The Parrot Who Broke Free

Hi Everyone!

Have you ever felt stuck or trapped in a situation where everyone expects you to act or be a certain way, but deep down, it’s not what you want? I get it, its very frustrating. Honestly, it relates to this month's story I will be telling. 

Long, long ago, there was a rich merchant who was awfully fond of his pet parrot. He kept it in a shiny golden cage, gave it the best fruits to eat, and even toys. But even with all that, the parrot wasn’t happy. It missed the forest, the sky, and the freedom to fly. 

One day, the merchant told the parrot, “I’m heading to the forest where you came from. Want me to tell your friends anything?”

The parrot thought for a bit and said, “Yes. Tell them I’m living in this golden cage, being treated well, but I really miss my freedom and the forest.”

The merchant nodded and promised to deliver the message. When he got to the forest, he found a group of parrots flying around and told them what the caged parrot had said. But as soon as he finished, one of the parrots froze, fell off its branch, and lay completely still on the ground.

The merchant was shocked. “Oh no! What did I just do? Did the news about my parrot upset this bird so much that it died?” Feeling guilty, he left the forest and went back home.

When he returned, he told the parrot what had happened. “I gave your message to the parrots in the forest, but one of them just dropped dead. I feel terrible about it.”

Hearing this, the parrot in the golden cage froze too. It fell to the bottom of the cage and lay perfectly still. The merchant freaked out. “No, not you too! What’s going on?” He opened the cage and gently picked up the parrot, thinking it had died.

But as soon as the parrot was out of the cage, it spread its wings, flew up into the air, and perched on a tree nearby. Smiling, it said, “I’m not dead. My friend in the forest showed me how to escape. By pretending to die, I got my freedom.”

Moral: Sometimes in life, whether it’s peer pressure or a situation that feels like a trap, you need to be smart to break free. Like the parrot, you can find your freedom by staying clever.