Once upon a time the owl, a daytime bird, , was sitting on a branch with a small prey under its foot. A mischievous boy shot a mud pellet at the owl. His unerring aim caught the owl in its rump. The owl let out a loud screech and flew off in great pain. It approached its friend, the crow, and asked for help. The crow in turn took the owl to its friend the cuckoo, which was renowned in the jungle for its knowledge of medicine.
The cuckoo examined the owl and found that the cause of pain was the mud pellet. He advised the owl to sit in neck-deep water for an hour. In an hour's time the mud pellet dissolved and the owl's pain decreased. When the owl was about to fly away, the cuckoo raised the matter regarding the fee. The owl argued that it was the water that had relieved the pain and so no payment was due to the cuckoo!
The crow also failed to persuade the owl to be reasonable. The outraged cuckoo dragged the owl to the court of the wise rabbit with the crow as witness. When the case went against the owl, he declared himself insolvent! The rabbit then asked the crow to pay up as he had stood surety for the owl. The crow exclaimed that he was a well-known pauper, scavenging for a living and hence it could not meet the expense. The rabbit then decreed that the crow must compensate the cuckoo by being of service to him. Thus it was decreed that the crow would look after the cuckoo's eggs until they were hatched. This gave the cuckoo more time for his medical practice; but the crow was annoyed and he vowed to attack the owl on sight.
Since that day the crow has been caring for the cuckoo's eggs and the owl has become a nocturnal bird for fear of the crow.
