The Queen And The Crow

Did you know about this story of Marie Antoinette feeding a crow ?

It happened at the Petit Trianon.

One morning while at Petit Trianon in October of 1785, Marie Antoinette was leaning out her boudoir window. She was gazing across the lawn of Petit Trianon and holding a biscuit and a cup of steeped milk. The crow suddenly appeared flapping its wings and begging for food. It landed on her window ledge, and despite the Queen being somewhat alarmed by the bird's ominous visit, she gave it the remainder of her biscuit. She then shut her boudoir window and went about her business. However, later that morning she told her husband about the incident and noted that it was unsettling because of her superstitious beliefs about the bird.



The following day, a similar scene played out between the crow and the Queen. Over the next few weeks, the same scene continued. Soon the crow became attached to the Queen's morning feedings. In fact, on mornings when the Queen appeared decked out in her muslin gown and straw hat and made her way to her fairy tale hamlet of Hameau de la Reine, the crow faithfully followed her. It would fly from tree to tree along her route and never leave her until after she returned to Petit Trianon.

The crow's appearance and morning feedings continued until about 1789. From that time forward, the crow was not seen and no one thought it. All thoughts of the crow might have been forgotten forever if not for Napoleon's second wife, Marie Louise.

And then the same strange story happened to Marie Louise, so that the question is: was it the same bird? could a crow live to be 29 years old?

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