The Tale of the Crow with a Thorn in His Foot
Once upon a time, once upon a time, when everyone was doing something else, there lived a crow flying freely in the forest. This crow was very different from the others; curious and energetic, it flew from branch to branch without stopping. His admiration for wild roses, with their brilliant colors and fragrant scents, was legendary. One day, he landed on a stunning rose tree. The crow got carried away by the heady scent of the roses and unknowingly stepped on a thorn. Although the pain of the thorn burned his foot, he could not spare it because it was a part of this beautiful rose. Looking for a place to hide the thorn, he decided to entrust it to an old grandmother he met in the forest. “Granny,” he said, ”will you keep this thorn for me?” The grandmother accepted this request with surprise.
A long time passed. One day, the grandmother was trying to light the evening lamp and the wick got stuck. At that moment, she remembered the thorn that the crow had entrusted to her. When she tried to straighten the wick of the lamp with the thorn, the thorn burned to ashes in an instant. Just then the crow came and called out, “Gaak!” “Grandma, I’ve come to get the thorn.” Even though the grandmother told what happened, would the crow listen? “Either the thorn or the lamp! Either the thorn or the oil lamp!” The grandmother was helpless and gave him the lamp.
As the crow took the lamp and wandered through the forest, he came across another old woman. “Granny!” he said, ”Will you keep this lamp for me?” The woman agreed. One day, when she went to milk her cow, she took the lamp to the barn. Seeing the light, the cow got scared and smashed the lamp with a kick. When the crow came and asked for the oil lamp, the grandmother explained what had happened, but the crow was still not satisfied. “Either the lamp or the cow! Either the oil lamp or the cow!” he insisted. Finally the woman had to give the cow to the crow.
As the crow took the cow and continued on his way, he came across another old woman. He asked her, “Grandma, will you keep this cow for me?” The woman agreed and milked the cow, made plenty of milk, yogurt, cheese and served it to her neighbors. However, one day her son was getting married and she wanted to make the cow into a wedding dinner. They slaughtered the cow and served the meat to the guests. When the crow smelled the smell, it came and shouted, “I have come to take my cow!” The grandmother explained what happened again, but the crow was not convinced. “Either my cow or my bride! Either my cow or my bride!” he kept insisting. The grandmother finally had to give her son’s new bride to the crow.
The crow took the bride and traveled far and wide and came across a shepherd. The shepherd was playing such a beautiful melody with his pipe that the crow was enchanted. He approached the shepherd and said, “Brother shepherd, take the bride and give me the pipe in your hand. The bride suits you and the pipe suits me.” The shepherd was very happy with this offer, and as soon as the crow took the pipe, it started to play with great joy. He sang his song as he traveled from village to village: “I gave the thorn, I got the oil lamp, I gave the oil lamp, I got the cow, I gave the cow, I got the bride, I gave the bride, I got the pipe… Düttürü düttürü dütüt…”
Thus, the crow both roamed and flew happily, singing from branch to branch. His freedom and the melodies rising from the pipe became his biggest gain.
As the tale goes, no one knew where the crow landed and where it sang its melody.
The Crow with a Thorn in His Foot Summary
A curious and mischievous crow steps on a thorn in a fragrant rose tree and gives it to a grandmother for safekeeping. In time, the thorn becomes useful to the grandmother and helps her to light the wick of an oil lamp, but the thorn burns to ashes.
When the crow comes again and cannot find the thorn, it asks the grandmother for the oil lamp and leaves it with another grandmother. However, the lamp is broken by the cow’s kick, and this time the crow asks for the cow. Taking the cow, the crow again entrusts it to another grandmother; when the grandmother slaughters the cow for the wedding meal, the crow demands the bride this time.
Finally, the crow gives his bride to a shepherd, buys a pipe and travels from village to village singing songs with his pipe. Through his adventures, he both goes on a fun journey and finds his own rhythm.
