Chapter 192
Some cranes settled down in a farmer’s field that had recently been sown with wheat, and made it their feeding ground. For some time the farmer frightened them away by threatening them with an empty sling. But when the cranes discovered that he was only slinging air, they were no longer afraid of him and would not fly away. Consequently, the farmer slung stones and killed a good number of the birds. In response the rest of the cranes took off and cried out to each other, “It’s time for us to be off. This man isn’t just threatening us any longer. He’s really serious about getting rid of us.”
If words do not suffice, action must follow.