Arts
The Fable of the Magpieby Barry J. Northern There was once a magpie who built a nest for himself and his wife. It was a good nest, and they were happy. In their first two Springs they raised healthy clutches, and were proud each time their children left the nest. Yet Husband was not content."Will each year be the same as this?" he asked his wife."Are you not happy then, Husband?"But he only said, "I am, my love," for he did not wish to upset his wife.Later that day, Husband flew abroad searching for something with which to adorn his nest, for it was dull to his eyes, and he wished to improve it. He chanced upon a shiny object, and though he knew not what it was, he admired it, and so flew down to retrieve it in his beak.Back at the nest, his wife looked up at Husband's return. "What have you there, Husband?"He saw his own love for the shiny object reflected in her eyes. "Something to adorn our nest, my love," he said, and worked the object into the walls of their nest. He stood back to admire it, and said. "Now we can truly say our lot is improved."Husband and Wife were pleased with their new decoration, but as time passed they grew accustomed to its beauty until they no longer noticed it.One day, Husband flitted to the edge of the nest, and said to Wife. "I will fly abroad once more and look for something else with which to adorn our nest."Husband soon came back with another shiny object, and for a time it made them both happy. Before long, however, they grew used to it as before, and so Husband once again flew abroad to find something else.This continued until the next Spring, when the urge to make ready their nest for the new clutch came upon Wife. She looked around the nest, and said. "My love, our nest is beautiful, but there is no room for our clutch this year.""Worry not, my wife. What we need is a bigger nest. I will build us one on the other side of the tree." And so Husband spent many days building a new nest, and both he and Wife spent many more days taking their possessions from one to the other, but eventually, after much toil and argument, the new nest was ready.Wife alighted upon the edge of their new home and smiled. "Oh, Husband, it is wonderful." And for a time they were both happy raising their new clutch.It was not long, however, before they grew used to their new home, and so Husband flew abroad again for things with which to adorn it.By the following Spring, the house seemed too small again, and as dull as their first nest had been. As the years went by, no matter how big they built their nests, nor how many shiny objects they adorned it with, the pair were not happy for more than a few days at a time, for they were never content with what they had.The Fable of the Magpie by Barry J. Northern is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.Hosted by The Internet Archive, download MP3here.Music by Eileen Hadidian and Natalie Cox from the album, Dolce Musica - A Contemplative Journey, track 5 "O Pastor Animarum (Arr by Eileen Hadidian)", and provided by magnatune.comMagpies may be more like us than we once imagined: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/27/1096137168806.html