The Sacred Bird
Once upon a time, at the edge of an ancient forest where cool waters flowed with melodies, there lived a tiny bird of boundless conceit whom they called the Sacred Bird. This charming creature, heedless of its threadlike legs, claimed at every opportunity that it alone could hold up the sky, and it showed off to everyone around it. The wise animals of the forest met these childish boasts with a smile, yet out of politeness they quickly drifted away from him. Whenever he perched among the lush green leaves, he dearly loved to raise his legs into the air, puff out his chest and sing with insufferable airs. All day long he kept telling the other birds that, if he were not there, the blue vault of heaven would be levelled to the ground. One autumn morning, while the old bear and the cunning fox were resting beneath a mighty oak, our tiny bird took the stage once more. He lay on his back upon a low branch of the tree, thrust his slender legs into the air and began to shout with pride.
“O people of the forest, look upon my noble stance and learn from it!” he boasted at the top of his voice. “If I did not lift these mighty legs of mine into the air, the sky would collapse upon your heads and every one of you would be crushed.” The old bear shook his head and said, “My dear little friend, those delicate legs of yours could scarcely carry a single acorn.” The Sacred Bird grew furious at these words and, stretching his beak towards the heavens, protested. “If you do not believe me, wait until the thunder rolls, and you shall see with your own eyes how I save the world!” he cried. The cunning fox narrowed his eyes at the tiny bird and smiled beneath his whiskers. Just at that moment a light wind blew, and a dry, yellowed leaf came drifting down from the branch above.
The leaf brushed gently against the Sacred Bird's tender breast and fell to the ground. Certain that the sky had come crashing down upon him, the tiny bird let out a shrill scream of terror. Leaping up from where he lay on his back, the bird forgot all about his legs and fled for dear life into a nearby stronghold of brambles. When all the animals of the forest saw this comical sight, they were swept away by a merry flood of laughter. The Sacred Bird, who had claimed to hold up the sky with his legs, hung his head in shame when he understood that he had fled from a single tiny leaf. The courage of those who speak great words is most often doomed to be scattered by the first small breeze. Eat a big bite, but do not speak a big word.