A Crow’s Gesture of Gratitude

Govind, a software engineer who took his daily morning walk in the park near his house, always carried some food for a crow (a raven) that lived on a tree standing at the center of that park. Over time, a silent but deep friendship developed between them. Gradually, the crow began to wait more for the sight of Govind than for the treats he brought.

One day, Govind’s wallet accidentally fell from his pocket while he was jogging past. The crow noticed it, picked up the fallen wallet, and kept it in its nest, intending to return it the following morning.

Govind realized his purse was missing once he reached home. He had kept two thousand rupees in the lost purse, but it never occurred to him that it might have been lost in the park.

Saying to himself, “Who is going to return a wallet filled with currency to its owner these days?” he simply wrote off his loss.

The following day, Govind did not go for his usual walk, and a week went by without a visit. The reason was that Govind had left the city on an official trip to Bangalore. In the meantime, there was a severe thunderstorm; the crow protected the wallet by hiding it in a hollow in the tree.

Finally, on the eighth day, the crow saw Govind striding into the park. The crow was overjoyed.

It retrieved the wallet from its hiding place and dropped it in front of his human friend. In its own "Kaka" language, it seemed to say:

"Master, here is your thing. It fell from your trouser pocket the other day. I have been waiting so long to return it to you."

Govind was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. He could not believe that crows, like dogs, are such grateful beings. Crows possess not only gratitude but also high intelligence. This crow somehow understood that the wallet was of great value and decided to restore it to its owner.

Govind did not leave the park that day before feeding his friend a masala vada which he bought from a nearby tea shop.

Every bird and every animal seeks and longs for friendship with us humans; the only thing required is a little sensitivity on our part to appreciate their silent affection. Animals and birds often reciprocate with twice the amount of love we show them. They look up to us for affection, yet many of us look down upon them with contempt.