Why the Owl is a Bird of Night and Wisdom

In the beginning, all the birds lived together and chattered and sang all day long. The Owl, however, was a quiet and observant creature. One day, he noticed a hunter setting a fine-meshed net in the forest, baited with delicious seeds. The Owl flew to the other birds and warned them. "Do not go to that clearing," he hooted. "It is a trap set by Man." But the other birds, like the Parrot and the Weaverbird, laughed at him. "You are just jealous of the feast we will have!" they chirped, and they flew off to the clearing. The Owl, saddened, stayed behind. Of course, the birds were all caught in the hunter's net. They cried and fluttered, but they were trapped. That night, the Owl went to the hunter's house and saw the caged birds. He spoke to the hunter's child, telling him a riddle. The child was so amused that he told his father, who demanded the Owl tell him a riddle too. The Owl said, "I will tell you a riddle every night for a year if you release one bird each time." The hunter agreed. For 365 nights, the Owl told a riddle, and one by one the birds were freed. When they were all free, they hailed the Owl as the wisest of birds. But the Owl declared, "I will no longer live among you who do not listen to wisdom. I will be a creature of the night, for darkness is less blind than those who will not see." And he flew off, becoming a solitary bird of the night, his hoots a reminder of the wisdom that was once ignored.