The Wise Old Crow

11 The Wise Old Crow It was the middle of summer on a tiny little island in the sea. And it was so hot that all the fresh water had dried up. The birds were so weak that they could hardly fly. Then one night, it rained. But the ground was so hard and dry that the water just ran into the sea. All the birds were beginning to panic. Then, an old crow announced, " Last week, some humans left a very large round bottle on the beach. It may have water in it. " Someone yelled, " Take us there, old crow! " He took them to the beach, and they all stood looking at the huge round bottle. It was sitting upright on the sand. It had gallons of water in it-all they would need for weeks. They tried to push it over, but it was so big that it would not move. They dropped rocks on it, but it would not break. They all felt they would die looking at the fresh water! As they argued about how to break the bottle, the old crow picked up a pebble and walked over to the bottle.

“ What are you doing, crazy old bird?" someone said. " You'll never be able to smash it with one of those little pebbles. " They all laughed at him. “ You're probably right, " said the old crow. He walked over to the bottle and dropped the pebble in. The others went back to arguing while he continued to drop pebbles into the bottle. Suddenly, one crow noticed and said, " Look, the water is rising! " The wise old crow declared, “ If we cannot reach the water, we must bring the water to us. " Soon, all the birds were helping. It took hundreds of pebbles, but by noon, the water had come to the top. Everyone agreed that the first drink should go to the wise old crow who had saved them. The old crow is an important reminder that with age comes wisdom.