66 



his own brother so allows it to approach quite close 

 to the nest. As soon as the owner's back is turned 

 the cuckoo, which is playing the role of the lion in 

 the ass's skin, deposits an egg in the nest, which the 

 drongo, who is not a mathematician, fails to " spot " 

 on his return. 



The koel adopts another method of procedure. The 

 male bird is black and rejoices in a fine long tail. The 

 grey-necked crow cannot bear the sight of the bird, 

 which he attacks the moment he sets eyes on it. This 

 is exactly what the cuckoo desires. He flies up to the 

 crow's nest, making insulting remarks, and turns tail 

 the moment the owners of the nest go for him. The 

 birds then play a grim game of hide-and-seek. The 

 koel, w-ho is a faster flier than a crow, leads the 

 way through thickly wooded places, jeering at his 

 pursuers the w^hole time to stimulate them to con- 

 tinue the useless chase. The crows make every effort 

 to overtake the aggressor, vowdng the most awful 

 vengeance. Presently there comes wafted across 

 the air the welcome sound of '* Kuil, kuil, kuil," then 

 the cuckoo knows that the strategy has been success- 

 ful, that the fell deed has been done, so he hurls some 



