The Owl and the Birds
Once upon a time, in an enchanting forest where cool waters flowed gently and ancient oaks rose high, there lived a wise owl. This wise bird had the gift of pondering the mysteries of the universe in the deep silence of the night and of sensing the dangers to come. The other dwellers of the forest, full of cheerful chirping, only enjoyed the day and never thought of the storms the morrow would bring. One day the wise owl noticed a small oak sapling freshly sprouting from the soil and the flax seeds beside it. Hearing at once the footsteps of danger, the owl called all the birds of the forest to an urgent gathering. When all the chirping birds had gathered in curiosity, the wise owl began to speak in a deep and cautious tone.
"If this sprouting oak grows, mistletoe will grow upon it and will offer men sticky traps to catch us," he said. "Moreover, if those flax seeds sprout, mankind will weave from those fibres sturdy nets to imprison us," he added. He insistently advised the birds to pull this sapling and these seeds out of the soil and destroy them at once, while there was still time. But the little birds met the owl's grave warnings with great laughter and mocked him. "You spoil our joy with your delusions; how can a tiny weed ever harm us?" they chirped. The wise owl withdrew to his corner with a deep sigh, while the heedless birds went on playing without a care.
The seasons passed swiftly by, the flax flourished and the oak tree rose towards the sky with lush branches. Before long the men came; they wove strong nets from the flax and prepared sticky traps from the mistletoe of the oak. The ignorant birds who had once scorned the warnings fell one by one into these merciless traps and lost their freedom. The birds, who understood their mistake through bitter experience, began from that day to feel great respect for the owl. But it was too late, and the wise owl no longer gave them counsel, contenting himself with looking at them in sorrow. To ignore the wise advice given before disaster arrives opens the door to an endless regret. Late repentance brings no benefit.