The Magpie's Nest

The Magpie’s Nest
Illustrated by William Stobbs
Written by Joseph Jacobs
1970

Happy Friday, all! This is a funny little English folk tale about Madge the magpie who teaches all the other birds how to build a nest, only the other birds are so impatient, each one leaves with only a snippet of the information and so the story goes, “that is why different birds build their nests differently.”


"All the birds of the air came to the magpie and asked her to teach them how to build nests. For the magpie is the cleverest bird of all at building nests. So she put all the birds round her and began to show them how to do it."


The European Magpie is one of the most intelligent birds, and it is believed to be one of the most intelligent of all animals. Magpies in general are actually the source of many superstitions and folklore. In German, Italian, French, and Norwegian folklore magpies are often depicted as thieves, you‘ll often hear them referred to as “thieving magpies” due to their penchant for shiny objects. Yet in China the name of the bird is translated into "happiness magpie" and in spotting one, it is considered a sign of good luck. People even go as far as to salute them to ward off bad luck. All superstitions aside, this is a beautiful little book filled with fabulous illustrations.



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