20
Teetiri
needed the marsh to be safe
Teetiri agreed instantly while pecking fast at a passing beetle and swallowing it. Teetiri needed the marsh to be safe for her children when they would hatch out. She had planned the nesting in order that her children would be hatched just in time for the monsoon. But she was worried that the rains may be delayed by seven to ten days. She needed the water in the marsh and the safe hideout that the green grass would provide to her children.
Teetiri asked Kotwal to help Salonki
plan against Billi. Kotwal also agreed to help. He had a very good reason to
help because Billi had once climbed a mango tree adjacent to the village and
destroyed the nest that belonged to Kotwal’s sister. Kotwal had not seen it
happen but his father had described it to him. This Billi should never be
allowed inside the grassland or at the marsh, Kotwal said. But we need more
help, perhaps some clever birds from the village, Teetiri suggested. We do not
know how to fight Billi, while the village birds would be able to help them
plan. Both Kotwal and Salonki nodded in agreement.
Who could help them but Kaawla Chacha,
said Salonki excitedly. He was the one who had scolded Salonki’s father in the
village. He seemed to know a lot and seemed like a very wise bird. He may be
able to help the birds of the grassland. Kaawla Chacha certainly seemed to be very
intelligent. Salonki proposed that Kaawla Chacha could be invited to come to
the grassland and help the birds lead an attack on Billi while he hid in the
marsh.
Teetiri disagreed. She still
remembered the way that Kaawla Chacha’s cousin had destroyed her nest and eaten
up her eggs. She argued that Kaawla may be very intelligent but he was also a
danger to the birds and their nests in the grassland. Kaawla Chacha should
never be able to find out the secrets of the grassland or the marsh. An enemy
is an enemy is an enemy. Especially one who destroys your nest and eats away
the eggs. Such an enemy could never be trusted. We may replace one foolish
enemy with a very smart and intelligent enemy, she said.
Kotwal agreed. Do not call Kaawla
Chacha, he advised. A better friend would be Guturgu, the Blue-Rock Pigeon.
Guturgu never destroyed any nests or ate any eggs. He was very peaceful,
content to live with his family. He actually seemed to have a very large
family. The blue-rock pigeons seemed to come out of the village in their
hundreds to the cropfields when the grain was ready to be harvested. They were
never to be seen flying around commonly in the grassland or the river or the
forest. The local villagers were also known to feed them at a specific place. Guturgu
could teach some tricks to the birds of the grassland.
