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said evil divinities are the cause of the nigritude of 

 the splendid birds. 



Thus runs the legend : The wicked gods finding 

 fuel cheap in the nether regions set up smelting 

 operations. The fire, sniolce and heat annoyed the 

 great god Sing Bonga, who issued orders that the 

 furnaces were not to work day and night. This 

 seems very reasonable of him, yet the naughty, 

 naughty divinities refused to obey the order. 



Sing Bonga in anger — I quote from Mr. Bradley- 

 Birt, who is an authority on Chota Nagpur and its 

 people — '* sent two king-crows and an owl to warn 

 them, but they only flippantly waved their furnace 

 tongs at them, trying to catch them by the tails. 

 Then Sing Bonga sent a crow. Now the crows 

 were formerly white, but when the unfortunate 

 representative of the family reached the iron workers 

 they caught him and smoked him black, sending 

 him away thus disfigured to show their contempt 

 for Sing Bonga's orders. The crows have never 

 recovered the indignity and have remained black 

 ever since." But crows are not birds to be upset 

 by trifles. They have the good sense to make 

 the best of a bad job. 



