The Clever Crow and the Hard Walnut: A Tale of Patience and Victory

It was a sunny morning in a busy little town and a crow was sitting on the edge of a wall. He was not an ordinary crow. He was a curious crow, an observant one, a thoughtful one. His belly growled on that day louder than it ever had. There was nothing to be seen to eat, and the trees around were already cleaned by other birds. The ground provided nothing but little crumbs that existed left by humans. The crow needed better, something that would satisfy him, something delicious. His keen eyes had caught sight of a little treasure in the sunshine, just when he was thinking that he should not find anything. It was a walnut.

The crow ran across and snatched the walnut in his bill. He was excited and when he pecked at it, he saw the trouble–it was far too hard to crack open. Many times he pecked at the shell but it did no good. The walnut merely rolled out of his reach, as though to enjoy him with its flavor concealed within. The crow became impatient, yet was also persistent. He was sure that somehow or other there must be a mode of access to the nut inside.

The crow flew the walnut to a higher place and dropped it to the ground hoping that it would crack open. The nut only bounced and rolled. He attempted it, this time still higher, but with no better effect. Whenever he flew up and dropped it, the walnut would not open. Other birds that flew by laughed at his endeavors. One of the pigeons answered, Give up, brother. There are things too hard.” The crow shook his head, however. He was not prepared to lose his prize.

The crow was continuing to experiment with tricks. He had shoved the walnut up against the wall. He made an attempt to break it in pieces with his beak. He went to the extent of pushing it under a stone hoping it would be crushed. Nothing helped. Time dragged and the crow became weary, but his hunger kept him going. This crow would have walked away had it been many animals. He was cunning, and he thought that in time he would get the right path.

The crow sat there thinking when he saw a car pass on the road. The massive wheels passed over a little branch, and crushed it to pieces. The eyes of the crow flared. Suddenly it flashed on him. Suppose then he put the walnut in the road? Certainly, it was possible that the car could snap a branch and, therefore, it could snap the hard shell of his walnut. It was a risky scheme, but the crow was bold enough to undertake.

The crow picked up the walnut with his beak and flew to the side of the road. He set the walnut directly in the center, and jumped away and waited. The automobiles sped by, like thunder. Others completely missed the walnut and others would come near it but not touch it. The crow looked on with a beating heart. He was aware that he had to wait. A single step, and the walnut may run away out of sight.

At length a big car came along. Its heavy wheelhouse alighted square on the walnut. There was a loud crack, and the shell at length opened. The eyes of the crow were full of glee. He was down in a flash before any one had time to snatch his prize away His patience was at last rewarded after so long a series of failures. The walnut was open, the golden nut within it ready to be eaten.

The crow took the parts of the walnut up, and savored them slowly. It was good, better than he had thought of. Each bite told him that the labor and ingenuity always brings reward. He was proud of himself both in the food and in not quitting when the job seemed impossible.

Other birds flocked about soon. They had seen the crow at a distance. He was at first laughed at. They now gazed on him admiringly. A young sparrow said, how did you know it would work? I did not know, said the crow. I tried and tried new ways until I found the right one though. When you think that there is a way, you have to continue searching it out.”

The birds nodded that they saw the sense of his words. Since then the crow was recognized as one of the wisest birds in town. When any young birds were in trouble they would come to him to get advice. Every time he would tell them the story of the walnut and remind them that patience and thinking is as good as gold and can help in getting out of the hardest problems.

The crow lived a lot longer years, and continued his explorations and studies. He grew to be a fable to the other animals of cleverness and perseverance. Both the human beings who had seen him there on the road the same day told their children the tale of the crow and the walnut. The story travelled long and wide and taught people that there is no issue too tough to be solved by patience and intelligence.