The Parrot who Spoke

A Brahmin in Banaras once bought two parrots from a hunter who had caught them. The Brahmin treated them like his own children. The elder of them was Bodhisatta. The younger one was an extremely talkative bird. He did not know what to say, when and to whom to say it either. So, he very often got into trouble. The Bodhisatta told him to be sensible and keep quiet, but the younger parrot never listened to any advice.
The Brahmin had to travel to another city on work. When he was leaving, he told the two parrots to keep an eye on his wife in his absence, and to tell him about her when he returned. Now, the Brahmin’s wife was not a good woman and when the Brahmin was away, she got into bad company.
As soon as the Brahmin went away, his wife invited her bad friends and they would meet every day. The house was a mess as she neglected all her duties.

The two parrots watched her. The younger one was very disturbed by her behaviour. “We should talk to her and stop her. She will become more wicked if we don’t… And the master asked us to look after her, after all.”
The Bodhisatta sat calmly watching everything around him. He told his brother, “You must keep quiet, brother.” But the younger one was impatient. He felt he must advise the woman. So, the next day he asked her why she was doing wrong things.
The woman was angry that the parrot dared to advise her. But she put on a sweet voice and face and called to him, “My dear little one, you are so right. Come to me.” And the parrot, feeling proud that he had changed her with his advice, flew to her. Immediately, she grabbed him and wrung his neck, throwing him into the fire.

The Bodhisatta shook his head and watched his foolish brother die. Sometime later, the Brahmin returned. He asked the parrot what his wife had been doing in his absence. The parrot spoke quietly, “Master, the wise do not speak unless it is absolutely necessary. And they do not talk of things which do not bring blessings. They only talk of auspicious things.”
He added, “My brother is dead and lies among those ashes because he did not know when to be silent. I do not wish to live here now. Goodbye, Master,” he said and flew away. The Brahmin realized the wisdom of the Bodhisatta.

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