Another Defeat

Little Goshawk Practises to Fly

Ruo Jin Zhi Bo

Jinan Publishing House

April 2023

29.80 (CNY)

There is a small goshawk in the forest whose name is Zong Zong. Zong Zong has been lazy since he was a child， and he can’t fly at the age of two months. After the bullying from other animals， Zong Zong begins to make up his mind to train to fly under the guidance of Mother Goshawk. What kind of hardships will he endure in the process of learning to fly? Will he be able to overcome laziness and complacency and eventually learn to fly?

Ruo Jin Zhi Bo

Ruo Jin Zhi Bo， whose real name is Jin Bo， is a member of the Chinese Writers Association. He has released more than 1000 stories， and published 33 novels and fairy tales. Many of his works have entered the recommended catalogue of the National Primary and Secondary School Library， China Rural Bookstore， and the Provincial Department of Education.

Zong Zong returned to the villa， and seeing that it was still early， it climbed to the highest branch of the camphor tree， looking ahead with a sense of shame and anger still burning inside.

Just then， a familiar figure appeared before its eyes. It was Hua Hua! It was flitting and hopping around the cliff with its companions， catching flying insects. The magpies moved erratically， but they seemed to be catching quite a lot. They were hopping around， singing their disorganized songs， “Chirp， chirp， chirp-chirp， chirp， chirp-chirp-chirp...” The sounds were sharp and unpleasant， yet their joy and satisfaction were evident.

Seeing this scene， Zong Zong’s chest puffed up with anger. The thought of how shamelessly Hua Hua had taken Hui Hui’s eggs and then incited the carinata snake to attack only fueled its rage. Zong Zong thought: No， I must defeat Hua Hua， or who knows how it will bully me in the future. However， a head-on fight won’t work; I need to outsmart it. I’ll sneak up on it and launch a sudden attack， pecking its head open in one bite.

With this plan， Zong Zong raised its wings， adjusted its direction， and moved from tree to tree， slowly making its way to a gentler slope. It half-flew and half-jumped to the middle of the hill， hiding itself in the pine trees on the cliff， waiting for the magpies to appear. Zong Zong believed the magpies would definitely fly over from the other side of the cliff， as the pine caterpillars here were too enticing for them.

The sun began to set in the west， and the sunlight eased its heat， turning into an orange evening glow. The orange light slanted across， making the rocks on the cliff look like a gold mine， glittering. The light continued to stretch， weaving through the gaps in the forest， making the trees glow on the side facing the sun while the other side remained dark. The sky above was still vast， with delicate clouds stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

Finally， the sound of the magpies’ calls came from the cliff， growing louder and closer. Bathed in golden sunlight and adorned with colorful clouds， they chattered away， “I caught another termite，” “I caught a dragonfly，” “I caught a cockroach.” They darted around catching insects and then quickly gathered to boast about their catches， with their leader Hua Hua always flying in the front.

As they approached the forest edge near the cliff， Hua Hua， too eager to greet its companions， dove straight for a pine tree. Its vision was disturbed by the light reflecting off the leaves， so it didn’t see the young goshawk hiding behind the branches. It only saw the pine caterpillar illuminated by the sunlight. These caterpillars， covered in poisonous hairs， are avoided by other birds but loved by magpies. For the magpies have their own method of dealing with the poisonous hairs. After picking up pine caterpillars， they are not in a hurry to eat them. Instead， they rub the caterpillars on a rock to remove their poisonous hairs before happily swallowing them. Some pine caterpillars spin silk， transform into pupae， and hide inside cocoons. Poisonous hairs stick out from the cocoon， making it look like a tiny hedgehog， and these hairs protect them from predators. Even in such cases， the magpies are not afraid. They tear open the cocoons hanging from the trees with their beaks， pull out the plump， yellow-brown pupae， and eat them as snacks. Even if some cocoons escape and turn into beautiful yellow-pink moths flying around， the magpies relentlessly pursue them until the moths become their meal.

Hua Hua landed on a branch， precisely pecking at a slowly crawling pine caterpillar， about to find a place to remove its hairs， when Zong Zong impatiently leaped out， pouncing on Hua Hua with a “whoosh.” But the movement of the branches quickly alerted Hua Hua， who turned around， dropped the caterpillar， let out a cry， and dodged away. Hua Hua’s sudden movement also startled its companions， who quickly braked and scattered in the air. Naturally， Zong Zong missed its target.

Its body slammed into the pine branch with a “thud.”

“Hua Hua， if you have the guts， don’t run!” Zong Zong shouted angrily as it turned around.

“I thought I was facing an old goshawk; I was almost scared out of my wits. Turns out it’s you， this worthless young goshawk， causing trouble again. It’s driving me crazy!” Hua Hua finally recovered from the fright， “Zong Zong， you are incapable. Just admit defeat. When will you stop?”

“I won’t stop until I catch you and peck your head open，” Zong Zong declared firmly.

“Fine， I’m full and have plenty of energy and time to play with you. Come on!”

“Then stay right there and don’t move.”