A Wise Parrot – A Sri Lankan Legend

Long, long ago there lived a poor peasant who had four sons. Three sons were tall, strong young men; they helped their father about the house and always worked fairly. The youngest son was a small and a weak boy, but he was much wiser than his three brothers.

Once the peasant’s wife cooked some rice and vegetables and, putting everything with the pieces of fish into the basket, sent the youngest son to his father and brothers to bring the dinner. A lane that led to the field was near the river. The boy saw a boat on the river bank.

“I’ll use it to sail down the river!” – the boy thought. – “I’ll come to the field much quicker then!” So he put the basket into the boat and started sailing. The boy was glad, thinking he would see his family very soon. But there were heavy rains in the mountains, and the water started rising more and more. The river was full of water and carried the boat like a piece of wood, so the boy couldn’t get to the river bank. He was crying and crying: “Help!” but there was nobody near the river. Suddenly an old parrot sat into the boat.

“Stop crying, please!” – he said strictly. “Remember that after some rain the sun appears. I’m very old and weak, but, please, give me a little rice, and I’ll advise you how to save your life. But please don’t let anyone part us. If you follow my advice, you’ll come home safe and sound.”

Soon the water carried the boat to a still place, where an old man was washing some golden and yellow clothes that looked like the bright morning sun.

“Listen! Uncle, help me!” – cried the boy loudly. The old man heard him, took a long stick and brought the boat to the shore.

“You are welcome! I’ve been waiting for someone who can help me for a long time. What’s your name?” asked the old man.

“Hey-Ka!” cried the parrot something that sounded like a boy’s name.

“Nice to meet you, Hey-Ka! Run quickly to my house which is the first you’ll see on your way and tell my wife to bring some clothes from the chest which is in the corner of the room. We have to decorate our house as we’ve been waiting for some guests”.

The boy ran to the old man’s house, said hello to his wife, and told her what her husband had asked.

“And who are you?” asked the lady.

“Hey-Ka!” cried the parrot.

The lady gave him some clothes from the chest and the boy ran back to the old man.

“Hang these clothes on the trees quickly! The merchants will be here soon. Sell them these clothes, and make as expensive as possible,” asked the old man.

Two merchants came soon. They were surprised to see the clothes on the trees.

“This is our tree”, the boy said. “These beautiful clothes grow on our tree.”

“We’ll buy your tree,” the merchant said and paid quite a lot of money for the tree.

The boy had two more items of clothes in the basket. He decorated a banana-tree with it, such as the parrot advised him. Another merchant was riding his elephant pass the banana-tree. He saw a bright yellow cloth among the leaves and stopped his elephant. The merchant decided to buy that banana-tree. The boy said he would sell him the tree only for the elephant. Finally, the merchant agreed to exchange his elephant for the banana-tree. The boy returned to the river.

“Uncle, here is your purse with money for your clothes! I earned a good sum of money for you, but now I have to hurry back home.

The old man was greatly surprised to see so much money in the purse, and the boy and the parrot disappeared very quickly.

By the night the boy had reached a big inn. The parrot advised him to stay out at night near the elephant, and before the sunrise, to drop a few silver coins near the animal on the ground. A little later a servant went out of the inn to sweep the yard.

“Please, wait, I’ll gather a few silver coins. Every morning I find them near the elephant, so let me collect them before you start sweeping”.

The master of the inn heard about it and decided to buy that elephant.

“But why do I need money if I get them every day near my elephant?” the boy asked the innkeeper.

“But why do you have such a big elephant? You have to feed him, look after him, and as for the coins, there are not as many as I thought,” the master of the inn said.

They bartered for a long time until the boy got a big purse full of money. The master also gave the boy some food and drink. So the boy and the parrot sitting on his shoulder went back home.

Everybody was happy because the boys’ parents and brothers thought he had died and were crying. Since then they loved the wise parrot, looked after him, and he lived happily as well.

chest сундук

inn таверна, гостиница

barter торговаться

EXERCISES

1. Give the English equivalents:

1. работали всегда честно;

2. хотя он был намного мудрее своих трёх братьев;

3. тропинка, ведущая к полю;

4. в горах шли сильные дожди;

5. старик полоскал золотисто-жёлтую одежду;

6. сбегай быстро к моему дому;

7. развешивай одежду на дереве;

8. мимо ехал купец на слоне;

9. позволь мне собрать их, пока ты не начал подметать;

10. хозяин долго торговался с мальчиком

2. Answer the questions:

1. Was the parrot a member of a poor peasant’s family?

2. What did the boy carry in his basket?

3. How did the boy decide to shorten his way to his family?

4. What happened during the boat trip?

5. Do you know the boy’s name? Why?

6. Why did the boy get an elephant instead of money?

7. Did the boy return home together with the parrot and the elephant?

8. Was the boy a good merchant?

3. Insert the articles where necessary:

1. _______ youngest son was _______ small and _______ weak boy.

2. Suddenly _______ old parrot sat into _______ boat.

3. _______ old man was washing some golden and yellow clothes.

4. _______ merchant was riding his elephant pass _______ banana-tree. _______ merchant decided to buy that tree.

5. _______ uncle, here is your purse with money for your clothes.

6. We saw _______ banana-trees in _______ sun. _______ trees looked beautiful.

7. “What are you carrying in _______ basket?” – the lady asked the boy.

4. Discuss these questions:

1. Do you think the boy was very good in business? Why or why not?

2. What could have happened if the boy and the parrot parted?

5. Retell the legend as if you were:

a) the boy’s brother;

b) the old man;

c) the innkeeper;

d) the parrot

Key:

3. 1. The; a; a; 2. an; the; 3. An; 4. A; a (the); The; 5. –; 6. –; the; The; 7. the