Sometime after God had created all
the living beings, he called everyone to see them and their offspring. He
wanted to see how the young birds and animals looked, and then to give
them suitable gifts, and food for their little ones.
They came one by one, and God looked at them, patted some and stroked
others, and was very pleased with every one of them, for each one had
something of beauty in it. And so he blessed them and gave them food by
which to live.
The last to come was the crow, bringing her little brood
with her, very proud of them.
When God cast his eyes upon the young crows, he spat in astonishment,
and said, "Surely these are not my creatures. I could not have made such
ugly things. Every one of my creatures has such beautiful young ones that
they are a pleasure to look at, but yours are so ugly that it makes one
sick to look at them. Where did you get this one?"
"Where should I get them from?" replied the crow. "It is my very own
young child," she added with pride.
"You had better go back and bring me another one. This is much too
ugly. I cannot look at it."
Annoyed at the words of God, the crow went away and flew all over the
earth to search for another young one that would be more beautiful than
the one she had brought to God. But no other young bird appeared so
beautiful in her eyes as her own.
So she returned back to God and said, "I
have been all over the world, and I have searched high and low, but young
birds more beautiful and more dainty than mine I have not been able to
find."
Then God smilingly replied, "Quite right. Just so are all mothers. No
other child is so beautiful in their eyes as their own."
Then he blessed the little crows and sent them away into the world with
his gifts.
story found in Rumanian Bird and Beast Stories by M. Gaster published in 1915
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