A sparrow and a crow once agreed to have _khichrî_ for dinner.
So the Sparrow brought rice, and the Crow brought lentils, and the
Sparrow was cook, and when the _khichrî_ was ready, the Crow
stood by to claim his share.
'Who ever heard of any one sitting down to dinner so dirty as you
are?' quoth the Sparrow scornfully. 'Your body is quite black, and
your head looks as if it were covered with ashes. For goodness
gracious sake, go and wash in the Pond first.'
The Crow, though a little huffy at being called dirty, deemed it best
to comply, for he knew what a determined little person the Sparrow
was; so he went to the Pond, and said--
'Your name, sir, is Pond,
But my name is Crow.
Please give me some water,
For if you do so
I can wash beak and feet
And the nice _khichrî_ eat;
Though I really don't know
What the Sparrow can mean,
For I'm sure, as Crows go,
I'm remarkably clean!'
[Illustration: The crow and those he meets]
But the Pond said, 'Certainly I will give you water; but first you
must go to the Deer, and beg him to lend you a horn. Then with it you
can dig a nice little rill for the water to flow in clean and fresh.'