The Magpie's Nest
Long, long ago,When pigs drank wine,
And monkeys chewed tobacco,
And chickens pecked at it,
And from that grew tough,
And ducks quacked: quack-quack-quack…
Birds from all over the world flocked to the magpie and asked her to teach them how to build nests.
After all, the magpie is the most skilled at nest-building!
So she gathered the birds around her and began to show them how it’s done. First, she took some mud and shaped it into a round patty.
“Ah, so that’s how it’s done…” said the gray thrush and flew away.
Ever since, gray thrushes have built their nests just like that.
Then the magpie fetched a few twigs and laid them around the edge of the patty.
“Now I understand everything,” said the blackbird and flew away.
And that’s how blackbirds have built their nests ever since.
Next, the magpie placed another patty of mud on top of the twigs.
“It’s all clear,” said the wise owl and flew away.
Since then, owls have never learned to build better nests.
The magpie then took a few more twigs and wove them around the outside of the nest.
“That’s just what I need!” chirped the sparrow and flitted away.
And that’s why, to this day, sparrows build their nests so messily.
Well, the magpie then gathered some feathers and scraps of cloth and lined the nest snugly with them.
“I like this!” exclaimed the starling and flew away.
Indeed, starlings have very cozy nests.
And so it went: the birds would listen for a while, not stay until the end, and fly away one by one.
Meanwhile, the magpie kept working and working, paying no attention to anyone.
All the birds had flown away. Only one little bird remained—the turtledove. Now, you should know that this turtledove wasn’t paying any attention to what the magpie was doing and just kept repeating mindlessly:
“Not enough for two, not enough for two-o-o…”
Finally, the magpie heard this—just as she was placing a twig across the nest—and said:
“One is enough!”
But the turtledove kept repeating:
“Not enough for two, not enough for two-o-o…”
The magpie got angry and said:
“One is enough, I tell you!” But the turtledove just kept on:
“Not enough for two, not enough for two-o-o!”
Then the magpie looked around and saw that no one was left except the silly turtledove. The magpie became furious and flew away. And she never wanted to teach the birds how to build nests again.
That’s why different birds build their nests in different ways.
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