Prologue

        It is night.  A female raven sits on a branch, waiting for her mate to return with food for her only chick.  But he does not come.   Worried, she shifts from side to side, listening to her chicks hungry cries.  And she is getting hungry as well.  Finally she comes to a decision.  Vowing to return, she sets off to find food, leaving her chick alone in the night.  But when she does return, she finds only an empty nest waiting.