King Jewel Plume appointed a parrot to go with Long-Bill to Karpuradweepa as his messenger. But the parrot objected. “Sir, I will go,” said the parrot, “but not with this wicked crane! It is said that bad things will happen even to good people if we accompany an evil person!” The King was not sure if there was any sense in what the parrot said. So, he asked him to explain. “Sir, we should not stay with or go along with wicked people,” explained the parrot, “It is like the story of the heron who stayed with a crow and a quail who went with a crow. Both were killed! And all because of their association with the wicked crow!” “Tell us the story,” ordered King Jewel Plume. So, the parrot told them the stories of the Heron, the Quail and the Crow.
The Parrot’s Argument
