Three Dragon Eggs, Part 3

In part 2 of this Burmese folk tale, a snow-white crow took word to the Sun God that his wife, a naga princess, was about to give birth. The Sun God sent a precious ruby to celebrate, but the foolish crow left the parcel unattended…

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When the crow had stuffed himself on rice from the cart, he returned to his hiding place. Not knowing that the parcel had been tampered with, he continued on his way. Zathi was in her underground palace, curled around her three golden eggs. The princess was sad to hear that her husband could not return to her, but she cheered up when the crow presented her with a silk-wrapped gift. Imagine her shock to find a piece of dried dung inside!

“Is this what my husband thinks of me?” she cried. “I thought we were happy together. How could he despise me and our children?”

Zathi sent the crow away and shut herself up with her eggs. She brooded for days, unable to bear the Sun God’s cruel scorn. Before the eggs could hatch, she had died of a broken heart.

When the Sun God heard this news, his shining face went dark. He mourned his lost love and demanded news of anyone he could find. Eventually he learned that Zathi had received a piece of dung instead of the ruby he had sent. Immediately, he summoned the snow-white crow.

“You selfish, irresponsible creature!” bellowed the Sun God. His flames blazed with searing heat, and he blew a blast at the crow.

“Forgive me,” wept the crow. “I am but a humble creature of the world.”

The Sun God knew his beloved Zathi wouldn’t have wanted the crow to die, so he caught back his fiery breath. The white crow’s feathers were blackened and scorched, and every crow in the world has been black from that time on.

The three eggs lay in Zathi’s chamber, with no one to care for them. When the rainy season came, a flood washed them out into the Irrawaddy River. The tide tumbled one egg into the rocks near a town called Mogok. It shattered, scattering millions of blood-red rubies over the shore. Since then, Mogok has been famous for the beautiful gems that are found there.

The current bore the other two eggs down to Central Burma, before another one broke against a half-submerged log. Out burst a fierce tiger, roaring with all the pride of Zathi’s great heritage. It climbed up the log and slunk into the forest. That is how the jungles of Burma came to be the home of mighty tigers.

The last log tumbled on until it was caught between two rocks in Southern Burma. That egg, too, cracked open. A huge crocodile swam away, its heart cold with all of Zathi’s despair. Whenever people travel by boat on the Irrawaddy River, they have to watch out for crocodiles lurking in the water.

You see, this is why the crocodile and the tiger share the same nature, even though they look different. They are the lost sons of Zathi and the Sun God. Because of the merchant who stole their heritage and broke their mother’s heart, they will never miss a chance to get revenge on any humans they encounter.