A bad reputation is a bad thing: it is easy to acquire, but almost impossible to get rid of. Take at least a magpie! A long time ago, a bird had the imprudence to refuse to enter the interior of Noah's ark, and then it was stupidity to mock the death of the world. And here is the result for you - everywhere it is considered the bird of the devil, meeting with which does not bode well.
FORTY DOESN'T CHALLENGE
In Europe, almost all signs associated with a magpie promise trouble. For example, if a magpie is circling over a person's head, then he will soon die. In England, a man, having met with a magpie, must take off his hat, spit in its direction and say: "Devil, I renounce you!" Almost the same ritual existed in Germany.
At the same time, the English call the magpie magpie, which means "black and white talker". In a word, they consider her stupid and narrow-minded. But this is not the case. If you offend or deceive such a "chatterbox", she will remember this, will not forgive and will wait for the right moment for revenge. And after waiting, he will definitely take the thing he needs from under the nose of the offender.
It is a well-known fact that magpies love everything shiny. But why? Scientists do not give a definite answer. The birds may be using sparkling objects to attract a mate. Or they have a heightened sense of beauty. After all, magpies move their prey from place to place for a long time, as if admiring it. Finally, it may very well be that forty have a sense of humor. In any case, numerous victims, who had the imprudence to have a magpie as a pet, claimed that the birds were amused by the commotion that inevitably arose during the search for the stolen.
The fact that magpies are smart birds is confirmed by the mirror test for the self-awareness of animals. Its essence is as follows. Two lines are applied to the subject's body with a special paint, one of which is visible to the naked eye, and the second only in the mirror. If an animal or bird sees the second mark, it means that they are able to perceive their "I" separately from the surrounding world. So, out of all known birds, only forty successfully pass this test. That is, the magpie is an intelligent bird. Perhaps this is precisely why they do not like her.
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GENERATED THE PUMP
In Russia, magpies are traditionally treated with hostility and fear. In Moscow, they were considered cursed birds and they were "not allowed" to approach the capital closer than sixty versts. And there were reasons for this. It was rumored that witches were taking the guise of a magpie. Suffice it to recall the story of Marina Mnishek. The wife of both False Dmitriy spent a year in captivity in the tower, and then disappeared without a trace. It was said that she committed suicide out of melancholy. But no one has ever seen a corpse or a grave. This is how the legend was born: "His evil (False Dmitry) wife, Marinka, the atheist turned into a magpie, and she flew out of the chambers."
But this is not the only evil perpetrated by the magpie. Once on the site of the current capital there were villages belonging to the boyar Stepan Kuchka, the progenitor of the Romanovs. Once, enemies invaded his land. The handful hid all the most valuable, and he himself disappeared into a deep forest. The robbers searched for the boyar for a long time and unsuccessfully, and they would have left with nothing if the magpie had not indicated his refuge with their chirping. The robbers rushed to her voice, found the Handful and killed him. Dying, the boyar cursed the magpie for all time. True, there is a version that Kuchka's death was the work of Yuri Dolgoruky. He really liked the boyar's possessions, unlike himself. But, be that as it may, it engraved in human memory: "The magpie in Moscow is cursed for giving away Kuchka."
Well, the last nail in the coffin, in which the magpie's reputation in the capital rested, was the following incident. A certain Moscow elder decided to accept the schema. He gave everything he had to the poor, leaving himself a small cake to refresh himself on the way to the holy places. This last meal was stolen by the magpie, for which the old man cursed the thief. According to another version, Metropolitan Alexy forbade these birds to appear in Moscow - under the pretext that witches might flood the city in their appearance.
THE KING'S CURSE
The most famous legend about curses against the magpie dates back to the 16th century, to the last days of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Shortly before his death, the tsar issued a decree according to which people suspected of witchcraft and other black deeds were gathered from all over Russia, and brought to the capital, where they were taken into custody. On the appointed day they were taken to the central square of the city. Ivan the Terrible himself was present at this. He ordered that the unfortunate be surrounded with straw and set on fire from all sides in order to wipe evil off the face of the earth and exterminate it forever in Russia.
When the fire blazed and engulfed the people, strange sounds were heard, similar to a cat's meow, turning into a screech. A thick black smoke rose from the crowd, from which a huge flock of magpies flew out. Those present decided that the witches turned into birds in order to avoid the king's punishment. For which they were cursed by Ivan the Terrible, who shouted after them: "So that from now on I will make you forty!" And so it happened! And after all, to this day in Moscow and St. Petersburg it is almost impossible to see forty, only in the suburbs.
MAD PIR
But where the magpie is always happy is in China. There she is considered a harbinger of long-awaited guests, happiness and joy. There, even young people are presented with images of this bird for a wedding - as a wish of love and well-being to a new family. Another interesting Chinese custom is associated with the magpie. If the spouses were to be separated, then they broke the mirror on which the magpies were engraved, and each took a piece for himself. With the adultery of the husband or wife, a piece of the mirror turned into a magpie, and she flew to the deceived partner with news of the violation of the family vow. It is clear that in this situation, few people dared to commit treason.
Another magpie fan is the renowned naturalist Gerald Durrell. He appreciated the abilities of this bird. Take at least her talents as an imitator: it costs nothing for a magpie to learn to imitate human speech. And, according to Darrell's observations, she does it quite sensibly.
Once, for example, magpies mastered the commands that the owner gave to the dogs. And, as soon as he left somewhere, they began to give orders: "Go away", "Come here" - which led the dogs into confusion. Another time, magpies learned a feeding signal for chickens, upon hearing which, they instantly gathered at the kitchen door and began to cluck.
The magpies seemed to be enjoying themselves watching the chicken bustle. Something, but they love to have fun. What Gerald Durrell saw from his own experience.
Once, having seen off the guests, he returned to the house and saw that magpies were sitting on the table, right on a vase of flowers. Disorder reigned everywhere on the table. The cutlery was scattered, butter was smeared on plates, and the footprints of bird paws stained in it were visible on the white tablecloth. Only shards of glass reminded of the sauceboats with spices. The water jug was overturned …
The most striking thing is that the criminals did not escape from the scene of the crime, they sat on a vase and, watching the owner's reaction, chirped, exchanging impressions. What happened became clear when one of the birds, holding a broken flower in its beak, climbed off the vase, dragged itself to the edge of the table and collapsed to the floor, and the other, making a strange sound like a laugh, hid its head under its wing and instantly fell asleep. Just then Darrell noticed a spilled beer bottle on the floor. It turns out that the magpies just got drunk …
And from drunkards - what is the demand?
Galina BELYSHEVA