The story of why hawks kill chicks and not owlets is a classic African tale. The story begins with a hawk who is carrying a little owlet away while the parents are watching. After a while, the hawk arrived at its house. On getting home, the hawk’s parents asked what the owlet mother said when the hawk took her baby away.
The hawk answered that the mother of the owlets remained silent and did not say anything. Then the hawk’s parent asked him to return the owlet to its mother gently. The hawk’s parent told him that no one can tell what is in the mind of an undemonstrative or calm person. The parents further explained that he should hire quiet people because in their minds they could be planning some deep revenge.
After listening to his parent, the hawk returned the little owlets to his home. When he got to the owlet’s home, he couldn’t find his parent so he dropped him next to a nest and left. Then the hawk flew around in search of other types of birds to take.
The hawk flew around for hours but he couldn’t find any other birds. This is because the forest’s birds had fled after learning that the hawk had taken the young owlet. The birds in the forest hid themselves so that the hawk wouldn’t take them.
The birds refused to come out whenever the hawk was around. Because of this, the hawk wasn’t able to catch any bird. So as the hawk was returning home, he sighted lots of fowls who were near a nest. The fowls were playing under the sun.
The hawk also saw lots of chicks playing and running around. The little chicks were also chasing insects and picking several things that they could. While the chicks were playing, their mother was following them and calling each of the chicks from time to time.
The hawk planned to take one of the chicks when he saw them. So, the hawk flew down and he took one of the chicks. He used its claws to capture the tiniest chick. As soon as the hawk took one of the chicks, the mother hen and the cocks started making noise.
The mother hen chased the hawk and did everything she could to make the hawk drop her little chick. The mother hen cried loudly and she made dashes at the hawk. However, this didn’t bother the hawk, because he continued flying.
As the hawk left with the little chick, the other chicks and fowl ran into their coop. Some of the chicks were screaming while some of them were hiding under the bush. The other chicks were trying to get a hold of themselves.
The hawk continued carrying the little chick to show him to the king. He informed the king that he had given the owlets back to his parents because the king had no desire for him as a meal. The king then told the hawk that later on he could always use chicks as his food.
Afterward, the hawk took home the chick. Then a friend stopped by to greet him. The friend questioned him about what the chick’s parents had done to him after he had taken them away. The hawk replied that the chick’s parents made a fuss and they were chasing him, however nothing else happened.
The hawk’s friends told him that because the chick’s parent made noise about the hawk grabbing their little chick, then it was okay to eat the chick. The chickens that created a lot of noise during the day would eventually retire for the night without bothering or hurting the hawk. The people that you should be afraid of are the people who when they are in pain, remain silent. These people could be planning something mischievous in their mind and they would later take their revenge at night or do others harm. This concludes the story of why the hawks kill chicks and not owlets.