Week 6: Reading Diary, Continued: How the Raven Saved the Hunter

From the second half of this weeks reading unit: Tibetan Folk Tales, I want to highlight the story, How the Raven Saved the Hunter. 

This was one of the shorter stories but it held a strong meaning. The Tibetan proverb for this tale was, "For a foolish official to speak skillful words is as difficult as for lighting to split a lump of bronze." 

In this story, a man was out in the mountains and grew thirsty. He had a cup and filled it with the water from the river. Right as he was about to drink this water a raven came rushing down and took the cup. At first, the man thought it was just by accident. He didn't think much of it at all. Then the man went to fill another cup from the river and the same thing happened. This time, the man was curious and getting annoyed by the raven. For a third time, the same thing happened and the man was not furious with the raven. The man took out his weapon and killed the raven. 

Now the man had not taken the time to think before he took action. After he had already killed the raven he stopped to think. He though that this happened three times it was no coincidence but intentional. Maybe the raven didn't want me to drink the water. Now curious the man decided to walk upstream to see where the water came from. Once he got to the top the water was coming from the mouth of a giant snake and around it lay many dead animals, skulls and bones. 

For now, the man felt foolish and hurt by his actions. He had killed the raven when the raven was trying to save his life. 

Raven Picture by, Creative Commons Attribution

The lesson from this story is to think about your actions before taking them. You shouldn't just act off of anger or one specific emotion. It counts to take the time and get the rest of the story. It may also help to stop and ask questions. 

When I was young I always thought that my way was the best way. My dad, on the other hand, was very specific about how he wanted things done. As I have grown up I have realized that certain things are done in specific ways for a reason. The reason could be to prevent injury such as stretching before a game. The reason could also be due to a past experience when something went wrong. For example, when unhitching a trailer, you should place blocked under the wheels so it doesn't roll back. I am sure before this was ever done a trailer was left wth no block and rolled away. It is always a good idea to take a step back from things and try to see the big picture. 

Story Source: Part of the Tibetan Folktales unit, Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L. Shelton with illustrations by Mildred Bryant (1925).