THE BIRDS, THE BIRD CATCHER AND HIS TEARS

Our author warns us with the following fable that we should never fail to heed a wise man's advice.
It was springtime and various species of birds were sitting happily in their nests, hidden among the branches. They happened to notice a bird catcher who was assembling his reeds, coating the long rod with birdlime. When they saw that the man had tears in his eyes, those ignorant and foolish birds began to say to one another, 'We can see that this man must be extremely kind, since his great sensitivity makes him burst into tears whenever he looks at us.' One of the birds who was wiser than the rest, being experienced in all the bird catcher's tricks, is supposed to have said, 'Oh no! Run away, you foolish and innocent birds! Save yourselves from this trap! I beg you to fly as fast as you can up high in the sky, making good use of your wings. If you want to know the truth, look carefully at what he is doing: you will see that he is planning to catch some of us in his snare, and once we are caught he will kill us or strangle us and carry us off in that basket.'
This fable informs us that one person's advice can easily save many others from danger.