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Young World
On the wings of a pure white parrot
SUNILA GUPTE
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Have you ever wondered why the parrot is green ?
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The world was young, and animals lived in harmony. Earth had land and water for everyone. So the elephants, kangaroos, deer, giraffes, rabbits and gazelles played together.There was a parrot...but not the ordinary green parrot with his red beak. He was different altogether.
He was white — so white that the snow looked grey! Milk, white buffalo milk looked greyish-cream.
This parrot was a pure white with a tinge of pink, a flash of silver and blue... He had pale rainbow feathers drooping from his back, like lovely streamers at a birthday party. He looked like a white waterfall, with rainbow glints.
The animals loved looking at him. They praised, admired, and treated him gently.
But alas! He became so proud of his beauty that he became vain. “Oh, buffalo!” he’d sneer, gobbling a green guava, “you look so dark, you even frighten the night.” Off would go buffalo —feeling very sad.
“Oh Camel, oh, kangaroo, how brown and dirty you look. The sand and land will swallow you,” taunted the white parrot, while preening his silvery-pink side-feathers.
“All of you are so ugly and boring, I don’t have anyone fit to play with,” he said haughtily.
Naughty monkey started laughing. “I know,” he said, “you should go to the South Pole...the ice and snow is white and the animals are whiter than you. And worthy companions too.” He chuckled.
“It’s icy cold out there! Our friend will return without his pretty feathers!” he whispered, winking.
“Parrot, go, you will meet the polar bear, see the white ice-cap, sea foam,” encouraged the animals.
To the South Pole
The parrot strutted off. He flew till he was tired and lonely. He reached the South Pole. He missed the company of his friends. Seeing a polar bear on the ice-capped land, he called, “Polar Bear, here I am with animals as beautiful as I, let’s play.”
He waited for praise of his beauty. To his great shock, his reply was a grumpy growl.
“Go away little bird...you aren’t white bright. Go, this land is not for you.”
The shivering parrot was a dirty blue. He was ashamed and embarrassed. Suddenly the voice of the All-Seeing Spirit, who looked after the world, came.
“Parrot, you will live in the rain forest, where the colour green abounds. For your vanity, you will be leaf- green, so you will never be noticed or praised.” The poor parrot went to the rain forest and lived there. Among the green leaves he was invisible. He was lonely. Yellow toucans and quetzals became his friends. Slowly, his beak became red! But only his beak, as a reward for being kind. Finally, he was visible...but only a little!
Humbly, he asked, “Please may I go to my land and my friends? I will be better now.”
His request granted, he flew to his old land, ashamed, but happy. The animals welcomed him. They were sad to see he had lost his silvery rainbow colours.
To this day, the parrot is green with a red beak, and his best friend is the monkey !
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