Okinawan Folktale: Sparrow and Fly

Fly Ratted on the Sparrow

 

 

There once was a fly, concerned about sparrows, eating farmer's rice crop.

Flies get shooed away, when they land on someones food.

But, he never saw anyone, chase the birds away from the rice fields and, it angered him.


So, the fly decided to talk to God and, get the sparrows reprimanded.

He told God, the birds were eating rice off the stalks, before it was ready to be harvested.

Hearing this story, displeased God and, he agreed, the sparrow needed a talking to.

The fly, returned to earth, satisfied that the sparrow was in big trouble.

An Angry God

 

 

God commanded the sparrow to appear before him.

In a loud voice that, rattled heaven and earth, God roared at the sparrow.

God said, "Sparrow, a fly informed me, you've been stealing the farmers green rice."

Shaking in his feathers the sparrow told God, the fly had misrepresented him. 

"Sparrows only eat the grains that have fallen on the ground," he told God.

Sparrows learned from their ancestors to only consume what mankind, doesn't eat to survive. 

Then he told God some of his observations learned from watching flies.

He said, "God if you watch closely, the fly is a disgusting creature.

One minute, they are on a pile of manure. Next, they land on someone's bowl of rice!"

God thought about it and, was no longer angry with the bird.

He said, "You're are a good lad, you are free to go about your business.

I want to see that criminal fly, right now!"

An Angrier God

 

When the fly got called back to heaven, he figured God was going to reward him.

His snitching on the sparrow must have pleased God and, he would be thankful for it.

Happily, he buzzed along the way to visit God, again. He was about to get a surprise.


God roared at him, "You filthy bug. You have been landing on people's food.

And, you never stop to wash your hands or feet.  How disgusting!"

The fly whimpered and, rubbed his hands in front of God, apologetically. 

When he was finally dismissed he flew back to earth with tears in his eyes.

The tongue-lashing is why, the fly rubs his hands, seeking God's forgiveness, to this day.


REFERENCE:

Okinawan Folk Stories ISBN978-4-99009-146-0 P.67

Condensed from The Fly and the Sparrow


More Okinawan Folktales

NOTE: 

All Photos on this post were provided by Nature Photographer Shawn Miller. 

One of the advantages of traveling this island is meeting some top notch cameramen.

All connected on Facebook, we often cross paths out in the field.

Meeting other professionals, in this line of work, always creates new friendships.

Yesterday morning, Shawn spotted me watching the surf, without a camera in my hands.

An unusual occurrence, he probably, pulled off the road to see what was wrong with me.

It just happened to be, I was killing time, before putting on the Santa suit.

We chatted for awhile and, I mentioned needing some photos for this folk story.

The images were emailed, to me this afternoon.

Except for maybe, politicians, money can't buy you friends better than that.

Thanks, again Shawn !  

Photo Exhibition

Those visiting or residing in Okinawa, won't want to miss this event.

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is located in Onna-son.

Shawn Miller's "Nature Therapy" Photography images will be on display.

The exhibit may be seen from 9AM-5PM JAN 14-FEB 29 2016

Visit the OIST Website for more details.


If you need a healthy dose of a few thousand images visit:

Shawn Miller's Okinawa Nature Photography

Wildlife Photo: Moray Eel (Gymnothorax sp) by Shawn Miller

Moray Eels may be found hiding in rocks and coral reefs throughout most of the tropics and there about 200 different species ranging in size from 4.5 inches (11.5cm) all the way up to 9.8 feet (3 meters) of the Giant Moray.

This character, photographed by Shawn Miller, was at a depth of 15 feet shortly after 7PM on Dec 14, 2001.

   He took the shot using a Nikon D90 with an Ikelite housing and strobe light.

Check out this photo and all of Shawn's photorgaphy at

OKINAWA NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY ON FLICKR

Moray Eels get a bad rap because the film industry likes to portray them as viscious man eating animals.  The truth is they are really timid and would rather hide from you than chew your arms and legs off.

They are carnivorous, eating mostly other fish, crustaceans and mollusks but, if you go poking around in their house, they might decide to bite you.

They really have poor eyesite and find their food by sense of smell.

To attract tourists some geniouses set up operations where people could hand feed Moray Eels in different locations around the world.  Well, some people feeding the eels happened to loose their fingers after they ran out of fish and Moray Eel feeding had to be banned.

DON'T GO FOOLIN' AROUND WITH MORAY EELS IF

YOU HAVE STINKY FINGERS !

Photo of the Week: Parrot Fish with a Heart

         This week I just had to give credit to Photographer Shawn Miller for Photo of the Week.

He takes his Nikon D90 with a Tokina 11-16mm lens, a strobe and a camera case for underwater photography and finds things like this Parrot Fish ( Scarus prasiognathos ) with a yellow heart displayed on its side.  How deep does he dive to find these critters ?  How about 100 feet below sea level !

Visit Shawn Miller's OKINAWA NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY to see more excellent photos taken on and around the island of Okinawa, Japan.