The Crow

Who is the Crow?

The Crow is a hunched black bird with two great crooked antlers, a long sharp beak, and two cold, glowing eyes that do not blink. For a long time he wore a cloak of tatters, lined with crinkled silver foil, and carried a crooked staff with a hook on the end.

The Crow is in every one of Vela’s nine stories.

Why did the Crow want the light?

In the first story, the Crow turned Vela’s lantern up as bright as it would go, so he could keep all the light for himself. But in Vela’s world, too much light makes the places that only exist in the dark fade away. The whole forest began to disappear.

Later we found out why. The Crow has been afraid of the dark since he was a little crow. He wanted the brightest light so that it would never, ever be dark again.

How does the Crow change?

Story by story, the Crow changes. He turns the lantern down himself, when he sees a little ghost fading. He sings the deep note that the Lullaby needs, even though he says his voice is only a croak. And when a star falls out of the sky, he wraps it in his own cloak and flies it home.

Without his cloak, he is just a small dark bird with crooked antlers. Vela pinned her own little star on his chest and said, “Friends.” The Crow nodded, once.

What is the Crow like?

The Crow is grumpy, proud, and braver than anyone knew. “Hmph,” he says. “Certainly not.” “Far too busy.”

He still says those things. But now he says them as a friend.

Try this tonight

The Crow found out that being scared is easier with someone beside you. Is there something that feels a little scary at night? Tell someone about it. It helps to be scared together.

Mysteries

Some things about the Crow are still a mystery, even to us:

• Where did his antlers come from?
• Who gave him his silver cloak?
• Does he still keep the dragon scale Vela gave him?

Maybe the stories will tell us one day.