The King and the Falcon

A king, deeply thirsty after a long hunting trip in the mountains, found a slow trickle of water dripping from a rock and carefully filled his cup, raising it to drink. His beloved trained falcon, perched on his wrist, suddenly knocked the cup from his hand with a sharp strike of its wing, spilling the precious water entirely.

Confused but patient, the king refilled the cup and raised it again — and again the falcon knocked it away. Growing angry now, the king filled it a third time, and when the falcon struck it away once more, he drew his sword in fury and, in one swift motion, killed the bird he had trusted and loved for years, certain it had simply gone mad or turned against him.

Only then did he climb up to find the water's actual source — a small pool at the top of the rock, where a large, venomous snake lay dead, its poison having leached entirely into the trickling water below. The falcon, in its own way, had been trying desperately to save his life three times over. The king, grief-stricken at what his hasty anger had cost him, carried the loyal bird's body home himself, having learned too late that anger acted upon too quickly can destroy the very thing trying to protect you.