04-09-2014, 08:03 AM
The Battle of Beast and Bird an Aesop's Fable
How did it start? Some blame it on the fox -
too many geese had suffered at his teeth -
some blame the eagle, “terror of the heath”,
who plucked the hares and dashed them on the rocks.
And so there came the war of beast and bird
and fang met feather on the blood-damp field.
But beasts who saw the bats with birds appealed,
“You’re one of us – your teeth are sharp, your belly’s furred!”
The birds countered, “But clearly you have wings,
you’re one of us come back and join the fight!”
Without a cause, the bats escaped to night.
When peacetime came with all the wealth that peacetime brings
the beasts said of the bats, “Not beast enough!”
and birds joined in, “We’ll rip their wings right off!”
How did it start? Some blame it on the fox -
too many geese had suffered at his teeth -
some blame the eagle, “terror of the heath”,
who plucked the hares and dashed them on the rocks.
And so there came the war of beast and bird
and fang met feather on the blood-damp field.
But beasts who saw the bats with birds appealed,
“You’re one of us – your teeth are sharp, your belly’s furred!”
The birds countered, “But clearly you have wings,
you’re one of us come back and join the fight!”
Without a cause, the bats escaped to night.
When peacetime came with all the wealth that peacetime brings
the beasts said of the bats, “Not beast enough!”
and birds joined in, “We’ll rip their wings right off!”