Page 93 - Animals of the Sakhalin Region in myths and legends

realized that these people were going on a campaign against the inhabitants

of another city, that little admiration that he still felt before the common sense
and reason of people finally disappeared in him. Birds in the forest, of course,
have to fight the dangers lurking in nature, but they do not waste their time
destroying the nests and families of their neighbors.
When the Sad Starling saw his master’s farewell and Marietta’s tears, his
heart sank. Then a boy friend came to him in tears and told him that his father

had also gone to war with threats and curses on his lips and with a sword
entwined with flowers on his side.
— The most difficult thing is to see how sad my mother is, — added the little
boy and with a heavy heart went to school.
A few days later, Marietta’s husband was killed with a blow of the sword.
A manborn, dressed in black, solemnly appeared to inform the unfortunate
woman about this, and, not paying attention to her tears, for half an hour spoke
a speech that the starling did not understand at all. When he finished speaking,

the man handed the sash to the widow. Marietta threw her into the Sad Starling’s
cage and locked herself in her room.
For three days, the completely forgotten starling ate this ribbon. Then he
began to starve. Have you ever seen a gourmet sitting gagged at a table laden
with food? His fate is no worse than that of a bird dying of hunger in a shop full
of grain. The sad starling was rescued by his boy friend.

— Come with me, baby, no one here deals with you, and I will feed you and
will love you dearly.
So the child said, taking the starling with him. He gave him something to
eat and drink. The sad starling came to life, but, despite the boy’s freedom and
tender affection, he felt that he was tired of being among people and had grown
old after three months of living in a cage, more than six months spent in his
native forest. Therefore, one morning, when the boy left for school, he gathered
his strength and flew away.

He flew over fields dyed with crops of grain crops, over garden trees bending
under the weight of fruits, and over silvery rivers. Soon the proud oak trees
appeared, growing at the edge of his native forest. The sad starling went deep
into the dense foliage and here, at last, felt safe from all human calamities: from
prison, deception, war, melancholy. He became free and returned to his little
winged brothers. Previously, he despised them, considering them insignificant,

but now he admired their life-worthy carelessness. The sad starling saw his
former friends playing hide and seek, and, resolutely starting a new life — the
life of a cheerful bird — he joined them.

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