Kim and the Lama reach the rich widow’s village. The woman lives in a grand building. A flock of crows live in a great tree which looms in front of her building. Kim is surprised by the intelligence of the birds that pick the berries from the trees, drop them on the streets to be crushed by passing carts and then eat the contents. The Lama tells him that the Buddhists consider them sacred animals and revere them as foreboders of good luck. When she hears those words, the widow picks up a rock and throws it against the birds.