One day a parrot and a cowrie shell got together to build a house for themselves and argued about whose house would be better.
The cowrie built her home entirely from cowries, and the parrot from feathers, which he was allowed to pluck from his tails by several parrots.
When both houses were ready, the cowrie saw that the parrot had a more beautiful home. Then the cowrie called her bird friends and said to them:
- Let's steal the parrot's house!
But the parrot had no friends among the birds: how could he know about the dishonest conspiracy? In addition, he promised to pay the parrots for plucked feathers, and now he had to work especially hard and diligently.
One day a parrot went on business, and left his friend the frog to guard the house.
It was then that the cowries decided to steal away his house. They came and did not forget to call the birds with them.
The frog got scared, grabbed the flute and started blowing it!
The parrot heard - and ran home! He approaches the house and shouts:
- Here I am, here I am! Now I’ll catch everyone and tear them to pieces!
And grab the first one you come across.
The next day, the cowries incited the hawk to go on a robbery. And again the frog gave a signal. And again the parrot dealt with the robber.
The third time, the little bird Aroni volunteered to go steal the parrot's house.
Cowries say:
- Where are you going? You're too young!
“I just have to try and you’ll see!” - Aroni insists. And she also asks to give her seven cowries with her.
Aroni went to the market, bought all sorts of things there, more pepper, and, tying everything in a bundle, went straight to the frog, who was again guarding the house of his friend - the parrot.
“I heard that you are very skilled in playing the flute.” Let me look at her,” Aroni asked, turning to the frog.
She, not sensing a trick, handed her the flute. The bird twirls the flute as if examining it, and she herself threw everything she bought at the market into the pipe. Then, returning the flute to the frog, she suddenly began to grab the parrot’s house more comfortably!
The frog quickly grabs the flute, but the flute is silent!
So Aroni managed to steal away the parrot’s home.
The parrot returned home, but there was no home!
Then he went to the cowries. There were as many as seven doors in the cowrie house, and the seventh was iron.
The parrot began to hammer at these doors. He broke one with his beak, another, a third, and so on until the seventh. And the seventh is iron! - the parrot does not give in, no matter how hard he tries! Even the beak was bent!
This is why the parrot has a crooked beak.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru