15
Teetiri
asks Salonki to help
She was almost sure that she could not
depend on Salonki and her partner. Or, could she? Teetiri asked herself. It may
perhaps be easier to ask Salonki to risk taking a chance than any other bird.
Salonki would be willing to take risks. For all the singing and gesturing that
Dominga, Darzi or Phoolchuki did, they did not have the guts to confront an
enemy. She could not risk Kotwal. Teetiri needed Kotwal to warn her at her
nest. Salonki would have to do for the moment, Teetiri thought.
After all, no smart predator was
waiting out there so patiently to have to eat Salonki. With all the nodding and
shaking that they did, the predator would definitely a stomach ache, Teetiri
thought and smiled to herself. She called Salonki and informed her that she
would need a favour. Salonki was surprised and felt very happy. Teetiri,
Teetiri, TEETIRI was asking her, her, HER, Salonki, to do a favour. Teetiri was
considered to be much smarter than Salonki and here she was, asking her for a
favour. Sure, she said, ask and if she could do it, she would definitely be
glad to be of any help.
Go to the jowar and bajra cropfields.
Go and tell all your myna cousins and relatives that Teetiri needs their help.
Bring them to the marsh. Teetiri told Salonki. Do not ask them to land in the
marsh but ask them to perch on the branches of the babool trees. Tell them to
just sit there and try to find out what the animal was. Was it a dog from the
village? Was it Mongoose or Ghorpad, the monitor lizard, wandering away from
his usual walking path? Whoever it was from among all these, they were all
equally dangerous for lapwing chicks, Teetiri thought. What if it was not one
of these animals? She could always deal with the known ones, and try and force
them into moving away. It was the unknown and strange animals, that would be
more worrying.
Salonki agreed to bring all her
cousins and relatives to the marsh. She flew off with her nodding partner to
the cropfields across the river where all her relatives gathered to feed upon
the grains. They were also possibly gathering around the place where the
farmers were boiling harvested sugarcane to make jaggery. The mynas loved to
pick up the fallen jaggery when it was being transported back and forth from
the boiling area in the cropfields to the godowns. The farmers usually left the
godown doors open. The mynas also raided the godown interiors for there was
more food to be found inside.
Salonki flew down upon the roof of the
shed and called out to her relatives. All of them gathered together on the roof
while Salonki told them about the request for help from Teetiri. They were all
excited. They felt that Salonki had done all the mynas proud. Imagine, they
spoke agitatedly, imagine, one of the lapwings was actually asking the mynas
for help. Wow. That was something, indeeeeeed. They were also excited about
this strange animal that Salonki was describing. Large, frightening and
dangerous, Salonki had said. And, all Teetiri had asked of was to make sure
that all the mynas perched on the babool trees and just stayed there? That was
the plan? That was the entire plan? Of course, they could do it. That was very easy. And for this easy bit of
assistance, Teetiri would owe Salonki a favour? Wow. How foolish could the
lapwings be? They told each other in pairs, for though they seemed to be in a
large flock, the mynas interacted only as pairs.
