One day when the King of Ants met Unni, he noticed that the boy was not in his usual spirits. The King could easily guess there was something wrong with him.
The King said, "My dear friend, tell me what's ailing you. I clearly see that you are quite unhappy."
Unni remained silent. The King urged him to speak out and he offered his friend to cure him of his unhappiness in a few minutes.
Unni said reluctantly, "At school my friends tease me. They say I have a very big nose and they have nicknamed me 'Big Nose'. I examined my nose in the glass and what they say is quite true. My nose is three times as big as a normal one. Even you, wise as you are, can't make my nose smaller and slenderer."
The King smiled and said, “My dear Unni, please don't worry about your big nose. In fact, a big nose is a symbol of greatness. I assure you that you will become a great man when you grow up. Now, when you have heard the story I am going to tell you, I am sure you will cease to be unhappy about your big nose."
Unni sat up and his eyes sparkled. He asked, "Your Majesty, what story are you going to tell me?"
"The story of Lukose, the crow," the King said and he began another story.
In a village in Kerala, close to the foothills of the Western Ghats, there lived a murder of crows. The strength of the murder was not very impressive. Their number was only one hundred and fifty or so.
Among them there was a young crow called Lukose. Such human names are not usual among crows. But, when he was hatched, his mother insisted that he should be named after the MLA for the region. She had never met anybody, man or crow, who could speak as loudly as Lukose. During the hustings there would be meetings near the temple and Lukose would address the local public. Lukose would thunder and the ladies were always impressed. In fact a loud speaker was a superfluous instrument for him. The amazing vocal capacity helped him to beat his opponents in election after election. Once he crossed floor and became a minister in the cabinet. The most remarkable step he took during his office was to prohibit loud speakers in public meetings.
In the end the strange name became a menace to our hero. As his pals poked fun at him nicknaming him MLA, minister, and leader, Lukose the crow, would get angry. The angrier he became the more the youngsters of his age teased him. In course of time Lukose shunned all company and began to live practically in social isolation.
At this time something that shook him to his very soul took place. His mother discovered that there was a tiny spot, the size of a small coin, on his head where there was no hair.
For a while Lukose concealed the spot with his long hair. But the desert spread fast to the other regions of his singularly large head. Lukose, the MLA, was bald headed, his friends recalled, and there was yet another weapon for his deriding pals to tease him.
Lukose met the local doctor of the crows and sought medical advice. The doctor said, "Even among human beings there is no remedy for baldness and jealousy. But just try this oil."
On applying the medicated oil the doctor gave the rest of the hairs on his head fell off and Lukose now boasted the only bald head in the crow community. Besides, the oil rendered the bald head a dazzling shine.
Lukose wouldn't as much as talk to his friends now and he avoided them as far as possible. Without any fun and little inclined to play he shut himself in a corner. He ate very little and grew short tempered. A sort of restlessness haunted him during the day and he enjoyed little sleep at night. Lukose began to fear that he was on the verge of some mental disorder.
The mother crow began to worry. She had named him after Lukose, the politician, with the best of intentions. As a boy his head was unusually large and his beak was as strong as iron and he had an unbelievably loud voice. Now that he had developed an amazingly splendid bald head, Lukose, the crow, showed all the physical qualities that made Lukose, the politician, distinguished. Instead of becoming an orator and leader, her son would brood in isolation away from the murder without any social intercourse or playfulness usual to his age. The crow-mother prayed and prayed and made numerous offerings to all the churches and temples she knew. But they were of no avail.
One day Lukose was perching on the branch of a vaka tree. On the branch just above him were sitting two young hens. They were the prettiest females in the murder and were praised as much for their musical voices as for their loveliness. Lukose listened to what the beauties were saying, though he pretended not to see them.
They were talking about attending the marriage feast at the Councilor's. The Councilor's son was getting married and they felt they should go. Nangeli, one of the hens, said she was annoyed that there was no beauty clinic in the village.
Blacky, the other hen said they might go to the temple pond and do the make up themselves, looking in the clear water. "Why should we go as far as the temple pond?" said the other, "Don't you see Lukose down there? His head shines better than any mirror and you could see yourself quite beautifully."
Lukose felt as if a bomb had exploded right on his head. He sat still for a while and now flew to another tree. From behind the shrill laughter of the hens could be heard.
"There is no point in living on like this. First they were after the name. Now it is my head. Mother made a folly in giving me such a name and God has punished me with this desert of a skull. If one has no connection with the society around, it is equal to death. I haven't heard of any crow that has taken his own life. I have a human name and perhaps that's why I think like a man. I will take my life, there is no use living on like this. If you go to another place you can hide your name, but what about the head?" soliloquized our hero.
Without informing anybody else, even his mother, Lukose left the place that very day. Indeed, he felt very sad to leave the village where he was born and grew up. How deeply he loved the temple pond, the banyan tree and the river, he thought and he felt a lump rising in his throat. Still he would not go back. The essence of a place did not lie in its geographical features, but in the inhabitants, he reasoned.
Lukose flew for a very long time without stop, and under him he saw strange villages and towns, paddy fields, roads and railway lines. Still he did not feel exhausted and he felt very proud of his wings. Who else in the village, who among his tormentors, could boast of such a fine set of wings?
At last, as it was growing dark, Lukose decided to stop. He roosted on the branch of a huge banyan tree that grew on a great river.
Lukose was so tired that he immediately fell asleep. During his sleep he dreamt of his native land, the temple and the great anjili tree that had been his home for so long. All the beautiful crow hens in the village flew around him laughing, laughing at him derisively.
He woke up early in the morning like any other healthy crow. It was still very dark and it took a few minutes to realize that he was in a new place.
Very soon Lukose saw that the tree was the home of a murder of crows. He watched silently the groups of crows that were flying off to distant places in search of food.
Feeling that somebody was watching him from behind, he looked back.
He found an old crow perching not far from his branch. He was very small, his legs were thin and his color was turning to gray owing to his advanced age. But his eyes radiated a peculiar sparkle.
The old crow flew closer to Lukose and said in a tone full of tender love, "You are a stranger here, aren't you?"
Lukose shuddered when he thought the old crow's look was falling on his head.
"My home is very far away," replied Lukose.
"Why did you choose to travel alone?" inquired the old crow.
Lukose at once saw that the old crow's words conveyed more friendship than inquiry.
Lukose remained silent looking down to the leaf strewn ground far below.
"I can very easily understand that you are very sad. What's the matter? Have you people met with some great danger?" continued the old crow.
When the old crow pressed him Lukose told him his tale of woe - how he had been tormented by his friends, how the bald head had nearly driven him crazy, etc. He confessed that he had come away to take his life.
The old crow smiled and his smile was full of love and compassion.
"Come with me," the old crow said. Lukose could not refuse him for he was so nice and loving. Lukose followed him.
They moved in ways well covered and hidden by thick foliage. Lukose was surprised about the secrecy and hidden nature of the murder's dwelling place.
Finally the old crow pushed back a twig and they were in a large nest.
As the old crow and the stranger entered the place, the inmates - some twenty adults and as many youngsters - crowded around them noisily.
Lukose saw that every crow in the large nest was handicapped - broken winged, one legged, one eyed or seriously wounded.
The old crow whispered, "How happy these fellows are! Great Wing, though blind in both the eyes, hasn't thought of suicide. Valiant, though he has lost a leg, still loves life. In the society each has his place. They do whatever they can and live on without despair. How lucky you are in comparison! In this murder there is no crow as strong as you.
"Suicide is for fools and cowards. When Death comes, accept him. Don't go looking for him."
Lukose felt ashamed of himself and he began to view life from a new angle. Life was not for the brooding crow but for the active one.
He wanted to know how so many of the crows happened to be handicapped.
The old crow said, "Not far from here, on a mango tree on a hill top, lives a group of eagles.
"They would occasionally raid the banyan tree for stealing eggs from the crow nests. When the crows are out searching food they would surprise us in large formations. They would murder the guards, destroy the nests and drink up the eggs. There may be an attack at any time. Although the vigilance has been greatly improved, the eagles are always victorious," the old crow sighed.
The soldier in Lukose woke up. He had come away resolving to destroy his life. Now that the life of a large number of crows was in danger he thought it would be worth while to sacrifice it for a great cause.
"Can I join your murder?" asked Lukose hesitantly.
The Chief of the crows readily agreed and said that he would be an asset to their community and that they all would be proud to have him as one of their comrades.
In a week Lukose became acquainted with almost all the crows, male and female. In his turn he would join the forces that guarded the tree and at other times go out with the others. Nobody spoke ill of him or laughed at him and he felt quite at home among his new friends.
One day when Lukose was on guard duty with the other young crows, alarm was sounded. The eagles had arrived for another raid.
The guards put up a brave fight as usual. But Lukose adopted a different strategy. He flew high, higher than the eagles and the crows engaged in fight and singled out the leader of the enemies. Descending right on top of the big bird he attacked it on the head. The eagle lost its balance and altitude but Lukose held on firmly on the enemy's body. Seeing a downed eagle, a few other crows came to Lukose’s help.
Luckily for the eagle, he somehow regained balance and flew away deserting his fellows. The others, seeing what had happened to the leader, withdrew. Lukose and his friends could not kill any of the attacking enemies, but the message was clear.
The Chief and the others praised Lukose for the courage he showed in repulsing the enemy attack. Some believed that Lukose was sent by God to protect the crows from the eagles. Some crow mothers proudly named their young ones after Lukose.
Two weeks passed peacefully but the hope of peace was short-lived. The eagles invaded the Banyan tree, systematically killing a number of crows, including a few chicks.
In the evening the Council of War met and Lukose had been specially invited to the meeting. Lukose thanked the Council and especially the Chief for the rare honor.
The Chief asked Lukose to take over as Commander-in-Chief of the crow forces, and invited him to submit a feasible plan to successfully meet the eagle menace.
In a week's time Lukose submitted his plan to the War Council for approval. He said that there was no use in waiting for the enemy to attack. In a preemptive strike the enemy should be annihilated in his base itself. Once the enemy was destroyed the crows could live forever in peace. It was true that the eagles were stronger and swifter than the crows. But the crows could easily outnumber the eagles one to ten.
Although some of the senior members were skeptical about the idea, the Council, after prolonged discussions, authorized Lukose to go ahead and work out a detailed plan of attack.
In a week Lukose and his friends studied the enemy positions closely. Their system of defense, number of guards during the day, hiding places, the strength of each batch when they went out, etc. were closely watched. The eagles had practically no system of defense against enemy attack. It was not at all surprising to Lukose; at his own home the crows had to fear nobody and there weren't any regular forces or organized defense.
One day, by noon, the crows attacked the mango tree in great numbers. Everybody in the murder except the weak, handicapped and those who were posted to guard the banyan tree, took part in the operation.
The crows waited in the surrounding trees for the majority of the eagles to come home. As the unsuspecting eagles approached home in twos and threes the crows outnumbered each group and killed them. Lukose himself took on the eagle chief and soon the big bird fell dead. At dusk the victorious crow forces arrived home with but a handful of lives lost. The few eagles that had escaped massacre had fled to distant places. Their number was so small that even if they regrouped later on, they could not be a danger to the crow community any longer.
The crow hens vied with each other in courting Lukose, the great warrior and hero. Later he married the most beautiful maiden in the murder and lived happily. When the old Chief passed away, he was elected Chief of the crows.
The King said, "My dear friend, tell me what's ailing you. I clearly see that you are quite unhappy."
Unni remained silent. The King urged him to speak out and he offered his friend to cure him of his unhappiness in a few minutes.
Unni said reluctantly, "At school my friends tease me. They say I have a very big nose and they have nicknamed me 'Big Nose'. I examined my nose in the glass and what they say is quite true. My nose is three times as big as a normal one. Even you, wise as you are, can't make my nose smaller and slenderer."
The King smiled and said, “My dear Unni, please don't worry about your big nose. In fact, a big nose is a symbol of greatness. I assure you that you will become a great man when you grow up. Now, when you have heard the story I am going to tell you, I am sure you will cease to be unhappy about your big nose."
Unni sat up and his eyes sparkled. He asked, "Your Majesty, what story are you going to tell me?"
"The story of Lukose, the crow," the King said and he began another story.
In a village in Kerala, close to the foothills of the Western Ghats, there lived a murder of crows. The strength of the murder was not very impressive. Their number was only one hundred and fifty or so.
Among them there was a young crow called Lukose. Such human names are not usual among crows. But, when he was hatched, his mother insisted that he should be named after the MLA for the region. She had never met anybody, man or crow, who could speak as loudly as Lukose. During the hustings there would be meetings near the temple and Lukose would address the local public. Lukose would thunder and the ladies were always impressed. In fact a loud speaker was a superfluous instrument for him. The amazing vocal capacity helped him to beat his opponents in election after election. Once he crossed floor and became a minister in the cabinet. The most remarkable step he took during his office was to prohibit loud speakers in public meetings.
In the end the strange name became a menace to our hero. As his pals poked fun at him nicknaming him MLA, minister, and leader, Lukose the crow, would get angry. The angrier he became the more the youngsters of his age teased him. In course of time Lukose shunned all company and began to live practically in social isolation.
At this time something that shook him to his very soul took place. His mother discovered that there was a tiny spot, the size of a small coin, on his head where there was no hair.
For a while Lukose concealed the spot with his long hair. But the desert spread fast to the other regions of his singularly large head. Lukose, the MLA, was bald headed, his friends recalled, and there was yet another weapon for his deriding pals to tease him.
Lukose met the local doctor of the crows and sought medical advice. The doctor said, "Even among human beings there is no remedy for baldness and jealousy. But just try this oil."
On applying the medicated oil the doctor gave the rest of the hairs on his head fell off and Lukose now boasted the only bald head in the crow community. Besides, the oil rendered the bald head a dazzling shine.
Lukose wouldn't as much as talk to his friends now and he avoided them as far as possible. Without any fun and little inclined to play he shut himself in a corner. He ate very little and grew short tempered. A sort of restlessness haunted him during the day and he enjoyed little sleep at night. Lukose began to fear that he was on the verge of some mental disorder.
The mother crow began to worry. She had named him after Lukose, the politician, with the best of intentions. As a boy his head was unusually large and his beak was as strong as iron and he had an unbelievably loud voice. Now that he had developed an amazingly splendid bald head, Lukose, the crow, showed all the physical qualities that made Lukose, the politician, distinguished. Instead of becoming an orator and leader, her son would brood in isolation away from the murder without any social intercourse or playfulness usual to his age. The crow-mother prayed and prayed and made numerous offerings to all the churches and temples she knew. But they were of no avail.
One day Lukose was perching on the branch of a vaka tree. On the branch just above him were sitting two young hens. They were the prettiest females in the murder and were praised as much for their musical voices as for their loveliness. Lukose listened to what the beauties were saying, though he pretended not to see them.
They were talking about attending the marriage feast at the Councilor's. The Councilor's son was getting married and they felt they should go. Nangeli, one of the hens, said she was annoyed that there was no beauty clinic in the village.
Blacky, the other hen said they might go to the temple pond and do the make up themselves, looking in the clear water. "Why should we go as far as the temple pond?" said the other, "Don't you see Lukose down there? His head shines better than any mirror and you could see yourself quite beautifully."
Lukose felt as if a bomb had exploded right on his head. He sat still for a while and now flew to another tree. From behind the shrill laughter of the hens could be heard.
"There is no point in living on like this. First they were after the name. Now it is my head. Mother made a folly in giving me such a name and God has punished me with this desert of a skull. If one has no connection with the society around, it is equal to death. I haven't heard of any crow that has taken his own life. I have a human name and perhaps that's why I think like a man. I will take my life, there is no use living on like this. If you go to another place you can hide your name, but what about the head?" soliloquized our hero.
Without informing anybody else, even his mother, Lukose left the place that very day. Indeed, he felt very sad to leave the village where he was born and grew up. How deeply he loved the temple pond, the banyan tree and the river, he thought and he felt a lump rising in his throat. Still he would not go back. The essence of a place did not lie in its geographical features, but in the inhabitants, he reasoned.
Lukose flew for a very long time without stop, and under him he saw strange villages and towns, paddy fields, roads and railway lines. Still he did not feel exhausted and he felt very proud of his wings. Who else in the village, who among his tormentors, could boast of such a fine set of wings?
At last, as it was growing dark, Lukose decided to stop. He roosted on the branch of a huge banyan tree that grew on a great river.
Lukose was so tired that he immediately fell asleep. During his sleep he dreamt of his native land, the temple and the great anjili tree that had been his home for so long. All the beautiful crow hens in the village flew around him laughing, laughing at him derisively.
He woke up early in the morning like any other healthy crow. It was still very dark and it took a few minutes to realize that he was in a new place.
Very soon Lukose saw that the tree was the home of a murder of crows. He watched silently the groups of crows that were flying off to distant places in search of food.
Feeling that somebody was watching him from behind, he looked back.
He found an old crow perching not far from his branch. He was very small, his legs were thin and his color was turning to gray owing to his advanced age. But his eyes radiated a peculiar sparkle.
The old crow flew closer to Lukose and said in a tone full of tender love, "You are a stranger here, aren't you?"
Lukose shuddered when he thought the old crow's look was falling on his head.
"My home is very far away," replied Lukose.
"Why did you choose to travel alone?" inquired the old crow.
Lukose at once saw that the old crow's words conveyed more friendship than inquiry.
Lukose remained silent looking down to the leaf strewn ground far below.
"I can very easily understand that you are very sad. What's the matter? Have you people met with some great danger?" continued the old crow.
When the old crow pressed him Lukose told him his tale of woe - how he had been tormented by his friends, how the bald head had nearly driven him crazy, etc. He confessed that he had come away to take his life.
The old crow smiled and his smile was full of love and compassion.
"Come with me," the old crow said. Lukose could not refuse him for he was so nice and loving. Lukose followed him.
They moved in ways well covered and hidden by thick foliage. Lukose was surprised about the secrecy and hidden nature of the murder's dwelling place.
Finally the old crow pushed back a twig and they were in a large nest.
As the old crow and the stranger entered the place, the inmates - some twenty adults and as many youngsters - crowded around them noisily.
Lukose saw that every crow in the large nest was handicapped - broken winged, one legged, one eyed or seriously wounded.
The old crow whispered, "How happy these fellows are! Great Wing, though blind in both the eyes, hasn't thought of suicide. Valiant, though he has lost a leg, still loves life. In the society each has his place. They do whatever they can and live on without despair. How lucky you are in comparison! In this murder there is no crow as strong as you.
"Suicide is for fools and cowards. When Death comes, accept him. Don't go looking for him."
Lukose felt ashamed of himself and he began to view life from a new angle. Life was not for the brooding crow but for the active one.
He wanted to know how so many of the crows happened to be handicapped.
The old crow said, "Not far from here, on a mango tree on a hill top, lives a group of eagles.
"They would occasionally raid the banyan tree for stealing eggs from the crow nests. When the crows are out searching food they would surprise us in large formations. They would murder the guards, destroy the nests and drink up the eggs. There may be an attack at any time. Although the vigilance has been greatly improved, the eagles are always victorious," the old crow sighed.
The soldier in Lukose woke up. He had come away resolving to destroy his life. Now that the life of a large number of crows was in danger he thought it would be worth while to sacrifice it for a great cause.
"Can I join your murder?" asked Lukose hesitantly.
The Chief of the crows readily agreed and said that he would be an asset to their community and that they all would be proud to have him as one of their comrades.
In a week Lukose became acquainted with almost all the crows, male and female. In his turn he would join the forces that guarded the tree and at other times go out with the others. Nobody spoke ill of him or laughed at him and he felt quite at home among his new friends.
One day when Lukose was on guard duty with the other young crows, alarm was sounded. The eagles had arrived for another raid.
The guards put up a brave fight as usual. But Lukose adopted a different strategy. He flew high, higher than the eagles and the crows engaged in fight and singled out the leader of the enemies. Descending right on top of the big bird he attacked it on the head. The eagle lost its balance and altitude but Lukose held on firmly on the enemy's body. Seeing a downed eagle, a few other crows came to Lukose’s help.
Luckily for the eagle, he somehow regained balance and flew away deserting his fellows. The others, seeing what had happened to the leader, withdrew. Lukose and his friends could not kill any of the attacking enemies, but the message was clear.
The Chief and the others praised Lukose for the courage he showed in repulsing the enemy attack. Some believed that Lukose was sent by God to protect the crows from the eagles. Some crow mothers proudly named their young ones after Lukose.
Two weeks passed peacefully but the hope of peace was short-lived. The eagles invaded the Banyan tree, systematically killing a number of crows, including a few chicks.
In the evening the Council of War met and Lukose had been specially invited to the meeting. Lukose thanked the Council and especially the Chief for the rare honor.
The Chief asked Lukose to take over as Commander-in-Chief of the crow forces, and invited him to submit a feasible plan to successfully meet the eagle menace.
In a week's time Lukose submitted his plan to the War Council for approval. He said that there was no use in waiting for the enemy to attack. In a preemptive strike the enemy should be annihilated in his base itself. Once the enemy was destroyed the crows could live forever in peace. It was true that the eagles were stronger and swifter than the crows. But the crows could easily outnumber the eagles one to ten.
Although some of the senior members were skeptical about the idea, the Council, after prolonged discussions, authorized Lukose to go ahead and work out a detailed plan of attack.
In a week Lukose and his friends studied the enemy positions closely. Their system of defense, number of guards during the day, hiding places, the strength of each batch when they went out, etc. were closely watched. The eagles had practically no system of defense against enemy attack. It was not at all surprising to Lukose; at his own home the crows had to fear nobody and there weren't any regular forces or organized defense.
One day, by noon, the crows attacked the mango tree in great numbers. Everybody in the murder except the weak, handicapped and those who were posted to guard the banyan tree, took part in the operation.
The crows waited in the surrounding trees for the majority of the eagles to come home. As the unsuspecting eagles approached home in twos and threes the crows outnumbered each group and killed them. Lukose himself took on the eagle chief and soon the big bird fell dead. At dusk the victorious crow forces arrived home with but a handful of lives lost. The few eagles that had escaped massacre had fled to distant places. Their number was so small that even if they regrouped later on, they could not be a danger to the crow community any longer.
The crow hens vied with each other in courting Lukose, the great warrior and hero. Later he married the most beautiful maiden in the murder and lived happily. When the old Chief passed away, he was elected Chief of the crows.
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