I'm retired now, but for 40 years I was a weather forecaster, and over that time I ate crow at times so I can certainly relate to the classic story about the constellation of Corvus the Crow. I love the story and I hope you do too.

Crows have been getting a terrible rap for eons, but they're really one of the most intelligent birds around. In Greek and Roman mythology, crows were once the most respected birds.

Back in the day they were exalted, highly intelligent, and had beautiful voices that allowed them to sing glorious songs that delighted all. They were blessed with bright white feathers with gold trim on their wings and tail.

They served the gods and goddesses as reliable messengers on Mount Olympus with great distinction until Corvus the bungling crow messed it up for all crows.

The constellation Corvus the Crow is one of the 66 or so constellations we see throughout the year in our Butler night skies, but even though it's not one of the biggest or brightest, it's very distinct.

Corvus is a prime example of most spring constellations, not all that exciting. Corvus resembles a small lopsided trapezoid in the low south-southeastern sky, popping out as soon after evening twilight fades. It looks nothing like a crow! Corvus does have a bright star for a neighbor though.

Just to the left of Corvus is Spica, the brightest star in the large but faint constellation Virgo the Virgin.

Getting back to the Greek and Roman mythology story, Apollo, the god of the sun, sent Corvus the crow on a very important mission to fetch water from a distant magical fountain. Apollo gave Corvus one of his favorite chalices to collect the magical water.

Corvus didn't know exactly where the fountain was but he had hunches. He bragged to Apollo that he'd be back with the magic water by sunset, no problem! He flapped his beautiful white wings and gold trim and he was off.

His cockiness though quickly collapsed as the day wore on. All his hunches went to pot. Truthfully, he had no idea where to find the elusive magic fountain.

Morning turned into a really hot afternoon as Corvus flew over town after town seeking his quest. Of course, being a male crow, he was too stubborn to ask for directions. His white wings were getting tired and his throat was dry. He had to take a break.

In the distance he could see a bar (or should we call it a crow-bar?) with an outside patio. The devil perched on his left wing tempted Corvus, and he gave into it. He flew down to catch the last part of late afternoon happy hour.

As he closed in, clutching Apollo's chalice, he couldn't believe his eyes. One of his childhood crow buddies was sitting at a table with a giant mug of beer and a pile of pull tabs. It was like old times!

Corvus and his old friend drank and talked for hours, telling each other tall crow tales. As afternoon turned into evening they emptied one beer after another down their beaks.

With a belly full of beer and a massive lack of good judgment, Corvus decided to be a showoff and had the bartender pour tap beer into Apollo's chalice. At closing time, Corvus stumbled out of the "crow-bar" and passed out on a park bench clutching Apollo's cup, still half full of beer.

The next morning a very hung-over Corvus woke up with a tremendous headache. He dumped the leftover stale beer out of Apollo's chalice and returned to the skies, resuming his search for the elusive magic fountain.

After hours of clumsy flying, Corvus gave up, and he decided it was time to fly back to Mount Olympus to face the music.

As he got closer to the home of the gods, he swallowed the rest of his breath mints he bought at the bar to hide the evidence of his wild night.

Corvus could see Apollo standing out at the edge of a cliff waiting for him. And even at a distance could see Apollo's angry glare. All the way home, the wayward crow was cooking up a story about how a crazed water snake bit him while he was getting a drink of water, making him too woozy to find the fountain.

After Corvus stumbled to a really rough landing, he did his best with his phony snake story and almost had Apollo convinced, that is, until he handed over the chalice to the god of the sun. Oops! Corvus forgot to wash it out and it reeked of stale beer. Corvus was so busted!

Apollo went on a rampage and fired Corvus on the spot. He didn't stop there though. Apollo banned all crows from Mount Olympus and used his magical godly powers to turn crows from their beautiful white and gold colors to the jet-black colors we see today.

Continuing his temper tantrum, Apollo waved his finger in anger once again and collectively turned those beautiful crow-singing voices into the caw caw we hear today. If only Corvus had ignored the devil on his wing!

Celestial Happening this week: On Monday and Tuesday, the bright planet Venus will be perched just to the left of the Pleiades Star Cluster in the early evening western sky. It'll be quite a show you won't want to miss! Venus is just under 110 million miles from Earth, but the Pleiades cluster is over 400 light-years away. Just one light-year is nearly six trillion miles!

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of "Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations," published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.