Koria the Crow

Author: Alisha Berger

Illustrator: Michael Sagikwa

Koria the Crow wished to be beautiful. She envied the parrot and the peacock.

Koria loved the peacock’s colourful tail. Each time she spotted it, she couldn't pull her eyes away.

﻿ One day, Koria was searching for food. A sweet aroma floated in the air.

She tracked down the delicious smell. People of all ages were in the middle of a celebration. Some were eating curry goat and ugali*. Others were dancing.

* Ugali : Kind of porridge in Africa

Koria stayed there and watched with fascination. She was especially interested in two girls.

One had a kitenge wrapped on, and another wore a pair of shining earrings.

‘Ooh! Look at that pair of earrings," Koria thought to herself.  "They make this girl look even more beautiful."

Each time the girl danced, her earrings jangled, giving out a sweet tinkle.

Koria wanted those earrings!

She wished for them to fall off the girl's ears so she could pick them up.

Koria waited on a tree branch. All she wanted was to be more beautiful than the parrot and the peacock. All she needed were those earrings!

Some people spotted Koria and tried to chase her away.

They thought she was after their food.

Koria flew away in fear. She felt so sad.

But she would not give up!

In the morning, Koria went to the market. She went to the

jewellery seller and asked, "How much are your shiny earrings?"

“How will you pay me? You’re a crow!” said the seller,

swatting Koria away.

Koria thought of another solution.

‘I’ll visit the jewellery maker. He will help me become beautiful."

Koria said, “Mr. Jeweller, I have an offer to make. I’ll go out

and collect silver and copper items, then bring them to you.

You’ll get a lot of material to make jewellery. In exchange,

you’ll give me just one pair of earrings. What do you say, is it

a deal?”

The jeweller agreed.

Koria worked hard and collected many silver and copper scraps from every place she could think of . She was now tired and hungry.

‘Mmmmm… A sweet aroma! Let me search for that canned

meat."

Koria found the meat and had her fill. Energized, she flew back to the jeweller’s, carrying her items.

But his office was locked! “Aagh! Has the jeweller left?” She panicked.

She stared at the padlock for a long time. Her joy at the prospect of being beautiful evaporated. She was close to tears.

The parrot sitting on a nearby tree branch saw Koria and came down to meet her.

“What’s wrong, Koria?”

“I had the chance to be beautiful. But I stopped to eat instead of coming back here quickly. Now it’s too late!”

The next day, Koria reached the jeweller’s

early in the morning.

When he finally arrived, he took the bag of copper and silver from Koria. He said nothing as he started working with them . Soon, he had made beautiful earrings from the scraps.

He handed the earrings to Koria.

Koria was overjoyed thinking of how beautiful she would soon be!

She asked the jeweller to help her put them on.

“You must first get your ears pierced,” he answered.

Koria could not imagine who to ask. Finally, she decided to go to the parrot and the peacock for help. "Beautiful birds might know where to find a beauty shop ," she thought to herself.

“No, we do not know where you can pierce your ears. They’re too small,” said the peacock and the parrot.

Koria didn’t believe them. She flew away angrily to seek someone else’s help. “I must get my ears pierced. If only I could do it on my own!”

Koria flapped her wings and flew to the village.

There, she went looking for one of the girls she saw at the

celebration. She spotted one and called out to her.

“Kroo! Kroo! Kroo!”

The girl did not understand her and chased her away.

Koria was chased away wherever she went. Soon, she was exhausted and starving .

“It’s afternoon. I must search for food. I need to be strong if I have to find someone to help me. I WILL be beautiful. No one can stop me.”

﻿She flew and flew until it was dusk.

As the sun was setting,

Koria noticed how the rays caught the earrings.

They shone!

Then she noticed something else.

“My feathers are shining on my right side,” she said.

Then she flew in another direction. “My feathers are shining on my left side!"

"I can shine

without my

earrings!"

Koria realized.

"My feathers

are BEAUTIFUL!"

Koria smiled and decided to go find a delicious dinner.

“Koria!” a voice called out. It was the peacock. “Your earrings are beautiful.”

“Thank you, peacock," Koria answered. "But look at my shiny feathers. Aren't they even lovelier ?”

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Story Attribution:

This story:Koria the Crowis written byAlisha Berger. © Room to Read , 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This story 'Koria the Crow' has been published on StoryWeaver by Room to Read.

Images Attributions:

Cover page:Smiling crow on a branch, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 2:Crow looking at peacock and parrot, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 3:People celebrating and feasting, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 4:Girls admiring their beauty, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 5:Golden earrings, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 6:Crow on a branch, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 7:Crow being shooed away, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 8:Crow at the jeweller's, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 9:Crow at the goldsmith's, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 10:Crow collects materials, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 11:Crow eating meat, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Disclaimer:https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Images Attributions:

Page 12:Crow looking at a locked door, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 13:Crow and parrot, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 14:Crow flying with a bag, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 15:Crow dreams of being beautiful, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 16:Crow has dreams of being beautiful, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 17:Crow feels dejected and sad, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 18:Crow wants to wear earrings, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 19:Leaves on a tree, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 20:Crow flying with earrings, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 21:Flying crow, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 22:A dancing crow, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 23:Crow finds inner beauty, byMichael Sagikwa© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Disclaimer:https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Koria the Crow (English)

Koria the crow is unhappy with her plain black feathers and wishes to be colorful like the peacock and the parrot. Since she cannot change her feathers, Koria asks the goldsmith to make her a pair of earrings. Do you think the earrings will make her feel beautiful?

This is a Level 3 book for children who are ready to read on their own.

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