A Mother’s Love

Mrs. Crow returned to her nest after lunch and looked at her eggs. She felt that there was something different about her nest; it looked full. “How did my nest get so crowded suddenly?” she wondered taking a closer look at her nest.

It looked like there were more eggs than before. But all the eggs looked identical and there was nothing suspicious about them. “Maybe I am imagining things,” she thought, sitting on her eggs to hatch them.

After a few days the eggs hatched. The hatchlings were all pink and featherless. They all look similar in appearance. They opened their beaks and cried, asking for food all the time. So Mrs. Crow was very busy trying to feed the hungry mouths.

There were some parrots that lived a little higher in a hollow branch of the same tree. “Oh your nest is so full this time!” said Mrs. Parrot peeping out of her window. “Yes, the nest seems overcrowded this time,” replied

Mrs. Crow. She looked at the tiny black feathers growing on the chicks.

“But that’s alright because they are all my babies,” she said, gently caressing them with her beak.

Day by day the baby birds grew up. The siblings were very loving towards each other. They loved their mother, Mrs. Crow, and she loved them all as well. She was happy to see them all growing up, with their tiny bodies getting covered in jet black feathers. “They are all very beautiful little crows,” she thought proudly.

As the chicks grew a little bigger, their wings became stronger and they started Mrs. Parrot who peeped out of her window said that she was very happy to see how healthy and strong they all were.

“But that one,” Mrs. Parrot whispered slowly, “there’s something not quite right about him,” She pointed to a chick who was much smaller than the rest. “Oh he’s just the youngest. He was the last to hatch,” replied Mrs. Crow. “It’s not just the size,” said Mrs. Parrot. “Even his eyes and beak look different. Maybe he’s sick!”

Mrs. Crow looked at the smallest chick in the nest. She knew that Mrs. Parrot was right. This chick had a different eye colour and his beak was lighter than the rest of his siblings. “He’s still small. Soon he’ll be like the rest of his siblings,” she said, trying to ignore Mrs. Parrot’s comments.

Even the other birds who passed Mrs. Crow’s nest often made remarks about how the small chick looked somewhat different. But Mrs. Crow ignored them all. “He’s also a baby of mine and I don’t care what he looks like at all!” she said to herself.

“Is my smallest baby sick? Does he have a problem with his eyes?” worried Mrs. Crow. But the chick seemed He ate well and played with the others. He didn’t act different than the other chicks, although he looked a bit odd.

Then came the day for the chicks to gave them instructions. The odd branch and Mrs. Crow felt very happy. “Although everyone says that he looks around for a while and returned to their nest. They were all excited, so they all started to shout.

All the baby crows cawed in the same way, “Kaa... kaa...” But the odd little chick shouted differently, “kooh... kooh...” This shocked everyone, especially Mrs. Crow. She knew who else shouted that way; sly Mrs. Koel who was too lazy to build her nest.

The parrots peeped out from their nest. “Oh no!” they shouted, “That is not a baby of yours! That is a baby Koel,” Mrs. Crow stared in absolute shock.

“I saw Mrs. Koel hanging around your nest during the time the eggs were there. I am sure that she has laid an egg in your nest, while you were out! No wonder this chick looks different,” shouted Mrs. Parrot. “Chase him away!” shouted Mr. Parrot, “He’s not yours!”

The baby Koel looked absolutely absolute horror. “Isn’t he our brother?” Koel’s eyes. “Chase him off. Peck him!” shouted the Parrots. The small chick stood still like a branch, because he was so scared and confused.

“Stop it all of you!” shouted Mrs. Crow. “He maybe a baby Koel, but he was born in my nest. I fed him, looked after him and raised him as my own. He is a part of my family!”

“But he’s a Koel!” shouted the Parrots. “He maybe a Koel but he is still my son!” said Mrs. Crow, “and I am his mother!”

“Just because your brother is adopted, that doesn’t mean that he’s not part of our family. He maybe different but that only makes him special!” she said, taking the baby Koel under her wing. The other chicks agreed to what their mother said. They all grew up together and they didn’t feel any difference at all.

“Thank you mother!” said the baby Koel hugging his mother, Mrs. Crow. “Your unconditional love is the best thing in the world to me and I will always be your baby no matter what!”

The Parrots nodded their heads looking at each other. “That’s how mothers are. They give so much of love and care, expecting nothing in return. And that is the most beautiful thing in this world!”