Why are crows black?
G.V. JOSHI
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The Sun asked the crow to deliver his gift to the princess.
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Long, long ago the Sun saw a princess and fell in love with her. Whenever he could slip away, he would take human form and go to the princess. The princess too became quite fond of him.
One day the Sun decided to send her a blood-red ruby as a token of his love. He put the gem in a silk bag, and calling a crow that was flying past, asked it to deliver the gem. Crows had milky white feathers those days. It was considered auspicious if a crow came near you. So, the Sun was pleased that he had found a crow to deliver his gift.
As the crow sped through the sky, he smelt food. Looking down he saw a wedding feast in progress and was immediately distracted.
A mishap
Alighting on a tree, he hung the bag on a branch and went off to find some food. While the crow was feasting, a merchant saw the bag on the tree and knocked it down.
When he opened the bag and saw its contents he almost swooned. Quickly pocketing the ruby, he filled the bag with dry cowdung and returned the bag to the branch. It was done so quickly that the crow did not notice anything. After having his fill, the crow flew up to the tree picked up the bag and took it to the princess, who was in the garden.
When the crow gave her the bag, she took it eagerly, knowing it came from the Sun. But when she saw the contents, she got very angry.
Believing that it was the Sun's way of telling her that he did not care for her, she flung the bag away, rushed to the palace and never came out again.
The Sun was furious. His anger was so great that when he turned his scorching gaze on the crow, its feathers turned black.
However, the ruby did not stay long with the man who had stolen it. It fell out of his pocket and rolled into a deep pit. Men have been trying to dig it out ever since. Many precious stones have been found in the process, making Myanmar one of the richest sources of rubies and sapphires. But the ruby that the sun sent his princess has never been found.
A folk tale from Myanmar
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