Silly parable
The chipmunk stood on his hind legs atop the brick wall, his back to the wooden fence as he surveyed the garden below. He was hungry. His tail twitching as he watched for danger. Suddenly a red hawk dove at him. He saw it just in time and dove over the side of the wall. The hawk, however, did not have time to swerve and hit the fence head on. The force at which he hit the fence knocked him out. The chipmunk was astounded. He had just managed to make it to his hole but turned around to see the stunned hawk lying there as if dead. Cautiously he returned and sniffed the hawk. There was no movement. He grabbed a feather and pulled. It came loose. No reaction from the hawk. He grabbed another in his teeth and pulled it out also.
One after another he pulled feathers. He had a pile of feathers before the hawk finally stirred. The chipmunk, seeing that the hawk was coming back to life, grabbed a few of the feathers and ran for his hole. The hawk roused himself and staggered to his feet. He was shocked to see a pile of his feathers on the ground beside him. After examining himself he discovered a patch of exposed skin. He picked up one of his feathers and tried to stick it back into a hole in his skin. It did not fit. So, he tried another. Still no match. One after another he kept trying. Finally, one fits. He was very happy. But as soon as he moved it fell out. At long last he gave up and struggled to fly away. He could not fly straight and went in circles. Still, he managed to gain altitude. His sharp eyes could see the chipmunk watching him. The chipmunk seemed to be laughing.
The chipmunk called to the other garden creatures, “Come and see what the hawk has left us!” The squirrel, the mouse, the shrew plus the smaller birds gathered round the pile of feathers. “Look here,” said the chipmunk. “I will sell feathers to you, if you bring me sunflower seeds and nuts. You can use them in your nests or as ornaments in your fur or give yourself longer feathers. They have lots of uses.” They left and soon returned with seeds and nuts. The chipmunk let them pick their favorite feather from the pile. He was very pleased with himself since they brought him food. He stored the food in his burrow. Then he gathered the leftover feathers and decorated his nest.
A few days later, the hawk had a plan. He returned when the chipmunk was nowhere in sight. He landed in the spot where he had hit the wall earlier. He hurled a rock at the wall so it sounded like a big thud. Then he laid down and pretended to have knocked himself out again. The chipmunk came out to inspect the noise and was astonished to see the hawk lying there motionless yet again. This time he approached with more confidence. He yanked on a feather as before but suddenly found himself trapped in a talon. The hawk lay there as before but opened one eye. Glaring at the chipmunk the hawk spoke. “Put it back and give me the others.”
The frightened chipmunk pleaded, “If I do you will just have me for lunch.”
The hawk pledged that he would not eat the chipmunk if his feathers were replaced. He hopped to his feet with the chipmunk still in a talon. Then he stood in the doorway to the burrow so the chipmunk could not escape inside. With his beak he pulled feathers from the burrow and set them in front of the chipmunk. “Now. Put them back in my tail. And I will let you live.”
The chipmunk picked up one and found the right size hole. Fortunately, it had tightened over the last few days. He pushed the feather in. It held. The hawk turned to look. “You have it backwards! That will not do. I will fall out of the sky if they are wrong. Turn it.”
The chipmunk thought that the hawk not being able to fly might be a good thing. But he turned the feather anyway. Slowly the chipmunk replaced all the feathers that he could find. The other garden creatures watched warily from their hiding places. “Bring me the feathers I sold to you!” he called.
But the others replied. “No, we bought them from you fairly.”
The hawk shrieked. “Those feathers are stolen goods. They belong to me. If you do not return them all, I will hunt you and all your children forever.” He turned his head swiftly and snatched the chipmunk in his beak, swallowing him whole. And that is how hawks became the enemy of all small creatures. The lesson: do not trust the word of a predator.