THE TALKING PARROT
Based on a library book story called "Stories From Near and Far" . Latter part created by Shivali..
Once upon a time, there lived a king and queen who had an only daughter. She was as beautiful as the sun and moon, and as fair as snow. Now the king had a great number of warriors. One of them was so handsome, that any couple would agree to get their daughter married to him.
One day, a very cruel king wanted to fight with the kind king. So the next day, the king got all his warriors ready for the fight. The next day, the fight began. The war lasted for a whole year, but at last, the kind king won. Now in the fight, a parrot had gotten hurt. The parrot’s beautiful feathers had become all red from blood. It was dying. Now after the king had given his warriors their money and had thanked them for their service, the handsome warrior, who was called, Mike, found the parrot. He gently picked it up, took it home, pulled the arrows out, and put healing cream on the wounds.
Day by day, day by day, the parrot became more and more strong. At last, the parrot was strong enough to fly again. So one day, Mike took the parrot out, and let him go free. But before the parrot flew of, he placed a little golden box in Mike’s hand and said, ‘’you have not only saved my life, but you have also kept my family from missing me.’’ ‘’So I am going to give you this golden box.’’ ‘’Whenever you need something, you only have to wish for it and open this golden box.’’ Then, the parrot flew away.
So Mike put the box in his pocket. Some years passed by. One day, while Mike was hunting, some robbers entered the kingdom. They destroyed everything except the king’s palace. They even killed some people. Then, the robbers took all the gold and silver. By the time the robbers left, the kingdom was left hopeless. But the robbers had forgotten to destroy Mike’s home. Some days later, the king said that anyone who could bring the kingdom back to life would get to marry the princess, and would also take half the kingdom. And when the king died, that man would inherit the whole kingdom.
Many men tried, but everyone failed. Now when Mike heard this, he remembered the golden box that the parrot had given him. He took out the box, wished that the kingdom would be happy again, and opened it. At that moment, new houses were made. The dead people were alive again. The gold and silver was replaced. And not only that, but the evil robbers were also brought in front of the king. The king had their heads cut of that very moment. But the king did not forget Mike’s reward. He got Mike married to the princess, and gave him half the kingdom.
He also said that Mike would be king after him. Mike was very happy. But as time went by, some of the king’s ministers became jealous of Mike. They wanted the princess for their wives. They also wanted half the kingdom.
One day, a minister named Sam went to the king, and said, ‘’Oh king, that evil Mike did not do anything.’’ ‘’It was I who made your kingdom happy again.’’ ‘’That Mike thinks he can do anything.’’ ‘’Tomorrow, mix together some rice with some millet.’’ ‘’Then ask Mike to make one pile of rice, and one pile of millet.’’ ‘’Also, ask him to do it by the time the sun sets.’’ So the next day, the king mixed together some rice with some millet. Then he called Mike and said, ‘’Well, well, my warrior, you have done me a great favor by making my kingdom happy again.’’ ‘’But since you have such power, will you do me another favor?’’ ‘’I want you to look at this pile of rice and millet.’’ ‘’You must make two piles out of this, one pile of rice and one pile of millet.’’ ‘’Also, you must do this by the time the sun sets.’’ Poor Mike did not know what to do. But suddenly, he remembered the golden box.
Mike took the golden box out from his pocket, wished that the rice and the millet would be separated, and opened it. Suddenly, the rice seemed to pull apart from the millet. And in no time at all, there were two piles of rice and millet.
When the sun was beginning to set, Mike went to the king. And what a surprise the king had! Two piles were neatly set.
One was made out of rice, and one was made out of millet. The king had to let Mike go. A few days later, the king called Sam again. When Sam heard that Mike had passed the test, his evil heart sank. But Sam did not give up yet. He said to the king, ‘’Tomorrow, throw one of your rings into the big lake that runs along the third path that leads out of the kingdom.’’ ‘’Then tell Mike to get it back.’’ So the next day, the king threw one of his rings into the lake, and then he asked Mike to get it back. Once again, Mike wished for the ring and opened the golden box.
At that moment, the ring seemed to fly out of the .The king was very surprised. But there was nothing he could say. So he gave the ring to Mike as a reward. Once again, the king called Sam. This time, Sam found it very hard to create a new problem for Mike. At last, he said, ‘’First of all, ask Mike to tell you how he has done these hard things.’’ So the king called Mike and said, ‘’Tell me the truth, how did you manage to do these hard things?’’ At first, Mike did not answer, but he was also afraid of the king. At last, he told the king about the golden box.
Then the king let him go. That night, the king called Sam again. The king told Sam that Mike had managed to complete the hard tasks because of the golden box. Then Sam said to the king, ‘’Now ask Mike who gave him the golden box.’’ So once again, Mike had to tell the king that it was the parrot who had given him the box because he had tended his wounds.
Then the king called Sam and told him about the parrot. Then Sam said, ‘’Tomorrow, tell Mike that you don’t believe him, and that he must bring the parrot in front of you.’’ So Mike was called the next day, and was told that he must bring the very parrot who had given him the magic golden box. Mike went to his room and wished that the parrot would appear before him. But nothing happened. The golden box was under the control of the parrot, so the only thing the box could not grant was to bring the parrot in front of someone.
Poor Mike did not know what to do. He was sure that the king would cut of his head if he did not bring the parrot before him. Mike was sure that it was the evil minister Sam who had planned this. But suddenly, the kind parrot appeared before Mike. ‘’What can I do for you?’’ asked the parrot. ‘’Oh, my friend, I thought you would never come for me!’’ Mike said. ‘’Have you forgotten how you saved my life?’’ asked the parrot. Then Mike told the parrot that the king wanted him to bring the parrot in front of the king. Is that all?’’ asked the parrot. ‘’Yes,’’ said Mike. ‘’In that case, we will go to the king first thing tomorrow.’’ So the next day, Mike and the parrot went in front of the king. When the king saw the parrot, he could not take it anymore. He angrily called Sam and said, ‘’you worm!’’ ‘’You said that Mike did not do anything for the kingdom, but the only reason he passed these hard tests is because he is pure.’’ So Sam was sent out of the kingdom, and Mike and the princess lived happily ever after.
THE END
Once upon a time, there lived a king and queen who had an only daughter. She was as beautiful as the sun and moon, and as fair as snow. Now the king had a great number of warriors. One of them was so handsome, that any couple would agree to get their daughter married to him.
One day, a very cruel king wanted to fight with the kind king. So the next day, the king got all his warriors ready for the fight. The next day, the fight began. The war lasted for a whole year, but at last, the kind king won. Now in the fight, a parrot had gotten hurt. The parrot’s beautiful feathers had become all red from blood. It was dying. Now after the king had given his warriors their money and had thanked them for their service, the handsome warrior, who was called, Mike, found the parrot. He gently picked it up, took it home, pulled the arrows out, and put healing cream on the wounds.
Day by day, day by day, the parrot became more and more strong. At last, the parrot was strong enough to fly again. So one day, Mike took the parrot out, and let him go free. But before the parrot flew of, he placed a little golden box in Mike’s hand and said, ‘’you have not only saved my life, but you have also kept my family from missing me.’’ ‘’So I am going to give you this golden box.’’ ‘’Whenever you need something, you only have to wish for it and open this golden box.’’ Then, the parrot flew away.
So Mike put the box in his pocket. Some years passed by. One day, while Mike was hunting, some robbers entered the kingdom. They destroyed everything except the king’s palace. They even killed some people. Then, the robbers took all the gold and silver. By the time the robbers left, the kingdom was left hopeless. But the robbers had forgotten to destroy Mike’s home. Some days later, the king said that anyone who could bring the kingdom back to life would get to marry the princess, and would also take half the kingdom. And when the king died, that man would inherit the whole kingdom.
Many men tried, but everyone failed. Now when Mike heard this, he remembered the golden box that the parrot had given him. He took out the box, wished that the kingdom would be happy again, and opened it. At that moment, new houses were made. The dead people were alive again. The gold and silver was replaced. And not only that, but the evil robbers were also brought in front of the king. The king had their heads cut of that very moment. But the king did not forget Mike’s reward. He got Mike married to the princess, and gave him half the kingdom.
He also said that Mike would be king after him. Mike was very happy. But as time went by, some of the king’s ministers became jealous of Mike. They wanted the princess for their wives. They also wanted half the kingdom.
One day, a minister named Sam went to the king, and said, ‘’Oh king, that evil Mike did not do anything.’’ ‘’It was I who made your kingdom happy again.’’ ‘’That Mike thinks he can do anything.’’ ‘’Tomorrow, mix together some rice with some millet.’’ ‘’Then ask Mike to make one pile of rice, and one pile of millet.’’ ‘’Also, ask him to do it by the time the sun sets.’’ So the next day, the king mixed together some rice with some millet. Then he called Mike and said, ‘’Well, well, my warrior, you have done me a great favor by making my kingdom happy again.’’ ‘’But since you have such power, will you do me another favor?’’ ‘’I want you to look at this pile of rice and millet.’’ ‘’You must make two piles out of this, one pile of rice and one pile of millet.’’ ‘’Also, you must do this by the time the sun sets.’’ Poor Mike did not know what to do. But suddenly, he remembered the golden box.
Mike took the golden box out from his pocket, wished that the rice and the millet would be separated, and opened it. Suddenly, the rice seemed to pull apart from the millet. And in no time at all, there were two piles of rice and millet.
When the sun was beginning to set, Mike went to the king. And what a surprise the king had! Two piles were neatly set.
One was made out of rice, and one was made out of millet. The king had to let Mike go. A few days later, the king called Sam again. When Sam heard that Mike had passed the test, his evil heart sank. But Sam did not give up yet. He said to the king, ‘’Tomorrow, throw one of your rings into the big lake that runs along the third path that leads out of the kingdom.’’ ‘’Then tell Mike to get it back.’’ So the next day, the king threw one of his rings into the lake, and then he asked Mike to get it back. Once again, Mike wished for the ring and opened the golden box.
At that moment, the ring seemed to fly out of the .The king was very surprised. But there was nothing he could say. So he gave the ring to Mike as a reward. Once again, the king called Sam. This time, Sam found it very hard to create a new problem for Mike. At last, he said, ‘’First of all, ask Mike to tell you how he has done these hard things.’’ So the king called Mike and said, ‘’Tell me the truth, how did you manage to do these hard things?’’ At first, Mike did not answer, but he was also afraid of the king. At last, he told the king about the golden box.
Then the king let him go. That night, the king called Sam again. The king told Sam that Mike had managed to complete the hard tasks because of the golden box. Then Sam said to the king, ‘’Now ask Mike who gave him the golden box.’’ So once again, Mike had to tell the king that it was the parrot who had given him the box because he had tended his wounds.
Then the king called Sam and told him about the parrot. Then Sam said, ‘’Tomorrow, tell Mike that you don’t believe him, and that he must bring the parrot in front of you.’’ So Mike was called the next day, and was told that he must bring the very parrot who had given him the magic golden box. Mike went to his room and wished that the parrot would appear before him. But nothing happened. The golden box was under the control of the parrot, so the only thing the box could not grant was to bring the parrot in front of someone.
Poor Mike did not know what to do. He was sure that the king would cut of his head if he did not bring the parrot before him. Mike was sure that it was the evil minister Sam who had planned this. But suddenly, the kind parrot appeared before Mike. ‘’What can I do for you?’’ asked the parrot. ‘’Oh, my friend, I thought you would never come for me!’’ Mike said. ‘’Have you forgotten how you saved my life?’’ asked the parrot. Then Mike told the parrot that the king wanted him to bring the parrot in front of the king. Is that all?’’ asked the parrot. ‘’Yes,’’ said Mike. ‘’In that case, we will go to the king first thing tomorrow.’’ So the next day, Mike and the parrot went in front of the king. When the king saw the parrot, he could not take it anymore. He angrily called Sam and said, ‘’you worm!’’ ‘’You said that Mike did not do anything for the kingdom, but the only reason he passed these hard tests is because he is pure.’’ So Sam was sent out of the kingdom, and Mike and the princess lived happily ever after.
THE END