The Crow and the Pitcher

retold by Sara Huber

hummingbirdscrow


"Well, you wouldn't be so tired if you hadn't stayed up so late last night telling stories with that crow! We have to get a move on so stop talking and flap your wings faster!" shouted Abby's angry mother.


humming birds"GOD! I am already flapping my wings fifteen times per second. What more does she want from me?" Abby complained to her sister Lily.


It was a cold autumn night as a small family of ruby-throated hummingbirds flew through the night. Winter was approaching fast and these little birds had to make it to Mexico before the first freeze of the season. The journey was long and already two of the hummingbirds, Lily and Abby, were lagging behind. This was their first migration and their parents had told them time and again to stay on course, go to bed early, and wake up earlier! You know how children are though! Lily and Abby loved staying up late at night to tell stories, especially with new friends.

You see, since this was their first migration they were coming across a lot of birds that they had never seen before. Crows, ravens, cranes, peacocks, swans - they were all huge! Lily and Abby's parent had told them not to mingle with these other birds but they couldn't resist. Just last night they met a lonely crow. The poor thing had no family and no friends, but Abby and Lily couldn't figure out why. He seemed quite the gentlemen and so intelligent! In fact he had them convinced of this after telling them how he had gotten himself out of a potentially deadly predicament over the summer.


***********

"Well, you see, girls, last summer was so hot, just too hot for words, " said the crow.

"I know, wasn't it great! I thought we would be able to stay here all winter it was so hot. I have to tell you, I am sort of nervous about this whole migration thing. I mean who wants to fly so far? We have to fly over the Gulf in one night! Over twenty hours and 500 miles! I mean really! I don't see why we can't just stay here with you," interrupted Lily.

"I know, I know. Flying so far can be difficult, but trust me, you haven't see a winter here yet and if you could, you would be mighty glad that you flew all the way to Mexico. How hot it gets here in the summer - that's how cold it gets in the winter. Sometimes in the winter there isn't anything to drink at all because all the water turns to ice. See, even last summer, for me, it was hard to find water sometimes. Did you girls notice there was a drought going on?" asked the crow.

"Oh, no. Well, I guess we wouldn't notice actually.  We're pretty lucky. People leave nectar out for us to drink.  That way if there isn't any water for the flowers we aren't in too much trouble," replied Abby. crow

"Well, you are two lucky girls then. For days last summer I couldn't find a drop to drink. I flew into the countryside and all the ponds and rivers were dried up! I flew into the cities and all the gutters were empty. It seemed like there wasn't water anywhere! Then, just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, I saw a small clear bottle sitting on the side of a dirt road next to an abandoned farm. I hobbled over and took a peek inside. There was water!"

"So you drank it, right?" asked Abby.

"Well, how was I supposed to do that? My beak isn't like yours! I couldn't just stick it into the bottle like it was a flower! I had to think of something! Do you know what I did? I looked all around and started gathering pebbles. I picked them up with my beak and dropped them one by one into the bottle until it was almost full and the water had just reached the top. That water was the best I've ever tasted, girls! It saved my life!" finished the crow.

"Crow, you're a genius! Maybe you could come along with us. Just in case?" asked Abby.

"No, no. I don't think your family would like that. I wouldn't fit in with all you hummingbirds. Just think of me when something bad happens and ask yourself, 'What would that smart crow do?'" he replied.

Lily looked at Abby and then she looked at the crow. She was sad to leave him, but she knew that if she didn't get to bed quick her mother was going to get her.

***********

lilyabby

"Lily, I wonder who we will meet tonight? Maybe another crow? A swan? What do you think?" Abby asked her sister as she tried to keep up with her parents while reminiscing about last night.

"I think that if you don't hurry up and fly we are going to be in big trouble!"


Author's Note

I chose to retell the story of "The Crow and the Pitcher" because it seems like a lot of people overlook crows as pests and do not know how smart they can be. For this retelling I have added all of the dialogue and invented the frame of a migrating family of hummingbirds. I decided to use hummingbirds because they are probably one of the most well-known migrating birds. The original story of the crow is very short and told in a third person point of view. I have kept the plot of the crow's story exactly the same and have changed it to a first person point of view..

Dust of Snow

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.


Coverpage

Introduction

Story Two: The Ant and the Dove

Story Three: The Owl and the Grasshopper

Story Four: The Peacock and the Crane


Bibiliography Information:
"The Crow and the Pitcher" from "Aesop for Children"  by Aesop 1919/2006 Webpage Link
"Dust of Snow" by Robert Frost Webpage Link

Image Information:
"Colombian Hummingbird" by John Audobon Webpage Link
"American Crow" by John Audobon Webpage Link
"Hummingbirds" by Ernst Haeckel Webpage Link
"Crow #2" by Carlos Durazo Webpage Link
"Rofous Hummingbird" by Jonathan Rodgers Webpage Link
"Costa's Hummingbird" by Jon Sullivan Webpage Link