The Parable of the Swallow

The time had come, and the Earth appeared, with all sorts of grasses, trees, flowers, animals, and, of course, people. And everything — plants, birds, hoofed animals, and humans lived independently; no one offended or insulted anyone, and there were no rulers. Silence and peace reigned everywhere because no foreign blood was shed, and no life was lost in vain. In a word, in that blessed time, there were no rulers, tyrants, judges, or humiliation of man by man. Everyone was content and well-fed in their lives. Everyone except the Snake.

— Allah created you all in His wisdom and likeness, — the Snake lamented one day. — Only I was born a wretched deformity. Look!.. Where are my arms and legs? They are gone, and I look like a stick. I can only crawl on my belly because I have no limbs. I can't see beyond my nose. I eat whatever comes into my sight. As long as it fits in my mouth. Oh, how miserable I am! And no one will pity me or comfort me with a kind word. And I, by the way, am so kind, so responsive. At least make me a queen for that! Why not? I would be a just queen.

Then all the animals and plants consulted each other and elected the Snake as queen. At first, she kept her word firmly, did not offend anyone, and treated everyone equally.

But one day, the Snake-queen began to ponder: “I rule the land, yet I am no different from anyone else. Worse still, I crawl on the ground, cannot see what is happening in my kingdom, do not know how anyone lives, or what anyone eats. What do I feed on? Whatever comes into my sight. No, this cannot continue. As a queen, I must eat something the most delicious. But what is the most delicious thing in the world? I must find out from my subjects.”

The Snake-queen summoned one representative from all living beings in her kingdom for a council. When everyone gathered in a spacious picturesque glade, she addressed them with her request. The subjects, understanding what was at stake, were silent for a while in thought. Then they all spoke at once. Each praised their own food, their own table.

— I think, — squeaked the Gadfly, — as a queen, you should feed on blood, hot blood, like I do, for example. Oh, what could be tastier than blood! Your forked sting is more perfect than my long proboscis. God Himself commanded you to feed on blood. But we just need to find out whose blood is tastier. I haven’t determined that yet. I sting cows more.
— You take care of that! — commanded the Snake-queen. — Let the other subjects also check what is the tastiest thing in the world. I give you a week. The swift fliers can barely melt away to distant lands, and the slowpokes can explore everything around. In a week, I will be waiting for you in this very place...

And the subjects scattered, flew away, and crawled off. Each tried to please the queen. Someone found that nothing was tastier than peaches. Someone preferred carrion. The mosquito liked blood. And he hurried to the queen to report this first. But he couldn’t fly. First, he was weighed down by the blood he had sucked from a fisherman; second, the wind blew him away like a feather, and he had to hide under bushes and leaves from time to time.

The Gadfly sampled fresh blood all over the world and rushed back, eager to arrive by the appointed time. Now the Gadfly knew exactly whose blood was the tastiest. So he flew high under the clouds and sang his simple song loudly. He was in a great mood.

On his way, he met a Swallow, who preferred various insects the most. As she flew alongside the Gadfly, the Swallow asked:

— So, my friend, what did you find to be the most delicious? The Snake-queen seems to have high hopes for you? Did you justify her trust?

The Gadfly considered it beneath his dignity to answer the Swallow and flew even faster.

— I see, I see, my friend, — the Swallow called out to him. — You are lucky; you found what you were looking for. Well, please the Snake, be a diligent servant. I knew you were capable of much, that you fear no one with your sharp proboscis. It was not in vain that I sang praises about you all over the world and told all my feathered friends about your bravery.

Of course, the Swallow said the last words in jest, to appease the Gadfly somehow, to provoke him into openness, to extract the secret from him. And the Gadfly fell for the Swallow's clever trick. He immediately became proud and boastful.

— Do you know what food I found for the Snake-queen? — he buzzed, squinting one eye at the Swallow.
— How should I know? — the Swallow pretended to be a fool. — You are brave, you flew far. You have a clear mind, a bright head. And although I may be taller than you, my head is empty. I cannot serve anyone. I fly high above the ground, catching all sorts of insects in the air. That is all my occupation. And you, after all, are the first close advisor to the Snake-queen. You understand better than I do what is what. She seems to be waiting only for you, unable to wait. She keeps looking in the direction you flew away. Tell me, what news are you bringing her, if, of course, it’s not a secret? However, you can say nothing if you don’t want to. To me, it’s all the same.

The Gadfly became even prouder and said:

— The tastiest food in the whole wide world turned out to be human blood.
— No way! — the Swallow doubted.
— I swear! — exclaimed the Gadfly. — You can check for yourself. And if I lie, tear off my head.
— Oh dear! — the Swallow could only exclaim and fell deep in thought: “How can this be? A human is the crown of nature. This is the smartest creature on earth. Now this good and reasonable creature will become food for some crawling creature? One that has no arms and legs, wings or tail, and not even a proper head?”
— I told you, Gadfly, that I am the dumbest of birds, — the Swallow finally spoke. — You said that the most delicious thing in the world is human blood. And I, in my foolishness, cannot believe it. And the Snake-queen will hardly believe it either. But how will you prove to her that you are telling the truth?
— Very simply! — buzzed the Gadfly. — For the queen, I carry a drop of human blood on the tip of my tongue. I will let her taste it, and she will see for herself that I am right.
— Oh, show me your tongue! This is so interesting: for mere mortals to see human blood! When else will I get to see such a thing? What color is this blood anyway?
— Well, of course. Naturally. Where will you get to see human blood? Nowhere. Look, — and the Gadfly, puffing up, opened his mouth and stuck out his proboscis-tongue.

That was all the Swallow needed. She instantly grabbed the Gadfly's tongue, tugged it once or twice — and tore it off. The Gadfly, losing the power of speech, buzzed in indignation and flew to the queen to complain about the Swallow.

“So, I tore out his tongue. Now he won’t be able to say anything to the Snake. But just in case, I need to follow him to the end,” — and the Swallow flew after the bloodsucker.

The Gadfly, arriving at the queen, began to buzz something to her. But she could not make out anything.

— What happened to him? — the Snake asked her subjects. — He flew away normal, and returned as if he were replaced or had his tongue torn out. Does anyone understand anything from his nasal speech?
— I think the Gadfly speaks quite clearly and understandably, Your Majesty, — said the Swallow.
— I don’t understand anything... — said the Snake. — From now on, our translator will be the Swallow. Well, I’m listening to you. What did the Gadfly say?
— He said that he flew all over the wide world, tried everything he could. And the tastiest thing turned out to be earth, ordinary raw earth, and even better — clay, from which we, swallows, build our nests, where we raise our chicks.

Hearing this, the Gadfly shook his head, buzzed even louder, and literally spun in place in front of the queen. Then he lunged at the Swallow, but she dodged him.

— So, it was you who tore the Gadfly's tongue out?! — guessed the Snake-queen. — I will punish you.

Curling into a ball, she hissed and, straightening like a compressed spring, lunged at the Swallow, but managed to grab only her tail. The Swallow made a desperate effort and broke free. Only a few feathers from her tail were left in the Snake's mouth. And the Swallow's tail became like split scissors.

Since then, the Snake crawls on the ground, feeds on insects, mice, and frogs, hates swallows, tries to destroy their nests, and dislikes humans.