73. THE KING AND THE PARROTS
Once a tribal king went to a jungle to hunt for birds. While hunting, he caught two parrots in his net. He was happy to catch the parrots as he could teach them to talk and then let his children play with the talking parrots.
But while the tribal king was returning home with his two parrots, one of the parrots escaped from the net and flew away. The tribal king chased the parrot, but the parrot disappeared in the sky.
The tribal king brought the other parrot home and taught it to speak like him. Soon the parrot learnt to talk like a tribal man.
The other parrot which had managed to escape, was caught by a sage. The sage liked the parrot and taught him to recite holy hymns.
The sage lived at one end of the jungle, while the tribal king lived at the other end.
One day, a king of a nearby kingdom came in the jungle riding on his horse back. When he approached the tribal king’s house the tribal king’s parrot shouted from inside the cage hanging outside the house, “Here comes someone. Catch this fellow and beat him thoroughly.”
The king hearing the parrot speak in such a filthy manner, left that place and reached the other end of the jungle where the sage lived. The sage’s parrot was also kept in a cage, which was hanging outside the sage’s cottage.
As soon as the parrot saw the king approaching the cottage it said, “Welcome! Please come in and have a seat. What can I do for you? Have a glass of water. Eat some sweets.”
After having welcomed him properly with all the etiquettes, the parrot called his master, “Guruji, here comes a guest on his horseback. Take him inside and offer him a seat. Serve him food.”
The king was highly impressed with this intelligent talking parrot. He was quick to understand that good environment and training always yield a better result.
The tribal king’s parrot spoke rudely, while the sage’s parrot greeted him in a polite tone.
❖ A man is known by the company he keeps.
72. THE KING AND THE FOOLISH MONKEY
A certain king had a pet monkey. He was allowed to enter the king’s palace, even when other confidential servants were forbidden to. One day the king was fast asleep and the monkey was fanning him. Suddenly, a fly came and sat on the king’s chest.
The monkey drove her away with the fan, but the fly kept coming back to the same place. The foolish monkey got excited, picked up a sword and hit at the fly with it. The fly flew away but the king was severely wounded in the chest and died as a result.
❖ Beware of a foolish friend. He can cause you more harm than your enemy.
❖ It is better to have a clever enemy than a foolish friend.
71. THE JEALOUS DONKEY
Once upon a time, there lived a dhobi in a village. He had a donkey and a dog as his pets. The dog guarded his master’s house and accompanied him wherever he went. The donkey used to carry the load of clothes. The dhobi loved his dog very much. And the dog, whenever, he saw his master, would bark a little and wag his tail. He would raise his front legs and put them on the chest of his master. And the dhobi would pat his dog in return, for his loving gesture.
70. WHO WILL BELL THE CAT
Once upon a time, there lived many mice in a grocers shop. There in the shop, they ate delicious wheat and rice, pulses and nuts, bread and butter and biscuits. They grew fat day by day.
One day, the grocer thought about the heavy losses that he had to suffer because of the menace of the mice. This angered him so much, that the next day, he brought a big fat cat to his shop.
The big fat cat began to catch and kill the fat mice everyday.
The mice became worried. They called a meeting to discuss the problem.
“Let’s get rid of this cruel fat cat,” the leader of the mice said.
“But how?” the other mice asked.
All of them began to think. Then one mouse said, “We should tie a bell round the neck of the fat cat. So, whenever she would move towards us, the bell would ring and we will run into our holes immediately.”
All the mice became very happy to hear this. They began dancing with joy. But their joy was short-lived. An old and experienced mouse interrupted their merry-making and shouted, Fools, stop it and tell me, who will bell the cat?
No mouse had the answer to this big question.
❖ Making a plan is one thing, but executing it is something entirely different.
