THE TREASURE OF THE MAGPIES
Written By - Prabir Rai Chaudhuri
© All Copyright Reserved By Prabir Rai Chaudhuri- 2023
Image credit Google
Our ten-year-old friend Sophia lives with her parents in the middle of a large forest. His father, a lumberjack, sells the wood he cuts, sometimes in his company.
Mom, who takes care of customers and accounts, opened the door when she heard the engine of an all-terrain vehicle approaching, that of a loyal customer.
The lady got out of the car, very annoyed. It was particularly hot that day and she had driven under the trees with the windows wide open. A wasp, which had suddenly entered through one of the lowered windows, had landed on his hand. The lady had tried a sudden move to get rid of it, but the insect had stung her left ring finger.
Our friend's mother immediately advised the customer to sit down and take off the ring she was wearing on her finger, a gold jewel set with a very beautiful brilliant-cut diamond. The finger was going to swell from the wasp sting.
The lady put the ring on the edge of the table.
A magpie, watching the scene from its tree, left its branch. She entered the room and quickly grabbed the jewel, squeezing it in her beak. She flew out the window.
- My God! cried the visitor. My husband gave me this ring on our recent wedding anniversary...
The magpie disappeared towards the trees which surrounded the house.
- Christina! called mom.
Our friend left her room where she was finishing a math homework and went down the stairs.
- My darling, a magpie has just taken away a precious ring which belongs to this lady. You know how to talk to birds. Try to find her if you can.
Our friend knows the language of certain animals: that of the four legs, of the two legs, and that of the snakes. She has this marvelous gift that an owl, whom she named Chachou, taught her to master a few years ago.
- I run there, launched Sophia. And I'll bring it back to you if I find it, ma'am.
-A thousand times thank you, young lady, launched the lady full of hope.
Our young adventurer approached the tall trees where magpies nest. She
spotted three of them and called them. One of them answered.
- I didn't touch this ring, confided the bird, chattering, this language that our friend understands, but I think I know where the thief took her. If you want to pick her up, I can take you to the pond where the four singing magpies live. They are the counselors of our queen. Perhaps they will agree to receive you and lead you to our treasure.
- I knew you had a treasure, cried our friend. But a queen! I hear about it for the first time. Take me to this place. I would like to meet your queen.
- The journey is long and will be difficult for you, especially since you are unable to fly above the trees...
Sophia went home to tell her mom and the client that the quest would probably last all afternoon.
- Good luck, said the two ladies. And big thanks already!
Our friend had been walking for more than an hour through the woods, avoiding
clumps of brambles or nettles if possible, skirting pools of stagnant mud,
which the magpie flew over passing from tree to tree. They arrived at the
edge of a fairly large marsh in the heart of the forest, and stopped there.
Sophia observed this expanse of green water, lined with reeds, catching her breath. Shreds of gray fog floated. There was an eerie silence here. Silence sometimes broken by the chatter of a magpie or the caw of a crow.
Four strange constructions rose above the cloud of mist. Red brick columns, flared at the top. It looked like the arches of an old bridge whose horizontal part, the causeway, had collapsed.
- The four singing magpies each have their nest at the top of these ruins, declared the one who led our friend up there. I leave it up to you now. Good luck...
The bird flew away.
Sophia came forward and entered the water, after a moment of
hesitation. Each step brought a layer of brown slime up to her knees and
risked causing her to slip. And the ground was going down. Soon our
friend found herself in water almost up to her neck.
She clung to the first pillar and climbed it. His soaked overalls and canvas shoes were dripping.
A black-eyed magpie looked at her then questioned her.
- What are you doing here?
- One of yours took a ring that belongs to a client of my parents. I come to pick it up. Can you lead me to your queen?
- If you want to meet our queen, you must first pass four tests. You have to demonstrate that you could be a good magpie.
- I accept, answered the courageous young girl.
- Here's the first one. Draw a perfect circle.
You who read this story, how would you go about making a perfect circle, without a compass, without a rope, in short with your ten fingers...
Sophia grabbed a stone and threw it into the water.
- Here, she said, a perfect circle.
- Cheer! Go back down and go to my neighbor to pass your second test.
Our friend found the muddy water of the marsh, swam a few meters, then climbed the second column of bricks.
- Do you want to meet our queen?
- Yes, answered Sophia.
- Here are two rings, said the singing magpie, presenting two very different rings.
One was topped with a brilliant that shot fire like a diamond. The other, very beautiful, shimmered in the sun, changing from light blue to dark blue. A wonder.
- Which do you think is the most valuable? asked the bird. A real magpie will not be wrong.
The blue one caught our friend's eye with its changing reflections. However, she chose the smallest one, the one that threw fires.
- Cheer. The blue one is a junk piece of jewelry without any value, the magpie snapped. The other is a precious diamond. Go to my neighbor to pass your third test.
Sophia went back down and approached the third column of bricks, this time
swimming in deep water.
The bird observed our friend, then said to her:
- Can you tell me where North is? A magpie must be able to find it to orient itself and return to its nest without making a mistake.
Our young adventurer hesitated. Then she remembered a story her father had once told her.
An explorer, lost in the heart of a forest, got out thanks to a paperclip found in the bottom of one of his pockets. He had unfolded it and then placed it on a tree leaf resting on a puddle of water. The iron of the paperclip serving as a needle had slowly turned the floating sheet and oriented it in the North-South direction.
Our friend didn't have a paperclip with her, but an iron hair clip was lying in the bottom of her overalls pocket.
She put it on a tree leaf on the water of the pond. After a moment, the assembly spun, seemed to hesitate, then stopped. Observing the sun, still to the South in the forest where she lives, Sophia pointed North to the magpie.
- Congratulations. You would make a good magpie, declared the third singing magpie.
You who read this story, give it a try. You will thus create a compass at the bottom of the woods.
- You have one last test left, said the bird. Go to my neighbor.
Sophia approached the fourth column.
The fourth singing magpie welcomed our friend and took her to the edge of the pond. Two shrubs were growing there. One of them bore small red fruits and the other blue fruits, no bigger.
- One of these fruits is a poison, said the singing magpie. Guess which one.
- The red is a mountain ash, explained our friend. Its fruits are poison to us humans. The others, the blue ones, are sloes, edible.
- Alright. Can you see that old gray tower over there, near the rocks? Go ahead. You will meet our queen there.
A levee barely emerged from the swamp. A patch of mist that the wind
pushed aside, let glimpse a very old construction in gray stones. A kind
of trick. Ivy invaded it almost to the top. The air, impregnated with
humidity, made our intrepid stroller shiver.
The queen of the magpies was there, the nest installed at the top. Our friend tried to climb, but without success.
Skirting the building, she discovered a narrow door ajar which allowed her to enter. A stone staircase led to the top of the ruined building. We discovered the canopy of almost the entire forest.
The queen of the magpies observed Sophia.
- So here you are... you who know the language of animals. I was told about you.
- Ah! good, replied our friend.
- You come to recover a ring taken away by one of us. We like shiny things and we have good eyes. When humans lose or leave their jewelry lying around, we often take it. You will have to open the door to our treasure. To do this, you need to acquire a key that controls a very old mechanism. This key will allow you to access the treasure. You will have to pass for that a last test, undoubtedly the most difficult, certainly the most dangerous.
- If necessary, murmured Sophia.
- It must. My girlfriends and I have some gold items and gemstones, locked up there, but not the key. Go down to the cellar of this tower. A corridor leads into a cave where you will meet a large lizard, a kind of dragon. We hired him to protect our assets. Solve his riddle. Then he will obey you. But first, promise me never to reveal the location of our treasure. I know humans. They would come and take it from us without delay.
- I promise you, affirmed the young girl.
- Good luck, chattered the queen of the magpies.
Our friend descended the stone staircase, then followed the narrow
corridor. She emerged into a large cave.
A sort of large lizard with yellow eyes and sharp claws slowly approached.
- They tell me that you want access to the treasure of the magpies. I hold the key. Follow me.
The dragon, it was one, dragged itself towards a curtain of yellow stalactites. A smooth, gray rock stood just behind it.
Sophia approached and saw an inscription engraved in the stone.
- Can you read, young lady?
- Yes of course.
- Then read one of the two sentences engraved there . Aloud. This is your test. I'm listening to you. Unless you prefer to leave this place now. I warn you, if you are wrong, if you choose the wrong sentence, you will be in great danger.
Sophia first read quietly.
If I'm telling the truth, you're cutting me in half.
If I lie, you cut me in three.
You who read this story, reflect. Put yourself in our friend's shoes. Which sentence would you choose? Because you have to pronounce one of the two...
- I opt for this one, said Sophia, whose heart was beating wildly: if I lie, you cut me in three.
- Bravo, replied the dragon. If I cut you in three, you will have said the truth. But if you're telling the truth, I have to cut you in half. And I can only cut you in half if you say the other sentence. Here is the key that unlocks the magpie treasure. You will entrust it to the queen when you leave and she will return it to me.
Our friend returned to the foot of the tower. The queen of the magpies was waiting for him. She took Sophia to an island located in an extension of the pond. He had to wade again and sink into the muddy water.
A huge blue stone covered the emerged space. Our adventurer saw a kind of lock there. She slipped the key in and turned to the right. This movement commanded a mechanism that tilted the huge slab, creating an opening. A ray of sunshine entered it.
Sophia saw the ring described by her parents' client. She grabbed it.
- Are you taking anything else? asked the queen of magpies.
- No, replied our friend. I only came for this ring.
- I like your honesty, said the queen. Here is a gold ring, enhanced with blue sapphires and red rubies. Take it away. It's yours now. And if one day you need my help, put it on your windowsill. A magpie will take it and bring it to me. And I will come...
Sophia returned home.
She returned the ring to her parents' client.
The lady was overwhelmed with thanks and gave our friend a present which she liked very much. A beautiful brand new bike.
