1812
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
THE BITTERN AND THE HOOPOE
by Jacob Ludwig Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm
Electronically Enhanced Text (c) Copyright 1996, World Library(R)
THE BITTERN AND THE HOOPOE
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"WHERE DO YOU like best to feed your flocks?" said a man to an old
cow-herd. "Here, sir, where the grass is neither too rich nor too
poor, or else it is no use." "Why not?" asked the man. "Do you hear
that melancholy cry from the meadow there?" answered the shepherd,
"that is the bittern; he was once a shepherd, and so was the hoopoe
also- I will tell you the story.
"The bittern pastured his flocks on rich green meadows where flowers
grew in abundance, so his cows became wild and unmanageable. The
hoopoe drove his cattle on to high barren hills, where the wind
plays with the sand, and his cows became thin, and got no strength.
When it was evening, and the shepherds wanted to drive their cows
homewards, the bittern could not get his together again; they were too
high-spirited, and ran away from him. He called, 'Come, cows, come,'
but it was of no use; they took no notice of his calling. The
hoopoe, however, could not even get his cows up on their legs, so
faint and weak had they become. 'Up, up, up,' screamed he, but it
was in vain, they remained lying on the sand. That is the way when one
has no moderation. And to this day, though they have no flocks now
to watch, the bittern cries, 'Come, cows, come'; and the hoopoe,
'Up, up, up.'"
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THE END
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