Why the Owl Was Not King of the Birds

Why the Owl Was Not King of the Birds

It is said that long ago, when animals still gathered for great councils and could make agreements almost as people do, each kind of creature had its own order.

The beasts had a leader. The creatures of rivers and seas also had someone to whom they turned when disputes arose. But the birds flew about on their own business and could never decide who should help them make decisions together.

One morning they gathered on a great flat rock in the middle of a clearing.

There were sparrows and cranes, doves and crows, parrots, herons, swallows, thrushes, and countless other birds.

Their chatter was so loud that even the leaves in the trees seemed to be listening.

“We need a king!” chirped the sparrows.

“Or a queen,” added a swallow.

“What matters is that someone should know how to listen to everyone,” said the crane solemnly.

For a long time the birds considered different candidates.

Someone suggested Eagle, but the little birds were afraid that he looked at them too often as though they were lunch.

Someone named Peacock, but Peacock was admiring his own tail and missed half the conversation.

At last several birds cried, “Let it be Owl! She can see in the dark, she is quiet for a long time, and she looks very serious. She must be wise.”

Many of the birds liked the idea.

Owl was sitting on an old pine branch above the rock. She spread her wings, lifted her breast, and nodded grandly.

“If you choose me,” she said, “I will bring order.”

The birds were about to vote when an old Crow raised a wing.

“May I say a few words?”

The rock grew quieter.

“Speak,” said the birds.

Crow began carefully.

“I do not deny that Owl knows many things. But a ruler must be more than clever. A ruler must be able to listen to those who think differently. Before we choose, I would like to hear this: what will Owl do if someone disagrees with her?”

Owl turned her head sharply.

“Disagrees with me?” she repeated.

“Yes,” Crow answered calmly. “At a great council there will always be different opinions.”

“Who would dare argue with a king?” Owl exclaimed angrily.

“That is exactly why I am asking,” said Crow.

Owl grew even more angry.

“Take away your doubts!” she cried, and flew from the branch straight toward Crow.

Crow hopped aside.

“Do not chase me. I only asked a question!”

But Owl beat her wings angrily several more times before she stopped.

Silence fell on the rock.

At last a little Sparrow whispered, “I think Crow has received her answer.”

Crane nodded.

“If one question brings such anger, how shall we come to the ruler with real disagreements?”

Owl heard these words and lowered her wings.

Now she too understood that she had not shown her best side.

“I… was too quick to become angry,” she muttered.

Crow settled on a nearby stone.

“That does not mean you are bad,” she said. “It simply means that being wise and being ready to lead others are not quite the same thing.”

The birds decided to continue their council.

Then Dove stepped forward.

She was not the strongest bird, she did not have the longest wings, and she could not see in the dark better than the others.

“I do not know the answer to every question,” she said. “But if you come to me with a matter, I will first listen to every side. And if I make a mistake myself, I will let you tell me so.”

The birds looked at one another.

“That sounds like a good beginning,” said Crow.

And this time most of them agreed.

So Dove became the one the birds trusted to guide their councils.

Owl returned to her quiet tree. She still knew many things, still saw wonderfully at night, and in time she learned not to grow angry at every disagreement.

And if Crow flew nearby, neither of them flew at the other. They only nodded cautiously.

Perhaps they were still far from friendship.

But even that was better than a quarrel.

From then on, the birds remembered: anyone who wishes to lead others must do more than speak wise words. They must know how to listen, especially when they hear something they did not wish to hear.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨