Amazing Animal Stories
The Foolish Owl
Maulana Abu Mu’awiyah Attari Madani
‘What have you done? They were my children,’ cried Omera the Owl, shaking her wings in a chaotic flutter, ‘You have just eaten your friend’s children.’
Hearing the angry Owl, all the bats in the forest gathered at Omera the Owl’s house. By now, she was busy arguing with Eman the Eagle.
‘During the new year feast for wild birds,’ pleaded Omera the Owl as she turned to the bats, ‘I befriended this eagle. She promised not to eat my chicks, but she lied! She is not my friend anymore.’ She sat down and began to weep.
The bats were disappointed. They stared at Eman the Eagle with a piercing look. There was a long pause and then, ‘First listen to what I have to say,’ Eman the Eagle bellowed, ‘then decide if I am guilty. You have only heard half of the story. You do not know what happened. When I asked Omera the Owl about her children, so I can recognise them, do you know what she said?’ The bats looked Omera the Owl, expecting an answer from her. She looked down for a moment. ‘I told him the truth. I told him that my children are more beautiful than all of the other chicks, their voices are sweet, their hands are soft, and their feathers are shiny.’
The bats were shocked because none of this was true.
‘Now, tell me! Who is at fault?’ interjected Eman the Eagle, ‘I was flying here and there looking for something to eat when I came across a nest which contained four chicks. Their voices were not sweet, their feathers were dull, and their hands were coarse. I thought to myself that these cannot be the children of my friend. So, I swung in and ate them.’
The oldest bat turned to Omera the Owl: ‘This is not Eman the Eagle’s fault. It is all your fault because you lied.’
Dear children! If your parents or teacher ask you something, tell them the truth. Lying has serious consequences but telling the truth will always solve our problems.
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