In Japan, it is said that it is auspicious for migratory swallows to build nests under the eaves of a house. The other day, I went to a pasta restaurant with my son. After sitting at the table and placing my order on the touch screen, I looked up and caught a glimpse of something black on my right. Looking out the window, I saw a swallow’s nest with several swallow chicks. As I stared at the swallow chicks, I saw the parent swallow fly over and feed them. I once heard that parent swallows never make a mistake in the order in which they feed their chicks. Even if the chicks look similar, the parent swallow can tell them apart. It was a lot of fun watching the swallows and talking about swallows while eating.

After the meal, we paid the bill and went to see the swallow’s nest. In fact, if there is a nest, there is often swallow droppings underneath it. The shop’s grounds were paved with asphalt, so I went to see if it was well-cleaned. It was surprisingly clean. The space was well-thought-out and designed with planting in mind. It was designed so that the swallows’ droppings would naturally become nutrients for the plants. I was surprised. I didn’t think swallows would think about disposing of their droppings, so I wondered if the person who designed this shop had thought that far when creating the flower bed. Then, when I looked up toward the nest, there were five cute baby swallows. I couldn’t really tell how many there were from inside the shop, so I was moved again. I took a picture of the five baby swallows and slowly left the place.

There was more to see. Looking back, I saw several parent birds perched on nearby electric wires, and it seemed that there were also some old men and women there. As soon as I left the nest, one flew over. It seems that I had disturbed the chicks’ meal. The parent bird seemed worried about the chicks, and it seemed to come over when I left a little. I slowly left the place, muttering “I’m sorry,” and headed home, watching the nest from afar for a while.

Are there similar folklores in your country? If I have the opportunity, I’d like to introduce some Japanese folklores to you.

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