​WE USED TO BE BIRDS BEFORE
Traditional Folktale

​A legend tells that a long time ago Roma used to be birds. One day while flying above the lands, they saw a golden palace shining under the sun and decided to fly closer to take a better look. The hosts of the palace, turkeys, hens and ducks, were so dazzled by the beauty of the Roma-birds that they began to offer them precious jewels and all kinds of sweets and begged them to stay in their country. Soon all the birds became covered with golden chains, from head to toe. One bird only had resisted those temptations while encouraging the others to regain their flight. It was the only one that had not touched the gold. Unfortunately, no one heard it. So the poor bird rose into the skies and threw itself down over the stones. Only then did the Roma-birds awake from their sleep and beat their wings. But the gold dragged them down and prevented them from rising off the ground. The turkeys, hens and ducks sang their victory, for now these beautiful birds would forever remain in their gilded cages. Suddenly, a small red feather made ​​its entrance into the palace and sliding between everyone’s fingers, landed at the birds’ feet. At this moment, all the gold fell off their bodies. However their wings no longer obeyed. They no longer were able to fly. The small red feather, gently picked up by the wind, left the palace and went wandering over dusty roads. Roma followed it and, as they began losing their feathers one by one, they changed from birds into people. With a human body and a bird’s soul, they never again remembered how to fly...
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(Translation into English by Mónica Roncon)
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Animation film by GARRI BARDINE
(URSS 1982. «SMF» film studios)