In ancient times, there lived in the land of Ache a young man named Mysykin. One day he went into the forest for firewood and saw many bird nests on one tree. He looked closely and saw that these were nests of long-tailed parrots. “Ha, they will be useful to me,” thought Mysykin. “If I catch all these birds, I can probably sell them for a good price and use the proceeds to buy clothes and betel nuts for my mother.”
The next day, Mysykin took the glue and went into the forest again. I climbed up that tree, poured a little glue into each nest and, satisfied, returned home. “Tomorrow all these birds will be in my hands,” thought Mysykin.
And the long-tailed parrots were far away at that time, looking for food. In the evening they returned to their nests, settled down for the night and only then noticed that everything around them was smeared with some kind of glue.
“Hey, my friends,” one was alarmed, “don’t you think you’re stuck to the nest?”
“Yes, it’s true, I feel like I can’t move anymore,” answered the other.
“It’s the same with me,” said the third.
- My friends, it was no other than a man who was here today! - exclaimed the Raja of the parakeets. “He poured glue into our nests so that we could not tear ourselves away from the nests and it would be easier for him to catch us. But don't worry - I know what we need to do. Listen: let the man come tomorrow morning, and we will all pretend to be dead. We will lie motionless, and he will think that we are really dead, and will begin to throw one at a time to the ground. Each of us will have to count how many birds are already lying on the ground, and when there are ninety-nine, we must all take off at once. Got it?
- Got it! – the long-tailed parrots answered in one voice.
Indeed, the next day Mysykin came to the tree where the birds lived. His heart was beating so hard it was as if the birds were already fluttering in his hands. He climbed the tree - and what? All the parrots, smeared with glue, lie dead and do not move! Mysykin was very upset and angrily began to throw the birds to the ground. The nest of the Rajah of parakeets was at the very top. When Mysykin finally got to him, the knife suddenly slipped out of his hands and fell down. The parrots decided that it was their rajah who had been thrown to the ground, and at once they rose into the air. But here, oh horror! - they see that the Raja is still in the nest! What should we do now? After all, what has been done cannot be undone. And Mysykin, seeing that the birds, which he considered dead, flew up at once, realized that the long-tailed parrots had deceived him, and became very angry.
“Well, be careful, you won’t fool me next time,” he grumbled and looked around. - Yeah, here's another one! Well, you really can't get away from me.
Cheerful again, Mysykin moved closer to the last nest. “What a beautiful parrot! Maybe he is the Raja of these birds,” thought Mysykin and said to the parrot:
“You can’t escape from me - I’ll take you home and give you to your mother so she can fry you.”
The Raja was frightened: this is an unfortunate fate - to die in the hands of a man! He got stuck in the nest, but the glue did not let him come off.
- Woe is me! - The Raja of the Long-tailed Parrots sighed and surrendered to Mysykin.
Mysykin carried the bird home, and on the way the Raja of the parakeets said to Mysykin in a weak voice:
- Sir, don’t kill me, but leave me in your house - then you will get rich and live happily.
-Are you telling the truth? – Mysykin didn’t believe it.
- Why should I deceive my master? Mysykin obeyed and, returning home, put the bird in a beautiful cage, painted green and yellow. Immediately all the long-tailed parrots - subjects of the rajah - flocked to Mysykin’s house and sat on the ridge of the roof.
The Raja of the Parakeets was very handsome, and his fame soon spread throughout the state. Thousands of people came to Mysykin’s house to look at the beautiful bird. The parrot's voice was melodious and soft, and everyone who ever heard it could no longer forget it. People brought delicious food, money, and expensive clothes to Mysykin’s house. Of course, not all of this was intended for the Raja of the parakeets - most of it went to his owner. So in a short time Mysykin became rich.
Meanwhile, the Raja of that country heard about the beautiful long-tailed parrot and ordered his servant to bring Mysykin to him along with the bird. The messenger appeared to Mysykin, and he, dressed in his best clothes, went to the palace. He carried the bird in a beautiful cage. As soon as he appeared before the Raja, he wanted to listen to the bird sing. The long-tailed parrot began to sing, and his gentle voice either died away like a forest breeze, or rang like a pipe. The Raja and all his associates experienced unspeakable pleasure. They had never heard such singing before. And when the parrot fell silent, the Raja asked Mysykin to sell him the bird. At first Mysykin did not know what to do, but the long-tailed parrot told him:
“Sell me to the rajah, sir, you will not suffer a loss, on the contrary, your wealth will increase even more.”
Mysykin listened to the bird and sold it to the Raja for a thousand rupees. With this big money and gifts from the Raja, Mysykin returned to his village. He healed even better, he gained even more goods.
And the long-tailed parrot has now settled in the palace. His cage was made of pure gold, there was plenty of delicious food - what more could you want for complete happiness? But the parrot was impatient to return to his subjects, and he was constantly thinking about how he could escape from the cage. And then one day he decided to resort to the same trick - he pretended to be dead, fell and froze without moving. The Raja was very sad when he saw that his bird had died. Tears flowed from his eyes.
- Oh, woe is me, I will no longer hear your sweet singing! - the rajah lamented sadly.
It was painful for him to lose his beloved friend, but tears cannot help grief, and the rajah ordered the dead bird to be buried with great honors. One of his servants took the parrot to a lawn where there were many flowers, where he was to be buried. But as soon as the servant put the bird on the ground and began to dig the grave, the parrot immediately soared into the sky. His joy knew no bounds: now he is free again! And he went to look for his subjects - other long-tailed parrots.
So the cunning parrot regained its freedom.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru