THE JACKDAW AND THE STRING

Summary

The fable critiques the illusion of freedom when constraints remain, highlighting how escape without true liberation can lead to self-destruction. It reflects on human nature's resistance to subjugation and the tragic consequences of half-measures. Deeper still, it satirizes societal structures that create false dichotomies between captivity and freedom, urging introspection on systemic binds.

Text

A man caught a jackdaw and tied the bird's foot with a piece of string so that he could give the bird to his children as a present.

The jackdaw, however, could not stand to live in human society, so when they let him loose for just a moment, he ran away.

But when he got back to his nest, the string became entangled in the branches, so that the jackdaw was unable to fly.

As he was dying, the bird said to himself, 'How stupid of me! Since I could not stand being a slave in human society, I have brought about my own death.'