The Owl and the Swan

A swan and and owl once lived in a jungle.  They were good friends.  The swan was the king of swans, but the owl was just a common bird.  The owl always wished "I wish I were a king too!"

One day the owl woke up to see an army camp beneath his tree.  Suddenly he had an idea!  He quickly went to the swan and invited him to his tree.  He showed the army to the swan and said, " O Swan! this is my kingdom and the army below is my army!"

Just then the captain gave the orders to the army to move.  Hearing this the owl decided to show the swan his authority.  He flew around the captain hooting loudly.

Now the captain was a person who believed in omens.  He quickly decided that it was not a good day to travel.  He ordered his troops to camp for another day and decided to leave the next day.

The next morning the owl invited the swan again to show off his kingdom.  As the soldiers were getting ready to go, the owl flew around the captain's head hooting loudly.

But this time the captain was angry with the owl.  He decided that he would set aside his fear of ill omens and continue with the journey.  He called an archer and ordered "Shoot down that pesky owl!"

The owl and the swan were perched on the same branch when the archer shot his arrow.  The owl seeing the arrow, moved away hastily.  But the swan was too slow to move.  The arrow pierced the swan and the swan dropped dead.

The owl was filled with sadness and remorse at the loss of the noble swan.  If he had not been so untruthful and pretentious, he would not have been the cause of death of a good and honest friend.  The owl weeped in sorrow and said to himself, "Ah! My poor friend!  You had to die because of my lies and pride."

Moral:

• Disaster follows pride.