Riot in the forest

The Sparrow and the Duck

Neither the sparrow was willing to accept the duck’s claim, nor was the duck ready to believe the sparrow. Both were shouting loudly, blaming each other.

Tuesday, 9 December 2025

Sabir Fayyaz

The sun had not fully risen yet when chaos broke out in the forest. In front of the blue-water lake, all the animals of the forest had gathered. Everyone was trying to speak at once. Early in the morning, an unusual disturbance had spread throughout the forest.

A female sparrow lived in a nest on a banyan tree near the blue-water lake along with her two tiny chicks. The banyan tree was very dense, and many other birds had also built their nests there. As usual, the sparrow would leave early every morning to search for food for her little ones. As soon as she left, her chicks would wake up and start chirping loudly until their mother returned from the forest with grains to feed them.

Before the children even woke up, she would already be out searching for food.

That day, when the sparrow returned with food, she found a commotion near the blue-water lake. In the hollow trunk of the same tree where the sparrow lived, a duck resided with her children. The duck was extremely angry that day. As soon as she saw the sparrow, she began shouting,

“O Sparrow! Your children have destroyed the peace of the entire forest. Every morning they wake my children by making so much noise. All the animals and birds of the forest are disturbed because of your children’s shouting.”

The sparrow looked at the gathered crowd in surprise. Several animals and birds present there nodded in agreement with the duck. The sparrow was not prepared for such a sudden accusation. Seeing the duck’s aggressive attitude, she was left stunned. In her mind, the real cause of the noise in the forest was the duck’s children, who started quacking loudly early in the morning, waking every animal in the forest.

She thought to herself, this is like the thief scolding the policeman. The duck’s children made the noise, yet the blame was being placed on her chicks.

“O Duck! Learn to speak the truth. It is your children who create the noise. How loud can my tiny chicks be? No sooner does the morning arrive than your ducks begin quacking loudly.”

That was enough to ignite a full-blown uproar in the forest.

Neither the sparrow was ready to accept the duck’s words, nor was the duck willing to believe the sparrow. Both shouted at the top of their voices, blaming one another. Their children made even more noise than their parents, as if they had found some form of entertainment. The entire forest was thrown into confusion.

The noise woke Bear Sahib, who lived in a cave on a nearby mountain. Rubbing his eyes, he came out and was stunned by the scene before him. All the animals and birds of the forest were gathered, shouting at one another. Bear Sahib usually spent the entire night searching for honey and slept deeply in the morning after satisfying his hunger. Being awakened earlier than usual made him furious.

To silence everyone, he let out a loud roar. All the animals and birds froze in fear.

“What is all this chaos? Why is everyone shouting? Has someone attacked the forest?” Bear Sahib asked, still confused.

An ostrich explained, “Bear Sahib, the animals of the forest have been troubled for days. Every morning there is loud noise that ruins everyone’s sleep. The duck claims the sparrow’s children make noise, while the sparrow says the duck’s children wake everyone by quacking.”

Hearing this, Bear Sahib scratched his head. Then a solution came to his mind. Addressing everyone, he said, “Brothers, why don’t we go to King Lion? Surely he will find a solution.”

All the animals and birds liked the suggestion and set off toward King Lion’s court. When they reached the lion’s den, silence prevailed, and from a distance, the sound of the lion’s snoring could be heard. The lion was accustomed to sleeping late. All the animals stopped outside, none daring to enter, though they continued talking among themselves.

The noise woke the lion. Rubbing his eyes, he came out and was surprised to see all the animals gathered. Annoyance was clearly visible on his face. The young king was somewhat foolish. After the old king’s death, he had accidentally become the ruler.

“Why are you disturbing my sleep? The animals of the forest have no concern for their king’s rest,” the lion said angrily.

Bear Sahib stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, earlier all the animals used to sleep peacefully until late morning. Now every day there is chaos at dawn. The sparrow and the duck blame each other, and no one is willing to admit fault. We have failed to resolve the matter. Only your wisdom can solve this problem.”

The lion was confused about how to solve the issue. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the fox, and his face lit up with joy. The old fox had been hiding behind a tree to avoid the king’s attention, always fearing some foolish decision from him.

The lion said, “You are the oldest and wisest in the forest. My father always sought your advice in difficult matters. You must solve this problem too.” Then he became serious and warned, “Remember, Fox, you have only until tomorrow. If you fail to find a solution by morning, prepare for a terrible fate. I will not tolerate anyone disturbing my forest’s peace.”

The crowd raised slogans praising the king.

The fox lived near an open field surrounded by dense trees and dry bushes. She thought deeply about who should be blamed for disturbing the forest’s sleep. The real issue lay between the sparrow and the duck, but because of the foolish king, she would suffer the punishment. To save her life, someone had to be declared guilty—but who