A Thirsty Crow

It was a hot summer. The ponds and the other normal sources of water for birds had dried up. The rainy season was far ahead. A crow was very thirsty and looking for water all around. At one place, it saw a pitcher and hopefully flew towards it. But to its dismay the water level was very low. Despite all his efforts, the crow could not dip his beak in the water to have a sip even. Necessity is the mother of invention. The crow thought over the problem and suddenly an idea occurred to it. It picked pebbles one by one and threw them in the water. Initially the sound of pebbles dipping in water gave him a new hope. He continued his efforts and to his surprise soon the water level was up upto the brim of the pot. He drank to his hearts’ content and flew away happily.

The story is not a new one. Perhaps all of us have been taught it alongwith our nursery rhymes like Ba Ba Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How I Wonder What You Are etc. But the story has a lesson. Our needs compel us to make efforts to achieve the desired results. We have made our present life comfortable in this way only. But the saints go a step farther and advise us to likewise create the thirst for spiritual upliftment, so that we may get permanent comforts after the present life span.