There was a mountain far away, with a tree on it. And on the tree lived a magical bird. The bird had a strange quality: her droppings would always turn to gold!
A hunter used to come there very often. One day he saw this strange thing happening – bird’s dropping turning into gold. He was quite fascinated. He had been hunting for years since he was a child, and had seen and caught many kinds of birds and animals. But never in his life had he seen a bird whose droppings turned into gold!
He decided that he must have that bird who was truly magical! Besides, she would make him so rich. So he laid his nets and his traps for the bird and waited for her to be caught. The bird was busy with her own work, so she did not notice the hunter nor did she see the traps he had laid to catch her. So, very soon she was caught!
The hunter put her into a cage to take her home. Then he began to think. If he took the magical bird home, he would certainly become rich. But soon people would notice his wealth, and they would tell the king. Then the king would find out how he got all his money and he would punish him for not telling him about the bird. “Oh no! I had better tell the king right away. Or I will be punished later,” thought the hunter.
So he turned his steps towards the palace. After some argument at the gates, the guards let him go in. He showed the bird to the king and told him of the magical quality of the bird. The king was very happy and rewarded the hunter for bringing him such a rare gift. He told his ministers that the bird must be looked after very carefully. She must be given water and food also on time and kept clean and well.
The ministers agreed but they had a little doubt. “ How can we be certain, Sir, that what this man says is, in fact true? Perhaps it will be better if we check it out first, if you permit?” they suggested.
However, though they waited, there were no droppings. So they thought that to test the bird they had to set her free as she was used to flying free or they would not be able to collect the droppings. So, the king followed the advice of his ministers and ordered that the bird be set free. The moment she was set free, the bird flew off. She thought, “First I was a fool, then the hunter, the ministers and even the king! What a pack of fools we are!”
