Page 91 - Animals of the Sakhalin Region in myths and legends

There lived a sad little starling in a big forest. His cheerful companions sang
as beautifully as possible, from sunrise to sunset, merrily chasing one another
from branch to branch, hunting flies under tree branches and catching water
spiders in streams; he alone was silent and inactive. He didn’t even have an
appetite.
— He has goiter, — said the robins.

— He is in love, — thought the adorable birds and were by no means
mistaken. The sad starling was healthy. But he didn’t think about making a
nest. He traveled a lot, and this reflected badly on his mind - now he was
haunted by sad reflections. The sad starling, as he was called in the big forest,
would like to become one of those long, clumsy creatures who walk through
the forest with sticks in their hands and call themselves people and who do
not inspire confidence in birds. Such a strange desire originated in the Sad
Starling during a visit to a neighboring city. How many miracles he saw

there! He attended an open-air circus performance, flew over the townspeople
dancing to the sound of a violin, and most importantly, most importantly, he
saw a dark-skinned girl with big eyes behind the window of a tempting shop
selling grain. Since then, he could not forget her.
Now life away from his beloved became unthinkable for the Sad Starling.
The birds seemed to him nondescript, vulgar and gluttonous. He dreamed only

of the girl’s dark eyes and the magnificent grains that she traded. Therefore, it
will not surprise you that one morning the Sad Starling left the big forest for
good and flew to the city.
For the first time, Marietta saw a bird fly into her shop to peck grain.
Canaries, parrots, and other feathered cage dwellers usually did not have
the habit of shopping themselves. Although Marietta did not personally
communicate with the consumers of the goods she traded, she felt that she
knew their tastes, since she saw that she was in great demand. At first, the

girl wanted to drive away the impudent alien, but he was not afraid and even
allowed her to pull herself together. A short time later, the Sad Starling found
himself locked up in a multi-colored prison equipped with crossbars, a feeder
and a strange vessel, the purpose of which he did not understand: whether it
was a drinking cup, or a room pot for birds.
The first hours in prison were pleasant. The starling pecked alternately

tasty grains, then the fingers of his beloved. He even began to sing, but after
many weeks of silence, his voice did not sound very good. His heart beat with
joy when a voice rang out on the stairs: “Marietta! Daughter!»
An elderly woman appeared with sad eyes and a stooped back. The sad
starling bowed politely to her in the cage.
Imagine his amazement when he heard that the girl answered her mother
with rudeness. In the land of birds, in a dense forest, children are always polite

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