The Foolish Crows

Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was a sea-spirit. Now a crow with
his mate came down in quest of food to the sea-shore
where, just before, certain persons had been offering
to the Nagas a sacrifice of milk, and rice, and fish, and
meat and strong drink and the like. Up came the crow
and with his mate ate freely of the elements of the sacrifice,
and drank a great deal of the spirits. So they both got
very drunk. Then they wanted to disport themselves in
the sea, and were trying to swim on the surf, when a wave
swept the hen-crow out to sea and a fish came and gobbled
her up.

" Oh, my poor wife is dead," cried the crow, bursting
into tears and lamentations. Then a crowd of crows were
drawn by his wailing to the spot to learn what ailed him.
And when he told them how his wife had been carried out
to sea, they all began with one voice to lament. Suddenly
the thought struck them that they were stronger than the
sea and that all they had to do was to empty it out and
rescue their comrade ! So they set to work with their
bills to empty the sea out by mouthfuls, betaking them-
selves to dry land to rest so soon as their throats were sore
with the salt water. And so they toiled away till their
mouths and jaws were dry and inflamed and their eyes
bloodshot, and they were ready to drop for weariness.
Then in despair they turned to one another and said that
it was in vain they laboured to empty the sea, for no sooner
had they got rid of the water in one place than more
flowed in, and there was all their work to do over again ;
they would never succeed in baling the water out of the
sea. And, so saying, they uttered this stanza :

Our jaws are tired, our mouths are sore;
The sea refllleth evermore.

Then all the crows fell to praising the beauty of her
beak and eyes, her complexion, figure and sweet voice,
saying that it was her excellences that had provoked the
sea to steal her from them. But as they talked this
nonsense, the sea-spirit made a bogey appear from the sea
and so put them all to flight. In this wise they were saved.