The Crow and the Clouds

Since ancient times, the cat and the crow have been considered sworn enemies. And here's why it happened.

There once lived a crow in the world. She had a passion for stealing all sorts of things and hiding them in secret places. She would hide them, but then couldn't find them herself. This greatly upset the crow. So she went to the cat for advice.

"Help me, cat," she began to plead. "Why can't I find my treasures?"

"Tell me, crow, where do you hide your stolen goods?" asked the cat.

"Oh!" exclaimed the crow. "I hide them in the safest place! Under the clouds! When I see a beautiful cloud floating by, I mark it and leave my treasures somewhere in the bushes beneath it."

"Well, you are a foolish crow!" laughed the cat. "Don't you know that clouds don't stay in one place but float across the sky? The cloud passes, and that's it! If you mark your hiding spots by the clouds, you'll never find anything!"

The crow thought for a moment and said:

"Don't mess with my head! Where do these clouds even go? You, cat, made all this up to steal my treasures yourself!"

And so, she didn't believe the wise cat. As before, she kept hiding her stolen goods under the clouds.

The animals learned of the crow's foolishness and began to laugh at her:

"Well, you've really amused us, crow!"

"You found a spot—under the floating clouds!" The crow grew even angrier at the cat.

"I thought you were my friend," she grumbled. "But you went and told everyone where I keep my treasures."

From that time on, the friendship between the crow and the cat fell apart. Now the crow flies around the world, shouting at the top of her lungs: "Cat, give back my treasures!"

More fairy tales

• The Red Lacquer Cup
• Gombey the Birdcatcher
• The Witch of Mount Tōfukuyama
• The Temple of the White Herons
• The Great Celebration of the White Fox