Chinese Fables and Folk Stories/What the Yen Tzi taught the Hunter

WHAT THE YEN TZI TAUGHT THE HUNTER^[1]

獵人受敎於鳥

One day a hunter was looking for a fox in the wilderness, when suddenly he saw thousands of birds coming towards the river, and he lay quite still and waited for them all to come.

The Yen Tzi, or Kind Birds, were talking together, and the hunter listened. One asked, "Is all our company here?"

And the Leader Bird said, "No, little One-Month-Old and Two-Month and Mrs. This-Year are not here yet."

And the Leader Bird said to the Lookout Birds, "You must go after them and help them to the river before five days. Our boats are dried and ready to sail. It is growing cold and we must all go south together."

So the Lookout Birds flew all around the country to hunt the lost birds. They found one with a broken wing, and a little one with not enough wing feathers to fly far, and one with a wound in his leg made by a hunter, and others that were tired or very hungry. They found every missing bird, and this great family of friends were soon all together again.

But while the Lookout Birds were seeking the lost ones from their own family, they heard another bird cry, "Save me! save me, too!" And they stopped and said, "Who is calling? Some one must be in trouble." They flew to a lemon tree and saw a Tailor Bird with her leg all covered with blood. The Kind Birds said, "Friend, how came you in such trouble? What is your name and where do you live?"

The Tailor Bird said, "I live in the South Province, eight hundred miles away. I came here to see my friends and relatives. Three of my children are with me, and we were on our way home to the south. We had gone sixty miles, when I asked my children to stop and rest in this lemon tree, and now I do not even know where they are. I fear the hunter got them. I am hurt, too, and I do not think I shall ever see my home again. I shall lose my life here, I fear."

The Yen Tzi heard all the Tailor Bird said. They talked together and were sorry for her who had no one to care for her, for they knew her children had been killed by the hunter. "If we do not save her life, she will surely die," they said.

So they asked, "Would you like to go with us? We know you eat different food. We live on rice and fruit and a few bugs. We do not know that you can live as we do. And we must ride on our boats, many, many hours."

The Tailor Bird answered, "Yes, I will go gladly, and will eat what you have and cause you no trouble."

The Kind Birds helped the Tailor Bird to their company and put her in one of their boats, and two or three birds fed her and cared for her until she was well.

The hunter who told this story said, "I have learned many things by watching and studying the habits of the Kind Birds. I will never kill birds again."

Ee-Sze (Meaning): In time of trouble, man should help not only his own, but others.

1. The Yen Tzi, or Kind Bird, is a species of the fly-catcher family found in China. They migrate in the spring and fall, and never winter where the weather is very cold. They are very tame, sometimes even building nests in the houses of the Chinese, and eating with the chickens at feeding time. They are very gentle, never fight among themselves or with others, share their nests with each other or even with other birds. Hence the name "Kind Birds." They are also sometimes called "Sociable Birds," because they always go in flocks and are never found alone.