THE CROW

 

There was once a powerful and pernicious witch, able to do much damage with her spells. Because she enjoyed hurting others, she didn't have a single friend, not even one.

 

Still, she did not live alone; she had a black cat and a crow.  The cat said "Meow, meow," and the crow, in the manner of  the mockingbirds of today, knew many beautiful songs.

 

One day, the witch forgot to feed the cat, and the cat, being very, VERY   hungry, ate the crow.  Upon discovering this, the witch cast a spell to revive the crow.

 

But the crow, having been thus revived, was still within the cat,  and in trying to escape from this cat trap, cut the cat  from inside to outside with its talons. Finally, with great difficulty,  he escaped  through the mouth of the cat. The two, crow and cat, equal in their pain and terrified, attacked the witch and killed her, with the exception of the voice of the witch, which replaced the voice of Crow.

 

After these sad events, the cat recovered, but those moments of torture had changed his black fur, forever, to white.  A kind woman adopted him, giving him a warm and comfortable home, and lots of love.  She never forgot to give her furry friend food --  and the cat lived happily.

 

As a result of his imprisonment within that cat, the crow forgot all of his original songs and developed a great fear of cats. It flew into the forest and spent the rest of his life there, shouting CAW CAW CAW.

 

And now, you know why the a crow's song sounds like the cry of a witch.