The Tuntuni and the Cat

Behind a householder's cottage grew an aubergine plant. A tuntuni — a little tailorbird — had stitched its leaves together with her beak and made her nest inside.

In the nest were three tiny chicks. They could not fly, and they could not even open their eyes. All they could do was gape their beaks and cheep, 'Chee-chee!'

The householder's cat was a wicked one, and all she thought about was eating those chicks. One day she came and sat under the aubergine plant. 'What are you up to, Tuntuni?' she asked sweetly.

The tuntuni bowed her head right down to the branch. 'My respects to you, Your Majesty the Queen!' The cat was so delighted to be called a queen that she purred and strolled away.

The tuntuni did not trust the cat, even when she purred. She had watched her stalk lizards in the courtyard and steal fish from the kitchen. So she stitched the nest deep among the leaves, where the branches hid it from the ground, and fed her chicks only when the cat slept in the sun. Whenever the cat appeared, the mother bird kept her voice sweet and her eyes watchful.

The cat soon grew proud of her new title. She began to sit beneath the plant like a queen receiving visitors, smoothing her whiskers and asking the bird to sing. The tuntuni sang a little tune, then told her the leaves were trembling because even the wind was afraid to disturb Her Majesty. Flattered, the cat stayed longer, while above her the chicks grew stronger and began to flap their wings.

One afternoon the cat grew suspicious. She climbed a little way up the trunk and demanded to see the nest. The tuntuni praised her sharp eyes and said that only someone as grand as the Queen could spot the tiny chicks from below. Flattered, the cat climbed down to look up instead. While she craned her neck, the mother bird quietly led the chicks along a branch to a safer place.

After that the cat came every day, and every day the tuntuni bowed and called her 'Your Majesty', and every day the cat went away pleased. Meanwhile the chicks grew bigger. Their feathers came in, and their eyes opened wide.

One morning the tuntuni asked them, 'Children, can you fly?' 'Yes, Mother, we can!' 'Then let me see you fly up to the branch of that palm tree.' Off they flew and settled high on the palm. The tuntuni laughed. 'Now let that wicked cat come!'

Soon the cat came by. 'What are you up to, Tuntuni?' This time the tuntuni lifted her little foot as if to kick and cried, 'Get lost, you good-for-nothing cat!' — and with a flick of her wings she was gone.

The cat bared her teeth and leapt into the aubergine plant, but she could not catch the tuntuni, and there were no chicks left to eat. All she got for her trouble was a coat full of aubergine thorns, and she slunk home sore and sorry. Big bodies are not always the winners; a small creature with patience and a clever tongue can keep her family safe.