The Drunken Sparrow

Village sparrows are accustomed to feeding on grain, and as soon as the crops ripen, they flock to the threshing grounds in droves.

One day, a peasant scattered some wine leaven on the threshing floor and hid nearby in a shack. Soon, a flock of sparrows arrived. Hopping from place to place, they began pecking at the leaven along with the grain. The sparrows quickly became intoxicated, and the peasant easily caught them.

But one sparrow didn’t get drunk in time and, though with difficulty, managed to fly up into a tree.

As soon as the wine took effect, forgetting the danger that had just threatened him, he joyfully sang:

— I’m not afraid of anyone, I’m not afraid of anything! After the phoenix, I am the greatest of all birds!

With that, he chased a cicada off the tree, pecked at a swallow chick several times, and, pleased with himself, sang again:

— I’m not afraid of anyone, I’m not afraid of anything! After the phoenix, I am the greatest of all birds!

Soon, a magpie landed on a branch, and the sparrow decided to treat it the same way he had treated the swallow chick. The magpie saw that he was drunk, didn’t want to bother with him, and flew away. The sparrow’s self-satisfaction only grew: in his joy, he not only sang but also began to dance.

Word of the sparrow’s complete takeover of the tree quickly spread throughout the forest. A dove grew skeptical and decided to see for himself if it was true. And who would have thought: as soon as he landed on the tree, the sparrow began pecking at his head!

Caught off guard, the dove flew away and perched on another tree. The sparrow, however, thought the dove was also afraid of him and sang again:

— I’m not afraid of anyone, I’m not afraid of anything! After the phoenix, I am the greatest of all birds!

The dove was very annoyed. He sat on a neighboring tree and watched the drunk sparrow’s antics. Then he hurried to the kite:

— Brother, the sparrow has taken over an entire tree, and none of the birds dare to land there. He chased away the cicada, pecked at the swallow and the magpie so badly they had to flee, and when I barely landed on the tree, I lost more than a dozen feathers! And all the while, he keeps singing!

— What is he singing?
— “I’m not afraid of anyone, I’m not afraid of anything! After the phoenix, I am the greatest of all birds!” He doesn’t even respect you, elder brother!

Before the dove could finish speaking, the enraged kite spread its wings and flew to the tree where the sparrow was perched. The dove, magpie, swallow, and cicada followed. Just as the sparrow began to sing his song again in a clear voice, the kite swooped down on him like a stone... but missed.

The sparrow darted into a thicket of thorny bushes growing beneath the tree. The kite tried to follow, but it was too large to squeeze through the thicket. It stopped and angrily demanded:

— Well, who is greater—you or me?
— You, of course! You’re even greater than the phoenix, the sparrow replied in a trembling voice.
— You turtle’s spawn! Will you boast again?
— Forgive me, I ate too much wine leaven and was babbling in my drunkenness, the sparrow said, tears dripping from his eyes.

The kite glared at him, grumbled something angrily, and flew away.

The kite had long disappeared from sight, but the sparrow still didn’t dare come out of the bushes. The swallow, dove, and magpie gathered around, laughing scornfully, while the cicada endlessly repeated:

— Chi, chi—shame, shame!

↑ To the top

The Drunken Sparrow

More fairy tales