White Wing: A folktale from India
1 Once a hunter set a snare to trap birds. He spread the
net over a tree and sprinkled grain beneath it on the
2 A flock of doves flying over saw the grain. They
swooped down from the sky, only to become tangled in
the hunter’s snare. They flapped and pecked but were
3 Their leader was a large dove named White Wing. “This
net is too heavy for any of us to lift on our own,” he
said. “But if we work as friends, we can lift it together.”
4 On White Wing’s signal, the doves flapped and rose into
the air as one, flying away from both tree and hunter.
They settled down near a friendly rat that gnawed
through the net. As friends, the doves again flew free.