A wealthy hunter killed a crane and sent it to his cook to have it roasted. The bird was so fleshy and appetizing that Chichibio, the cook, licked his chops while roasting it. In fact, he could not resist the temptation to cut off one of its legs and eat it.
When the roasted crane came to be served at the rich man's table, he noticed that the crane had only one leg. He flew into a rage and, in a stern voice, demanded an explanation from the cook.
"Every crane," Chichibio had the nerve to say, "has only one leg sir."
"Really ?" wondered his master. "Then tomorrow we shall go together to the pond to see. If it turns out that you
have tried to deceive me, you will be punished severely," said the rich man. Next daythe cook and his master reached the pond at dawn. To the cook's good luck, each crane in the pond was standing on one leg only.
"What did I tell you, master ?" said the cook with a sly smile.
But the rich man was too wise to be deceived. He clapped his hands and the frightened cranes woke up with a stan. They immediatelx dropped their other legs to the ground in order to fly.
"Now what have you to say, my dear cook ?" asked the rich man.
"That's not fair." protested the cook. "you didn't clap your hands last nighr. If you had done that, even the roasted crane would have pulled out its other leg !"
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