THE SPARROW’S WARNING
In a quiet village, a little sparrow lived in the eaves of a barn. One morning, she fluttered down and noticed the farmer carrying a box inside. Curious, she peeked through the window and saw him set down a shiny, metal cage with bait inside.
Her heart skipped a beat. “It’s a bird trap!” she gasped. Quickly, she flew to warn her friends in the meadow.
She first found the goat grazing and cried, “There’s a trap in the barn! Please be careful!”
The goat chewed calmly and replied, “Little one, I’m far too big to be caught in such a thing. That’s your problem, not mine.”
Next, she flew to the cat stretching under a tree. “There’s a trap in the barn! Please stay alert!”
The cat yawned lazily and said, “A trap for birds doesn’t bother me. You’re the one who should worry.”
Finally, she rushed to the horse. “There’s a trap in the barn! Someone might get hurt!”
The horse snorted and replied, “I’m sorry, Sparrow, but I can’t do anything about it. It doesn’t concern me.”
With no one to help, the sparrow returned to her nest, heavy with worry.
That very night, the trap snapped shut—not on a bird, but on a poisonous snake that slithered into the barn. Its tail was caught, and in fury it struck the farmer’s wife when she came to investigate.
She grew terribly ill, and the villagers said, “She must have chicken broth to recover.” The farmer caught a hen for the soup.
When her condition worsened, relatives and neighbours arrived to help. To feed them all, the farmer slaughtered the goat.
Despite their efforts, the woman passed away. For the funeral feast, the farmer killed the horse to provide enough meat for the mourners.
From her perch on the rafters, the sparrow wept. What began as her problem had swallowed them all.
Moral: When one thread in the fabric of life is pulled, the whole cloth shifts. Another’s burden may one day become our own. We are woven together—so let us care for one another.
