Dinewan the Emu, and Wahn the Crows

Dinewan the Emu, and Wahn the Crows

One day, Dinewan the emu was travelling with two Wahn crows. The journey was long, and the sky had been growing darker since morning. Heavy clouds gathered over the plain, wind swayed the grass, and soon the first large raindrops fell.

“We need to find a dry place,” said one of the crows.

“Better still, let’s build a shelter,” added the other.

Dinewan agreed. Together they gathered large pieces of bark, leaned them against each other, and made a small shelter. It was cramped inside, but dry. All three sat down closer to the middle and began to eat their supper from what they had brought with them.

The rain soon grew heavier. It rattled against the bark as loudly as a whole handful of pebbles scattered over the roof.

Dinewan sat in the driest corner. He felt warm and comfortable. And suddenly he thought of a joke.

He carefully stretched out his long leg and pushed the bottom piece of bark. It tilted slightly, and a cold wind blew in.

“Oh!” cried the first Wahn. “The wall’s coming loose!”

“We must fix it before the whole shelter crumbles,” said the second.

The crows ran out into the rain, put the bark back in place, and returned wet, shaking the drops from their wings.

Dinewan looked very serious.

“It’s good that you noticed in time,” he said.

But no sooner had the crows settled down again than Dinewan imperceptibly pushed the bark a second time.

“Again!” cried one Wahn in surprise.

They ran out again. The rain poured down on their backs, the wind ruffled their feathers, and Dinewan sat in a dry corner, barely holding back his laughter.

The third time it happened, the crows looked at each other.

“Strange,” one said quietly.

“Very strange,” the other replied. “The wind is blowing from the other direction.”

The next time, they did not rush outside. Both pretended to study the roof while keeping an eye on Dinewan.

And they saw him again put out his foot and push the bark.

The crows said nothing. They simply went outside, pretending to repair the wall, and there they quickly agreed on a joke of their own.

Near the entrance lay a wide, flat piece of bark holding slightly warm ashes from a small fire. One Wahn took one end, and the other took the opposite end. They scooped rainwater into a hollow in the bark and carefully carried it under the shelter.

“Well, is it holding?” Dinewan asked, once again pretending he had nothing to do with it.

“It’ll hold now,” said the first Wahn.

“And we’ve brought you something interesting,” added the second.

They placed the bark near the entrance. Dinewan leaned over to see what was there.

And just at that moment the crows lifted the edge a little.

Splash!

Cold rainwater splashed right under Dinewan’s feet. He jumped so suddenly that his wing caught the edge of the shelter, and a light cloud of soot from the warm ash settled on his chest and beak.

Dinewan ran outside and stood in the rain. In a minute he was wet from head to toe.

The crows looked out of their shelter.

“Well?” asked one. “Do you enjoy having to go out into the downpour all the time?”

Dinewan was silent.

“We got wet a few times just because you were having fun,” said the other. “And when a joke is funny to only one person, it’s not a very good joke.”

Dinewan looked at them, then at his soot-stained feathers, and finally laughed.

“Okay,” he admitted. “You’ve outwitted me. And I think I deserve this shower.”

He returned to the shelter, but this time he stood by the wall he had previously shaken.

“Let me secure it properly,” he offered. “Then no one will have to get soaked because of my tricks.”

Together they put the bark more firmly in place, propped it up with branches, and checked all the cracks. Soon the shelter was dry and warm again.

The rain fell almost until morning. Dinewan no longer touched the wall. And when the wind got stronger, he was the first to check if everything was holding.

From then on, they say, if Dinewan wanted to make a joke, he first thought: will everyone find it funny?

A good joke brings people together. A joke that leaves someone out in the rain on their own is better never played.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨