The Owl And The Birds
Aesop Fable: The Owl And The Birds
An owl, in her wisdom, counseled the Birds that when the
acorn first began to sprout, to pull it all up out of the
ground and not allow it to grow. She said acorns would
produce mistletoe, from which an irremediable poison, the
bird-lime, would be extracted and by which they would be
captured. The Owl next advised them to pluck up the seed
of the flax, which men had sown, as it was a plant which
boded no good to them. And, lastly, the Owl, seeing an
archer approach, predicted that this man, being on foot,
would contrive darts armed with feathers which would fly
faster than the wings of the Birds themselves.
The Birds
gave no credence to these warning words, but considered
the Owl to be beside herself and said that she was mad.
But afterwards, finding her words were true, they wondered
at her knowledge and deemed her to be the wisest of birds.
Hence it is that when she appears they look to her as knowing
all things, while she no longer gives them advice, but
in solitude laments their past folly.
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