The Eagle, the Falcon and the Crane
Once upon a time, at the edge of an ancient forest where cool waters flowed, there lived an eagle who claimed to be the ruler of the sky. Whenever this eagle beat its proud wings, it took the winds behind it and looked down from above with haughty eyes upon the valley full of shadows. On the peak of those same high mountains there reigned a bold, agile and quite ambitious falcon. The two birds of prey, in their passion to be the sole master of the skies, constantly boasted of their superiority to each other and raced their strength. In the reeds by the lake, however, a graceful and wise crane lived in peace, quiet and keeping to itself. While the golden rays of the sun struck the lake, the eagle and the falcon alighted at the same moment upon a high rock.
The eagle puffed out its chest and cried in a loud voice that only it could rule over this broad valley. The falcon fixed its sharp gaze upon the eagle and said angrily that it had grown old and could never be faster than himself. Just at that moment they noticed the graceful crane fishing in the shallow waters of the lake. The falcon insolently challenged the eagle, declaring that whoever caught the crane first would be counted the true ruler of the sky. The eagle could not bear this challenge to its pride, accepted the offer without thinking at all and set off at once. Though the crane sensed the dangerous shadows circling above it, it withdrew among the reeds without losing its calm.
The two birds of prey, their eyes turned by ambition, locked onto their quarry and plunged headlong at the very same instant. Blinded by the ambition to outstrip each other, the eagle and the falcon could not check their speed and collided violently in the air. The haughty birds, having lost control, fell hard among the dense and sharp branches of the reeds. The two ambitious hunters, their wings tangled together and caught in the branches, began to flap about helplessly. The wise crane, beating its wings with deep grace, glided up into the sky and moved away from the danger. The hunters, who fell into a trap because of their greed, lost not only their quarry but their freedom as well. Blind ambition and arrogance make even those who seem strongest fall into the pit they dug themselves. He who rises in anger sits down with a loss.