The Flower-Pecker and Father Lime-stick
A tiny bird makes a very large promise
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The Flower-Pecker and Father Lime-stick
Old Father Lime-stick spread sticky birdlime on a twig where small birds liked to perch. Then he waited beneath the flowering tree.
A flower-pecker, hardly bigger than his thumb, darted from blossom to blossom. It did not notice the waiting twig.
The Flower-Pecker and Father Lime-stick
The bird’s feet caught in the birdlime. Its wings fluttered, but it could not leave the twig. Father Lime-stick reached toward it.
He planned to make a meal of his catch. Before he could take the bird, it called out to him.
The Flower-Pecker and Father Lime-stick
“Flesh and feathers together, I am hardly bigger than your thumb,” the flower-pecker told him. “Would you really eat me?”
Father Lime-stick did not release it. He wanted a good reason to give up his catch.
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Explore this illustrated story at four reading levels. Each level follows the same essential events.
Collection: Southeast Asian tales
Retelling: Malay-world fable · after The Talking Beasts
For parents: The older fable begins with a man intending to eat a trapped bird; the bird talks its way free and ends with advice about knowing one’s powers
Public-domain source: View the recorded source edition