Note 3 — THE HOOPOE Upupa epops Arabic, Hud Hud

A variation of this story is given by the Hon. Robert Curzon, in his Visits to Monasteries in the Levant. There the Hoopoe was told by the king to go home and consult his spouse, as to what should be the royal gift, and she, like a true feminine, on being questioned, said, “Let us ask for crowns of gold on our heads, that we may be superior to all other birds.” The request was granted, but the king forewarned them that they would see the folly of their request; and all Hoopoes of both sexes strutted about with solid gold crowns, and “the queen of the Hoopoes gave herself airs, and sat upon a twig, and refused to speak to the Merops, her cousin” (bee-eater), but a certain fowler, who set traps and nets for birds, put a broken mirror into his traps. The queen of course went to look into it to the better see herself and her golden crown, and got caught. The value of these solid gold crowns soon led to every man’s hand being against the vain Hoopoes. “Not a Hoopoe could show its head, but it was slain or taken captive, and the days of the Hoopoes were numbered; then their minds were filled with sorrow and dismay.” The king of the Hoopoes went back to the monarch and related their piteous plight, and Solomon said, “Behold, did I not warn thee of thy folly, in desiring to have crowns of gold? Vanity and pride have been thy ruin. But now, that a memorial may remain of the service which thou didst render unto me, your crowns of gold shall be changed into crowns of feathers, that ye may walk unharmed upon the earth.”