Why Hawks Kill Chicks, Not Owlets
Copyright © 2021 Anike Foundation
Once upon a time, there was a hawk that carried a young owlet away whilst the parents watched quietly.
When the hawk arrived at its homestead, the hawk’s parents asked what mother owl said. He responded that mother owlet was quiet and never said a thing. The hawk’s parents advised him to return the young owlet because one could not tell what was in the mind of a quiet or undemonstrative person: they could be plotting some acts of deep and cruel revenge in their minds.
The next day, the hawk carried the owlet back to his parents and left him near the nest.
He then flew around, trying to find some other birds to prey upon but, because all the birds had heard that the hawk had seized the owlet, they hid themselves and would not come out when the hawk was near. He therefore could not catch any birds.
As he was flying home, he saw a lot of fowls near a coop basking in the sun and scratching in the dust.
There were also several small chicks running around, chasing insects, or picking up anything they could find to eat, with mother hen following, clucking, and calling them from time to time.
When the hawk saw the chicks, he made up his mind that he would take one, so he swooped down and caught the s smallest with his strong claws .
As soon as he seized the chick, the cocks began to make a lot of noise. The hen ran after him and tried to make him drop her child, calling loudly, with her feathers fluffed out and making dashes at him.
But he carried it off, and all the fowls and chicks ran together into their coop, screaming, some taking shelter under bushes and others trying to hide themselves in the long grass.
He then carried the chick to the king, telling him that he had returned the owlet to his parents since he did not want him for food. The king then told the hawk that in the future he could always feed on chicks.
The hawk took the chick home. There was a friend who dropped in to see him.
He asked him what the parents of the chick did when they saw their child taken away. The hawk said, "They all made a lot of noise and mother hen tried to chase me but, although there was a lot of disturbance amongst the fowls, nothing else happened.”
His friend said that, because the fowls had made much fuss, it was safe to kill and eat their chicks.
The people who made plenty of noise in the daytime would go to sleep at night and not disturb him, or do him any injury.
The people to be afraid of were those who, when injured, kept silent: you could be certain they were plotting mischief and would do harm at night.