52
Chimini and the sparrows join the battle
Now that Kotwal had seen Billi so
frequently, he managed to spot him immediately. At a signal from Kotwal,
Phoolchuki called out to Chimini. Chimini came with about ten sparrows and
alighted on an open patch of ground across a narrow stream of marsh water. They
were about six feet away from Billi who thought that he was well hidden inside
the grass clumps. The sparrows began to take a sand bath, fluffing their
feathers, playing around, singing and having a merry time. They started calling
out to each other, jumping up and down, preening each other and removing
insects from their feathers.
Billi was amazed at all the sudden
activity inside the marsh grasses. He had not seen a single bird throughout the
day and now there were quail after quail and now the sparrows. There were ten
sparrows sitting at the marsh grasses, all together. At least he would not fail
in catching at least one sparrow. He had convinced himself that he had not
caught the quail because it was alone on each occasion. This time around, he
could certainly catch one or two sparrows. He looked around to check if that
irritating black drongo was still sitting at the topmost perch. He suspected
that the drongo seemed to have a role in helping the quail to escape.
The black drongo was not to be seen.
There was that Bulbul, sitting silently, watching and smiling at Billi’s
foolishness. Billi was sure that this Bulbul was also somehow involved in his
failure to hunt successfully. Why was he sitting there, without any movement,
watching all the time? Billi thought. There was Darzi, sitting next to Bulbul
now. Strangely, Darzi seemed to be very intent on watching Bulbul rather than the
marsh. The situation seemed to be correct to try and hunt the sparrows. They
did not seem to be aware of his presence, Billi thought to himself. Somehow...
The sparrows were too much of a
temptation for Billi. He decided to go in for catching at least one or two
sparrows. He crouched, crept quietly, very slowly, crossing a distance of about
two human feet. He did not continue, but waited for some time, looked up and
above, to see if the black drongo had returned. There seemed to be a narrow
stream of water between Billi and the sparrows. The rocky stream was about a
foot wide, and the sparrows were about another three feet away. Once again
deciding to go ahead with the attack, Billi moved in to the stream, practically
lying down in the water. The sparrows did not seem to suspect anything.
