Author: Rizwan Ahmed Memon
Characters:
Pretto = The father of Parrot
Pretty = The mother of Parrot
Parrot = Little bird son of Pretto and Pretty
Joe = Hunter who takes away Parrot from his nest
Erik = Little boy who buys Parrot from the zoo
Angel = Young, handsome man whom Parrot is sold by Erik’s parents
Anglia = A beautiful woman who marries Angel
1. The Parrot
At the crack of the dawn, Pretty and Pretto left their nest to find the food. They discussed the coming of their first child. Pretty said now it will not be long before their little baby bird would come in this world. She further said, “The shape of the egg indicates that it will soon hatch and let our baby bird out into this beautiful forest.” Pretto added, “I am looking forward to seeing my first child. It would bring such happiness.” While flying, they bumped into a field and came down to eat some grain. Then they went back to the nest. Pretty set on the egg. There they thought of a name for their child. They decided that they would call their child Parrot.
2. Birth of Parrot
The days went by and the moment Pretty and Pretto had waited for finally came. The egg cracked and a little weak bird as tender as a bud appeared. Pretty and Pretto were on cloud nine to see their small lovely child. “Welcome, welcome to this amazing world,” they said to the little bird. The little bird saw them and knew they were his father and mother. Pretty fed the newborn bird with her beak. This moment was one of the best moments for the parents of Parrot. They both were thrilled to pieces. Time kept passing and Parrot was growing older. The parents of Parrot took great care of him. If Pretty went for grain, Pretto would stay in the nest to look after Parrot. If Pretto went, Pretty would stay. The feathers of Parrot were also getting bigger rapidly. It seemed he would be ready to fly very soon.
3. Time to Fly from the Nest
One night the parents of Parrot said to him, “The time has come for you to learn how to fly; tomorrow we will give you your first flying lesson.” After hearing that, Parrot became ecstatic and anxious to fly. He said to them, “So, it will be my first attempt to touch the sky. How wonderful it will be!” Finally, that day came, and the three made their minds up to go in the early morning. They left the nest and came to an open ground. There Pretto first gave instructions to Parrot about flying, and then he said him to watch how he was flying and do the same. Parrot thought it was as easy as falling off a log. When he made his first attempt to fly, he fell down, he could not move his wings properly. Then he tried for the second time. Now he was a little more successful. He tried again and again and each time he performed better and better. Parrot became very tired. So, they stopped and said it was enough for today. Pretto said to Pretty, “Our Parrot would soon learn to fly.” She replied, “I think so.” Then slowly they came back to the nest. Late at night, the three chatted. Pretty and Pretto decided to go to gather grain together early in the morning, and then they would go with Parrot for giving him the second lesson of flying. This was the first time that they both were leaving Parrot alone in the nest. They thought Parrot now could take care of himself very well and could stay in the nest on his own.
4. Arrival of a Hunter
In early morning Pretty and Pretto left the nest to bring some grain from the field. They did not take Parrot because they wanted him to rest and get enough sleep. It was a very fine morning. The drowsy breeze was blowing, which kept Parrot asleep. The birds in the forest started singing lovely songs. The shafts of the sun entered the nest and fell on the face of Parrot and woke him up. Seeing nobody around him, Parrot felt a little scared, but he took heart. Parrot added to the songs of other birds of the forest with his own melodious voice. Parrot’s voice was very pleasant and pure. Near that forest where Parrot lived with his parents was a small village, and there lived a hunter by the name of Joe. Joe made ends meet by hunting animals and birds in the forest.
He sometimes sold the animals and birds in a city or kept them for food. On that day, the hunter had also left to hunt early in the morning. He encountered a dense shadowy tree; it was the tree in which Parrot’s nest was. The hunter had a meal and some water with him. He decided to sit under that tree and have breakfast. While eating, he enjoyed the beautiful sounds of different birds in the trees. A sound coming from the tree under which he was sitting drew his attention. “That bird has the sweetest voice of all the birds in the forest,” he said to himself. It was the voice of Parrot. He liked that voice so much that he wanted to see and catch the bird. The moment he finished his breakfast, he climbed up the tree to the top, leaving all other nests until he came to the nest of Parrot. He saw Parrot and quickly grabbed him so tight in his hands. Parrot screamed, cried, and shouted. Parrot bit the hunter trying to escape, but the bird’s efforts were in vain.
5. Parrot in a Cage
The hunter took Parrot away to his village. He made his mind up to keep this bird at home to listen to his songs and beautiful voice every day. Parrot was in great trouble now. His wings were cut and he was put in a cage. Sobbing and crying, he bore all the pain. Would he be in the cage forever? This question revolved in his mind all the time. He had hope. He seemed quite optimistic. He thought someday he would be out of his cage.
6. Pretty and Pretto’s Sorrow
When Pretty and Pretto came back to the nest, to their surprise the nest was empty. They called for Parrot loudly but received no reply from any direction. They looked for Parrot in every nook and cranny of the jungle, but Parrot was nowhere. They were filled with the fear that he might have flown for food and become victim of some giant animal.
The parents of Parrot were very sad and worried. They waited for Parrot for several days, but he didn’t turn up.
7. Parrot Learns Human Language
A year passed. Parrot was well fed and his feathers had grown again. Above all, he learned human language, the natural language. Parrot used to listen and watch the hunter carefully when he talked to him or with others, and he used to imitate the hunter. Slowly and gradually, Parrot became able to communicate fully in human language.
8. Parrot is Sold
Once the hunter Joe became so ill that he even couldn’t go for hunting for several days, and he ran out of money. He was in great need of money, so he decided to sell Parrot so that he could earn some money to fulfill his needs. Joe managed to go to the city and went to a zoo. There he talked to the owner of the zoo. “I have a Parrot, who can speak as we human speak, and I want to sell him. Would you buy it?” he asked the owner of the zoo. The owner of the zoo saw and thought this bird would be auspicious for the zoo and will be a great source of drawing the attention of the visitors. So, he bought Parrot on the high price.
9. Parrot at the Zoo
Parrot was put in a cage again but this time it was in a zoo, for the exhibition and entertainment of the people. It was almost the same for Parrot, but he felt he was better in the previous cage, because he had a peaceful atmosphere around him. Parrot was unhappy there he prayed God to get him out of the zoo.
10. Parrot Gets out of the Zoo
God listened to Parrot. One day, a very rich family with a little, innocent and cute boy named Erik came to visit the zoo. When Erik saw Parrot and talked to him, he forgot to see other animals in the zoo and spent hours with the Parrot. When it was time to go, Erik told his parents that he wanted to take that parrot with him. Erik’s parents said, “You cannot take that bird home. It is for this zoo.” But Erik didn’t listen and kept crying for Parrot, and he even refused to go home without Parrot. So, Erik’s Parents had to buy Parrot and the owner of the zoo sold for double the price.
11. Parrot on Cloud Nine with the Boy
Now Parrot was in very big house, where every comfort could be found. Erik and Parrot were so happy with each other that they played together, they slept together, and they ate together. All the time they were together.
12. Parrot is Sold for the Second Time
Since the day Erik purchased Parrot, he stopped paying attention to his studies and complained about school. Seeing this, Erik’s parents decided to sell Parrot within a few days so that their child would study again. When Erik came to find out about this, he didn’t respond or resist; he told Parrot that his parents were going to sell him. Parrot said, “All right, but I don’t want to go back to that noisy zoo." Erik assured him that his parents wouldn’t give him to the zoo.
13. Parrot with a Young Man
Erik’s parents sold Parrot to a young, handsome and very kind man named Angel. In a very short period of time, they became close friends. Angel was so kind that he felt guilty if he kept Parrot in the cage, so he let him move about freely all the time. Parrot could have escaped, but he considered that wouldn't be fair. Parrot didn’t want to break the confidence which the man had in him. So, Parrot never tried to run way.
14. Angel Tells Parrot His Love Story
One day, Angel was so sad, and Parrot asked the reason. Angel did not say a word. After some days Angle grew even more worried and upset. Parrot kept asking why that was so. Finally, Angel told him and said, “I love Anglia, my classmate." And so Angel told Parrot his love story, sparing nothing. Angel loved Anglia with all his heart; he was now unable to live without her. Parrot could not bear to see the condition of Angel and decided to go to Anglia and tell her everything.
15. Parrot Goes to Anglia
The next evening in evening Parrot got a chance when Angel was out of the home, so he flew and went to Anglia’s house. When Parrot saw Anglia out in the lawn of her house, he said she must be Anglia. Parrot saw her beauty. He flew and sat on a branch of a little tree beside her and said, “Good evening.” Anglia replied with great surprise. She couldn’t believe a bird had spoken. Parrot told her everything and requested that she marry Angel and said that she would be happy all of her life if she married Angel because he loved her so much.
16. Anglia Marries Angel
Days kept going by and Anglia was constantly in the world of her own thinking of Angel and his love for her. It was not long before she also fell in love with Angel and made her mind up to marry him. Angel and Anglia got married. They lived happily together, and Parrot was quite pleased in their company.
17. Parrot Tells the Couple His Story
One fine day, they three went on a picnic to the beach. There they enjoyed themselves. After swimming, they sat together and ate the food which they had brought. While discussing several things, Anglia asked Parrot how he had learned to speak and where he came from. Parrot told them the complete story of his life. The couple was so sorry to hear the tragic tale of Parrot.
18. Angel and Anglia Free Parrot
Parrot’s past was full of troubles and bad moments of agony and pain, knowing this Angel and Anglia wanted Parrot to live happily now wherever he wanted in full freedom. They asked Parrot, “Do you miss your parents?” Parrot replied, “Yes, a lot every moment!” “And do you want to go and live with them?” they asked him. Parrot became silent, and then he said a bird would be happy with birds! Angel and Anglia saw that there was a hidden wish in Parrot to live with his parents, so they said Parrot, “if you want to go to your homeland and spend your life there with your parents, we allow you with all our heart.”
19. Parrot Goes to His Homeland Forever
Parrot was happy and sad, too. Happy because he was going to meet his parents after all those years, and sad because he was losing good people and friends. However, they would always miss one another and would live in one another’s memories. Angel and Anglia felt sorrow too, but they understood it was better for Parrot. Parrot thanked them and couple thanked him, too, saying if he had not been there, they would have never met. Their eyes filled up with tears some tears were out of happiness and some out of sorrow, thus Parrot flew up into the sky and left for his homeland forever. Angel and Anglia kept watching Parrot until he went out of sight and kept saying good-bye.
