A man caught a jackdaw and tied a piece of string to one of its legs, and then gave it to his children for a pet.
Unfortunately, the string was still on his leg, and before long it got entangled in the branches of a tree and the jackdaw couldn't get free, try as he would. He saw it was all up with him, and cried in despair, 'Alas, in gaining my freedom I have lost my life.'