of this pest are magical practices and charms.

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