"How was that?" asked the doves. And Gay-Neck told the story of
THE BHARUNDA BIRDS
By a certain lake in the world lived birds called "bharunda birds." They had one belly and two necks apiece.
While one of these birds was sauntering about, his first neck found some nectar. Then the second said: "Give me half." And when the first refused, the second neck angrily picked up poison somewhere and ate it. As they had one belly, they died.
"And that is why I say:
Bharunda birds will teach you why, . . . .
and the rest of it. Thus union is strength."
When the doves heard this, being eager to live, they united their efforts to carry the snare away, flew just an arrow-shot into the air, formed a canopy in the sky, and proceeded without fear.
When the hunter saw the snare carried away by birds, he looked up in amazement, thinking: "This is unprecedented." And he recited a stanza:
So long as they agree, they may
Carry the fatal snare away;
But they will quickly disagree,
And then those birds belong to me.
With this in mind, he started to pursue. And when Gay-Neck perceived the savage pursuer and recog-
