Early one spring, an Eagle was soaring across the sky when he spotted, from high above, a majestic bird standing in the shallow water on long legs.
He swooped down to the shallows, landed on the trunk of a thick tree that leaned out over the water, and asked:
Who are you? What kind of bird are you? I haven't seen you around before.
I am a Crane," replied the bird, "I've just come back home from the warm lands.
You're so handsome, you look a lot like me, tall and slender. Let's be friends. Will you be my friend?
Why should I be friends with you?" asked the Crane.
What do you mean, why?" the Eagle said, surprised. "Don't you have a friend here at home?
I do! My friends are the other cranes.
Those aren't friends, those are relatives. Do you have any other friends?
No.
Come sit next to me on the tree trunk. Stop standing in the water. Let's talk about why friends are important...
I can't. We cranes never sit in the branches of trees.
Why not?" the Eagle asked, surprised.
That's just how it has always been. The elders say our toes aren't built for it.
Have you ever tried?
No, why would I? If we can't, we can't, and we don't need to. We walk on the water instead. Eagle, do you walk on water?
I only touch the water when I fly over it. But let's talk about friends. You asked why friends are needed. Well, so you can chat heart to heart, share stories about things that have happened to us, or simply help each other.
Well, if you want, then let's be friends," the Crane agreed.
Tell me, where do your kin live? Mine live on that mountain over there," said the Eagle, waving his wing into the distance.
Mine are close by, finding food," answered the Crane.
You know, friend," the Eagle said slyly, "I'm so hungry. I chased a mouse but didn't catch it. And a rabbit outsmarted me, it zipped into its burrow like a bullet. Could you treat me to some of your catch?
Of course I can treat you," the Crane said, approaching his new friend and offering him a frog in his long beak. "Help yourself.
I've never eaten anything like this. But hunger is no joke, I need a bite to eat, or I won't have the strength to fly back to my kin.
The Eagle ate the frog, then another, and a third!
Thank you, friend. Next time I'll bring you a gift!
The Eagle flapped his wings, shot up into the sky in an instant, and vanished high into the air. The Crane went back to searching for food. He needed to eat well and build up his strength. The next day he had to choose a wife, and a celebration was planned in the bird community for that occasion.
A few days passed. The Crane saw the Eagle flying toward him, carrying something in his sharp talons.
Friend, friend!" the Eagle called out. "I've brought you a gift!
He landed on the tree trunk and tossed a rabbit into the water.
You fed me last time, so now it's my turn.
Thank you, but we don't eat rabbits. They won't fit down our throats. We eat small mice.
Just try it!" the Eagle insisted.
Do you want me dead?
Well, you're impossible to please!
The Eagle ate the rabbit. When he finished, he asked:
How are things? What have you been up to?
I was choosing a wife for myself, we had a celebration. Now we are building a new nest.
Congratulations!
And when will you start a family?
It's too early for me. I'll fly free for another year.
And so the Eagle and the Crane parted ways. A few days later, the Eagle flew back to visit his friend the Crane.
He saw the Crane standing in the water again, searching for something with his long beak.
What are you doing?" asked the Eagle.
I'm gathering seaweed, mollusks, and shrimp, and putting them in a jug to take back to the nest. My wife is sitting on the eggs there, the future offspring.
Treat me to what you feed your wife," the Eagle asked.
Come on over," the Crane agreed. "Here's a jug for you, eat up.
The Eagle circled the jug: its neck was long and narrow, and his beak was not quite long enough, so he couldn't reach the food. He circled and circled around the jug, but never got any food.
Catch me some frogs. They were delicious," the Eagle requested.
There are no frogs left," answered the Crane. "They've all disappeared.
The Eagle got angry at the Crane:
You're not my friend. You begrudge your food to a friend!
He flapped his wings and flew away. And so the friendship between the cunning Eagle and the Crane came to an end.
