The Melody of the Magical Tree

A popular stallian fable of unknown authorship goes as follows:

 

There once was a giant magical tree where all the most wondrous and colourful songbirds of the world made their nests. The tree was 7017 metres tall and had razor sharp needles and thorns covering its trunk, the cones and nuts in its branches opened up every day to reveal all of the seeds in the world, and it granted the birds a wish every 7 years in exchange for their songs. For countless generations the birds lived a life of joy and happiness that gave their songs an unparalleled beauty and cheerfulness.

One day, when the birds were singing one of their songs, they noticed the rest of the animals of the forest trying to listen below. The birds were sad for them, because they couldn't listen to their songs very well all the way down there and wolves and lynxes ate the other animals whenever they tried to come out to listen, so the birds decided to call an assembly to discuss using the upcoming wish to the tree to give those forest animals wings, so they could join them and better listen to their songs.

All the birds agreed except for the swallows, which argued that it was a dangerous and reckless idea. The swallows were the most inquisitive of the birds. They always asked questions that made all the other birds feel uncomfortable and traveled all over the world to verify the answers they were given rather than take them at face value, but the other birds were tired of their negativity and skepticism, so they rejected their opinions.

- You are just jealous, chirp, chirp! -argued the singing kwillings in their flawless lyrical voices- Because your songs aren't as pretty as ours, so you don't want the other animals to know, chirp, chirp!

- You are just evil, puff, puff! -continued the huffy puffys indignantly ruffling their little chests- Because you eat living things like the wolves and the lynxes, so you are one of them, puff, puff!

- You are just sad and lonely, whirl, whirl! -said the dancing thipityps with a little jig- Because your feathers aren't as colourful as ours, so you can't stand seeing others happy, whirl, whirl!

The birds thus voted in favour of granting wings to any forest animal that didn't feed on fellow sentient beings so they could join them up in the tree. The forest animals rejoiced and danced in the air with their new wings to the beautiful songs of the birds.

But the egg-eating snakes got wings as well, and they ate all the eggs of all the nests of the birds while they sang their songs for their new friends.

Without offspring, all the wondrous songbirds succumbed, and the magical tree, deprived of the beautiful songs, withered and died with them. Only the swallows survived, because they knew of other places to find food and nest. And yet still, to this day, they migrate thought half a world every year during the fall to visit the place of the magical tree, bringing and planting all kinds of seeds so that one day the magical tree can grow back and the world might once again get to hear the melody of the magical tree.