Why the Hawk Catches Chickens

In the olden days there was a very fine young hen that lived with her parents in the forest. One day a hawk was flying around, about eleven o’clock in the morning, as was his custom. He made large circles in the air almost without moving his wings. His keen eyes were wide open. They took in everything, for nothing moving ever escapes the eyes of a hawk, no matter how small it may be or how high up in the air the hawk may fly.

This hawk saw the pretty hen picking up grains of corn near her father’s home. He thereupon closed his wings slightly, and in a second of time was near the ground. He then spread his wings out to check his flight. He alighted close to the hen on a high rock, as a hawk does not like to walk on the ground if he can hop along on something else.

He then greeted the young hen in his most charming manner and offered to marry her. She agreed. The hawk, then, spoke to the parents, and paid mostly in corn the dowry which they asked. The next day the hawk took the young hen off to his home.

Soon thereafter a young rooster that lived near the hen’s former home found out where she was living. He had been in love with her for some months, ever since his spurs had grown. He thought he would try to make her return to her own home. He, therefore, went at dawn to the hawk’s home, flapped his wings once or twice, and crowed in his best voice to the young hen. When she heard the sweet voice of the rooster she could not resist his invitation. She went out to him, and they walked off together to her parents’ house. The young rooster went strutting in front, stopping to crow from place to place.

The Hawk on a high rock

The hawk, although flying high up in the sky, far out of sight of the human eye, saw what had happened, and was very angry. He made up his mind at once that he would obtain justice from the king. He flew off to the king of birds and told him the whole story, and asked for justice.

The king sent for the parents of the hen, and told them that, according to native custom, they must pay back the dowry they had received from the hawk when he married their daughter; but the hen’s parents said that they were so poor that they were not able to pay it.

The Rooster and Hen

The king, then, told the hawk that whenever and wherever he found any of the rooster’s children he could kill and eat any of them as payment of his dowry; and, if the rooster made any complaint, the king would not listen to it.

From that time until now, whenever a hawk sees a chicken he swoops down and carries it off in part-payment of his dowry which should have been returned long ago.