The owl and the nightingale

Once, there was an owl who lived in an old, broken-down temple.

The temple had a large library. It was full of books about history, literature and religion. The owl studied these books all day. As time passed, he grew very proud of his knowledge. Now, he believed that he was the most intelligent of all creatures.

Thus, the owl read the library’s books every day, and then pretended to be lost in deep, wise thoughts. One such day, the owl was sitting on a tree, outside the temple, with his eyes half closed. Suddenly, a nightingale came and sat on the same tree. Soon, she began singing in her sweet voice.

At once, the owl opened his eyes and said to the nightingale, “O proud nightingale, stop your song! Do you not see that I am thinking of wise things? Your silly song is disturbing me!”

To this, the nightingale replied, “Foolish owl! You think that you will become learned just by reading some books and pretending to be wise? Only the intelligent know how sweet my songs are. Only, they can truly admire my voice.”

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