The Setting Sun and the Rolling World

On a Sunday morning when his parents are at church, an unnamed narrator and his friend Chiko go to the river to kill a crow in its nest. Neither boy knows why they want to kill the crow, especially since they associate crows with witchcraft. Nevertheless, they repeatedly shoot at the crow with their slingshots as it flies from one tree to the next. The need to kill the crow becomes an obsession for the boys, even as they acknowledge the madness behind their endeavor.

Finally, a shot from Chiko drops the crow to the ground. Although it has a broken wing and leg, it is still alive. To put it out of its misery, the boys bombard the crow with slingshot pebbles, but the crow still won’t die. In a rage, Chiko hits the bird in the head with a stick, but it is still alive. Ultimately, the boys throw the crow in the river, unsure if it is alive or dead. Crying, Chiko throws his slingshot into the river, and the narrator does the same. In closing, the narrator recalls, “I suddenly smelled hot blood in my nose but I wasn’t bleeding. It is the way I feel when everything goes wrong and I am afraid” (32).