The fowl gather to choose a king. The eagle thought that he would be king, but the others said that the king should be the one who climbed the highest.
The bull's-eye hides under the eagle's wing. Then when the big birds had soared so high that they could fly no higher, the ox-eye got out from under the eagle's wing and flew up to the highest, and became king.
When the birds found out how the ox-eye had won, they began to fret that he would be beaten to death for his falsehood: they were ashamed that the smallest animal was king.
They chased him until he found a rose bush. Small as he was, he could crawl among the thorns. The others couldn't follow. They said:
- It will be enough to read just one. If you see it coming out, grab it or let the others know!
They brought in the biggest bastard, the owl.
The owl kept watch for a long time, but then he blinked widely and darted away. When the bigeye got out, he didn't see it.
Now they wanted to beat the owl because he missed the bull's eye. The owl hid, and since then he doesn't dare to walk in the daylight, because if the other birds see him, they will beat him.
(Ágnes Kovács: Folk tales for kindergarten children)
