Thief-A Childrens Story

Caw,Caw,Caw, cried the crow of shiniest black. So beautiful in his coat of silky dark feathers. Strutting about on a small table top, in his beak, a new found treasure. A ring of sparkling gold. He was about to steal it as he had many things, many times before. He was a thief, a collector of baubles and shiny bits which caught his curious keen eye. Irresistible sparkle was his greatest weakness. This time however, the thief had been caught by the wizard of the castle. The thief had flown into the wizards room through the open window, the ring seen from a nearby tree branch. The gold ring was lying on a table sparkling in it's most inviting shine, such an easy treasure to snatch he thought, so irresistible, it must be his. Caw,Caw,Caw, cried the crow of shiniest black. But now he was held in the wizards magic unable to fly away with his treasure. The wise old wizard circled the table watching the crow struggle to be free and said, “Well my shiny black thief, what do we have here? You would steal from me my most beautiful ring of gold for your selfish pleasure, I see. You certainly have no fingers to wear such a treasure so you must be stealing it of greed, certainly not need. A most selfish crime and you have nothing to offer in return, or perhaps you do, thief.” “I will offer you an opportunity to make amends for your trickery, thief. A choice will be yours. Be gone without your stolen treasure or; as your splendid black coat of feathers is your only asset, take the ring and leave one glorious black feather behind. However, should you chose to flee and steal my ring of gold you will leave a feather at the scene of your crime each time you steal from this day forward.” Caw,Caw,Caw, cried the crow of shiniest black. He could not resist the shiny gold ring, he was a thief and wanted it for his own. He cared not about the pain of loss felt by the the true owner. One feather was such a small sacrifice for a treasure such as this, he had many feathers to spare. Spreading his wings Black Crow flew through the window in escape with his golden ring... on the floor lay one shiny black feather. Time passed as time does, days became weeks, weeks became months. The thief continued his selfish crime filled ways. A bit of stolen silver here, a bit of stolen shiny there. With each theft, one shiny black feather to be lost at the scene of the crime. In time the lost feathers thinned the splendid black feathered coat the crow was so proud and dependent upon. Flying for food became more and more difficult. The other crows in his flock shunned him because he became bitter and ugly in his now thin dull coat of feathers. Alone, unhappy and friendless, the crow soon perished. The moral of this tale: If you should, by chance, see a thing not yours and feel a need to steal it away, remember the shiny Black Crows lament. When you steal you too will leave a bit of yourself behind. Honesty, value, and self worth will be lost each time. Before you chose to take from others think... Caw, Caw, Caw. Robert Gene Stoner Jr © 4/22/16