Bird Experiment Shows Aesop’s Fable May Be True

Bird Experiment Shows Aesop’s Fable May Be True: "

Aesop’s fables, those famous animal parables that teach us about morality and life’s lessons, have always been assumed to be based on imagination than factual basis. But one study suggests that at least one of the fables may actually be based on fact.

The fable about the thirsty crow tells of a crow coming across a pitcher of water that is too low to reach with its beak. By dropping in one stone after another and raising the water level, the crow is able to drink from the pitcher, thus teaching us that little by little does the job.

In a study conducted by Christopher Bird of Cambridge, a relative of the crow called a rook was exposed to a six inch clear plastic tube with a worm floating in it. The birds instantly used stones to raise the level of water in the tube, bringing the worm closer to the surface. They even figured out that larger stones brought faster results.