The Thirsty Crow 2.0: Startup Edition

One hot afternoon, a crow was flying around with his tongue out like a dog. He was desperately thirsty.

Finally, he spotted a half-empty plastic water bottle near a roadside bench. Only a little water sat stubbornly at the bottom.

The crow’s eyes lit up. “Aha! This is exactly like my grandfather’s famous story. Drop pebbles, raise water, drink happily ever after. Simple!”

He bent down to pick up a pebble, but then his smartwatch buzzed:

⏰ Daily Reminder: Don’t do physical labor.

The crow froze. “True… why do manual work when I live in 2025?”

He pulled out his phone (don’t ask where he hides it) and searched the App Store.

• PebbleDrop Simulator 3000 – Pebble-dropping game.
• Swiggy – Water bottle delivery in 15 minutes.
• PayHydrate – Monthly subscription, unlimited sips.
• Crowfunding – Start a fundraiser for a water tank.

The crow muttered, “So many options… but which one gives me cashback?”

He first tried Swiggy, but the delivery guy called:
“Sir, your pin is showing as ‘One Banyan Tree, Highway, Near Dustbin.’ Can you share the landmark?”

Next, he tried PayHydrate, but it asked him to upload his Aadhaar and PAN card.

By now, the crow was dehydrated and furious. He looked at the bottle again. “Fine! Let’s do this the prehistoric way.”

He picked up pebbles and dropped them one by one. The water level rose. He was about to sip when—

Smart Bottle Voice:
“Hello, user. Please upgrade to Premium Plan to unlock hydration.”

The crow screamed, “WHAT?! Even water requires Google Pay now!”

Out of frustration, he flew to the nearest café, ordered a cold brew on Zomato, and posted on Instagram:
#HardWorkDoesNotPay #PayToSip #ModernProblems

Old Story, New Headache

• Old Moral (Grandpa Crow’s Version): Hard work always pays.
• Modern Moral (2025 Crow’s Version):
  1. Hard work pays only if your internet is working, your apps are updated, and you remember your UPI PIN.
  2. Pebbles were free in the old story. Now, they’d be sold on Amazon as “Premium Stones – ₹999 for 6, with free delivery in 10 days.”
  3. Water used to be life. Now it’s “Hydrate + #1 subscription service for hydration.”
  4. In fairy tales, patience solved problems. In real life, patience just means your Swiggy order is delayed.
  5. Moral 2.0: Work smart, but don’t work so smart that you end up spending three hours downloading apps instead of just drinking water.
  6. And finally: In this era, hard work + smart work + network + password + cashback offer = survival.

Don’t be a thirsty crow for stories—sip unlimited laughter at Talesmith.