The Brave Little Parrot

The Brave Little Parrot

(The) Buddhism Courage Folk tales Generosity of Spirit

Once, long ago, the Buddha was born as a little parrot. One day a storm fell upon his forest home. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and a dead tree, struck by lightning, burst into flames. Sparks leapt on the wind and soon the forest was ablaze. Terrified animals ran wildly in every direction, seeking safety from the flames and smoke.

"Fire! Fire!" cried the little parrot. "To the river!" Flapping his wings, he flung himself out into the fury of the storm and, rising higher, flew towards the safety of the river. But as he flew he could see that many animals were trapped, surrounded by the flames below, with no chance of escape.

Suddenly a desperate idea, a way to save them, came to him. He darted to the river, dipped himself in the water, and flew back over the now raging fire. The heat rising up from the burning forest was like the heat of an oven. The thick smoke made breathing almost unbearable. A wall of flames shot up on one side, and then the other. Crackling flames leapt before him. Twisting and turning through the mad maze of fire, the little parrot flew bravely on. At last, when he was over the center of the forest, he shook his wings and released the few drops of water which still clung to his feathers. The tiny drops tumbled down like jewels into the heart of the blaze and vanished with a hissssssssss.

Then the little parrot once more flew back through the flames and smoke to the river, dipped himself in the cool water, and flew back again over the burning forest. Back and forth he flew, time and time again, from the river to the forest, from the burning forest to the river. His feathers were charred. His feet were scorched. His lungs ached. His eyes, stung by smoke, turned red as coals. His mind spun dizzily as the spinning sparks. But still the little parrot flew on.

At this time, some of the devas—gods of a happy realm—were floating overhead in their cloud palaces of ivory and gold. They happened to look down. And they saw the little parrot flying among the flames. They pointed at him with perfect hands. Between mouthfuls of honeyed foods they exclaimed, "Look at that foolish bird! He's trying to put out a raging forest fire with a few sprinkles of water! How absurd!" And they laughed.

But one of those gods, strangely moved, changed himself into a golden eagle and flew down, down towards the little parrot's fiery path.

The little parrot was just nearing the flames again when the great eagle with eyes like molten gold appeared at his side. "Go back, little bird!" said the eagle in a solemn and majestic voice. "Your task is hopeless! A few drops of water can't put out a forest fire! Cease now and save yourself—before it is too late."

But the little parrot only continued to fly on through the smoke and flames. He could hear the great eagle flying above him as the heat grew fiercer, calling out, "Stop, foolish little parrot! Save yourself! Save yourself!"

"I don't need a great, shining eagle," coughed the little parrot, "to give me advice like that. My own mother, the dear bird, might have told me such things long ago. Advice! (cough, cough), I don't need advice. I just (cough), need someone to help."

And the god, who was that great eagle, seeing the little parrot flying through the flames, thought suddenly of his own privileged kind. He could see them high up above. There they were, the carefree gods, laughing and talking, while many animals cried out in pain and fear from the flames below. And he grew ashamed. Then one single desire was kindled in his heart. God though he was, he just wanted to be like that brave little parrot, and to help.

"I will help!" he exclaimed and, flushed with these new feelings, he began to weep. Stream after stream of sparkling tears poured from his eyes. Wave upon wave, they washed down like cooling rain upon the fire, upon the forest, upon the animals and upon the little parrot himself.

The flames died down and the smoke began to clear. The little parrot, washed and bright, rocketed about the sky laughing for joy. "Now that's more like it!" he exclaimed.

The eagle's tears dripped from burned branches. Smoke rose up from the scorched earth. Miraculously, where those tears glistened, new life pushed forth—fresh shoots, stems, and leaves. Green grass pushed up from among still glowing cinders.

Where the teardrops sparkled on the parrot's wings, new feathers now grew. Red feathers, green feathers, yellow feathers—such bright colors! Such a handsome bird!

All the animals looked at one another in amazement. They were whole and well. Not one had been harmed. Up above in the clear blue sky they could see their brave friend, the little parrot, looping and soaring in delight. When all hope was gone, somehow he had saved them. "Hurray!" they cried. "Hurray for the brave little parrot and for the miraculous rain!"

Literal Comprehension

The story of "The Brave Little Parrot" is based on Buddhist folklore. This short story is on the value of a small parrot's continuous efforts to help other jungle creatures.

The Buddha was born as a small parrot and lived in the wild for a long time. One day, lightning struck the jungle, thunder echoed across the bush, and fire engulfed the jungle. To save their lives, all of the birds flew away. Several animals became engulfed in the flames and smoke. While flying to the rivers, the parrot noticed a large number of creatures trapped in the fire. The animals' misery was noticed by the small parrot. He was a courageous and compassionate man. The small parrot, unable to bear the pain of animals, devised a scheme to rescue their lives. The parrot flew towards the river, dove into the water, and then flew back, dropping his body's water over the fire. However, the water evaporated before it reached the fire. He persisted in his efforts. Despite being exhausted, the little parrot went to the river and returned with drops of water in the hopes of extinguishing the fire. His wings and legs were scorching, his eyes were red as coals, his lungs hurt, and he was giddy (dizziness). Meanwhile, from above, some gods were watching everything. They laughed at parrot's futile effort and believed he was silly, but one of the gods was concerned about him. As a result, he disguised himself as a golden eagle and approached the parrot. He counseled the small parrot to abandon his efforts and save himself. However, the little parrot responded that he needed assistance rather than advice. The golden eagle's heart was broken by the parrot's response; he felt embarrassed and began to cry. The eagle's tears fell as a cold rain on the soil, extinguishing the fire. Everything, including the parrot, was miraculously revived by the tears.

The fire had been put out. Where the tears had fallen, new life had blossomed. As if nothing had happened in the jungle, all of the dead animals and vegetation sprang back to life. The parrot's body was covered with multicolored feathers, and he was quite attractive. The resurrected animals expressed their gratitude to the small parrot.

Interpretation

It's possible that the author is attempting to convey the value of unselfish service. This lovely narrative is most likely attempting to convey the lesson that if we persevere in our efforts, we will eventually succeed. The small parrot triumphed over the dangerous fire thanks to its unwavering perseverance. Similarly, it teaches us that even God must bow in front of a small creature such as a parrot if it chooses the path of unselfish welfare.

Critical Thinking

Despite the fact that this story teaches a valuable moral lesson, some of the author's ideas are not convincing. The narrative is effective in propagating the Buddhist social welfare ideology. However, a critical reader's mind is filled with numerous questions. Is it true that Gods exist? If that's the case, what evidence do you have that they exist? Is it possible for the Buddha to disguise himself as a parrot? Is it possible for birds, such as parrots, to experience a sense of assistance? Can a few tears put out such a large forest fire? Can animals and plants that were once dead come back to life? So these are a few of the unfavorable scenarios in the story.

Assimilation

The tale is based on a legend. The Buddhist idea of 'live and let live' is eloquently depicted in the story. After reading the narrative, I realized how important it is to live in a society. These days, we are becoming increasingly egotistical. The narrative shows us the value of giving back to the community. I used to laugh at other people's problems before reading this story, and I didn't aid people and animals in need. However, this event prompted significant changes in my thinking and actions. I also learned that in order to become great people, we must devote ourselves to unselfish social service. The story inspires readers to work hard and support those who are in need. The importance of brotherhood is emphasized in the story.

Keywords

• This story has been adapted from the Buddhist Legend by Rafe Martin. 
• It describes an event in Lord Buddha's previous life as a bird.
• Lord Buddha was a parrot in his previous life. 
• Once, because of thunder and lightning, the jungle where he lived in caught fire.
• The animals started running here and there to save their lives. 
• The parrot also flew away to the sea to save its life.
• But he was kind and could not see other animals and birds suffering from the blazing fire.
• Therefore, in an effort to put out the fire, he drowned himself into the river and came back to the fire to sprinkle the drops of water above it.
• He repeated this action several times, but it was impossible to quench the roaring fire in that way.
• His legs were slightly burnt. His lungs ached. His eyes were red. 
•  Some gods who lived in the happy place (heaven) were enjoying delicious food above in the sky.
• They didn’t pay attention to the sufferings of the animals and the birds.
• Moreover, they laughed at the parrot for his futile efforts. 
• But one of the gods felt sympathetic toward the parrot, disguised himself as a ferocious golden eagle and flew to the parrot.
• He advised the parrot to stop his silly act and save his own life.
• Despite the eagle’s effort, the parrot was not ready to stop sprinkling water drops to the burning flames. 
• The god looked at his fellow gods and felt ashamed for their apathy toward the suffering of animals and birds. 
• Therefore, he cried and his tear came out of his eyes as two powerful streams. 
• The fire was put out and everything was restored to the previous condition. 
• All the dead animals came alive again. The parrot also became hale and hearty again with red, green and yellow feathers.