The Falcon and the Hawk
Once upon a time, at the edge of an old forest where cool waters ran, there lived two birds of prey atop the high cliffs. One was the wise falcon, known for his patience, and the other the impatient hawk, who boasted of his speed. As the hawk glided in the blue depths of the sky, he took pride in his sharp eyes and beat his wings impatiently to seize his prey. The falcon, however, would settle upon a rock and preferred to await his sustenance in calm. These two birds, the master hunters of the forest, saw life and hunting with wholly different eyes. One morning, when the golden light of the sun filtered through the leaves, the hawk alighted once more beside the falcon with a haughty air.
"O friend, how will you fill your belly by sitting about so idly?" he asked mockingly. The falcon calmly turned his head and answered: "Every creature awaits its own portion, and he who hurries stumbles over his own feet." Just then a small dove appeared among a distant clump of brushwood. The hawk cried: "Look now, my sharp eyes miss no prey, and I shall prove my strength to you at once!" Though the falcon tried to warn him, the proud hawk paid no heed to the warnings. With tremendous speed he plunged straight down from the sky towards the dove in the middle of the thicket.
But because greed had clouded his eyes, he did not notice the trap and the fine wires the hunter had hidden in the bushes. Just as the hawk was about to seize the dove, he became tangled in the wires of the carefully set trap, and the more his wings beat, the tighter he was squeezed. The haughty bird, struggling in helplessness, felt a great regret as he was about to fall prey to the hunter. The falcon, who watched everything from the high cliff, glided down beside his friend and managed to break the rope of the trap with his powerful beak. The hawk, who regained his freedom but with injured wings, had paid a heavy price for his greed and his arrogance. From that day on, the hawk learned to appreciate the patience and the wisdom of the falcon. Arrogance founded on impatience and greed is a dangerous trap that drags even the mightiest talents into disaster. He who rises in haste sits down in regret.