The Eagles and the Ravens

NPC

Lore

The fairy tale “The Eagles and the Ravens” about the birds that feuded.

High in a vast mountain range, far from human eyes, stood two enormous forests. One was home only to eagles, the other only to ravens. Each flock was ruled by its own king, whose power among his birds was absolute.

An ancient feud between the two nations suddenly burst into flame again. Late one night the eagle-king and his warriors swooped into the ravens’ woods and attacked the sleeping birds. Many ravens were killed. Their king knew nothing of it until dawn. When he saw the losses, he bitterly gathered his council to decide how to answer such treachery. Ravens are born orators, and their king spoke very persuasively:

“My loyal subjects! You know the eagles struck at night, in secret, without warning. We still don’t understand why. If we stay silent, it will happen again. Let’s choose how to defend our realm. Don’t rush—think hard, because our future hangs on this. We must stop the enemy, or we’re finished.”

A closed meeting followed. Only the king and his five chief advisers were there. They were very old ravens, most of them almost snow-white with age; a few were bald, and almost all stooped under the weight of their years. When the session began, the eldest adviser spoke first.

“My king! The sages say: if the enemy is stronger and you can’t beat him, yield. Don’t fight out of pride or you’ll lose even more.”

The king understood but said nothing and turned to the second adviser.

“My king,” the second began, “I disagree with the previous speaker. We can’t just surrender and hand over our home. Let’s unite and be ready to fight. Send scouts to watch the eagles. If they return, we’ll stand our ground. Maybe the eagles will back off when they see we’re not afraid. There’s always time to run if we lose, but fleeing now would be shameful.”

The king nodded to the third adviser.

“My king! Both are right in their own way. Beating the eagles head-on is nearly impossible—they’re bigger and stronger. Still, I wouldn’t just run. Send a clever envoy to ask their king why he attacked. Maybe it was a mistake, and we can settle things peacefully. At worst, we could pay tribute and live in peace. Better peace than war, and there’s no shame in buying off a stronger foe.”

“None of that will work! I’m against giving up our home, against a hopeless battle, and against talks with the enemy. Tribute would make us slaves. My advice: pull back for now, find powerful allies, then strike suddenly and drive the eagles out by force!”

The king thought for a moment, then gave the floor to the fifth adviser.

“To me, none of these ideas fit. I, too, fear the eagles and want no open war. But I’m against retreat, tribute, and envoys—the eagles would just laugh. My plan is to act with guile and caution. Wait and see what they do. Show no fear, but don’t provoke them. Don’t grovel, but don’t swagger either. A wise ruler sees trouble ahead and sidesteps it. With cunning we can avoid war.”

“What exactly do you have in mind? What cunning trick do you propose? Speak plainly,” the king asked.

“Listen, my king. To win we need two things. First, overcome our fear and think clearly. Second, learn the real root of the eagles’ hatred. Without that we can’t choose the right course.”

“But how can we learn that?” the king asked.

“I already know,” the adviser said.

“It’s a secret, my king—meant for your ears alone. We’re called secret advisers for a reason: we tell the ruler what others mustn't hear.”

The king dismissed the council and took the sage aside.

“What do you know?” he asked.

“It all began with words spoken by a single raven,” the adviser replied.

“Sit and tell me,” the king ordered.

“Long ago, in our ancestors’ time, the eagles had a wise and just king. All birds respected him. One day the birds gathered to choose a supreme ruler over all the birds of the world. Many wanted to crown the eagle. But an old raven stepped forward and argued fiercely against it, saying eagles are cruel and power-hungry, and if they ruled, the rest would suffer. Because of those words, the eagle lost the crown. From that day on, the eagles hated every raven. The hatred was handed down generation after generation and finally led to last night’s attack.”

“Your counsel is sound. We’ll withdraw and wait. But what if they return?”

“We’ll hide someplace safe, build our strength, and hit them with cunning, not brute force,” the adviser answered.

And that is exactly what they did. The ravens abandoned their forest and flew to distant mountains. The eagles, finding empty nests, plundered them and declared victory. But the adviser had a plan. He found a narrow mountain gorge where the eagles were roosting. Deep in the night, while the enemy slept, the ravens piled dry branches at the mouth of the gorge and set them ablaze.

The eagles woke to fire and smoke and couldn’t get out. Most burned or suffocated; only a handful escaped. Ever since, eagles have been scarce, while ravens fill the skies. And to this day, the two birds still hate each other.

From Grimm Legends Bestiary 5E, p. 74 · Fern Flower Press