Pretty Song

One sunny afternoon, a crow swooped down and gathered a piece of meat in its mouth. A lion had watched the whole thing happen, and he was jealous of the crow. He wanted the piece of meat in the worst way. He was hungry and started to drool. He thought and thought about what he could do to get the meat from the crow. Finally, he had an idea.

He sat down at the foot of the tree and called up to the crow, “Hey, crow, don’t your feathers look crisp and clean today?” The crow smiled to himself and admired his feathers.

The lion then said, “Hey, crow, your beak looks awfully handsome today, as well.” The crow smiled again and felt his face turning red.

At this point, the lion knew that the crow was probably ready for the next step. He called out, “Hey, crow, I’ve heard you have a beautiful voice. Do you mind singing just a few notes for me?”

By this time, the crow was beaming. He knew his voice was beautiful. He immediately opened his mouth and let out a shrill sound. The notes cascaded down to the base of the tree. The piece of meat that was in the crow’s mouth fell out. It landed at the lion’s feet. The lion snatched up the meat and scurried off into the forest.