The Parrot and The Crafty Maid
Once, there lived a merchant. He was rich, but not married. He had a big house and lived with all comforts. He trusted all his servants. Yet, he found that some of the things kept at home were missing! He did not know how to find the culprit among the few servants.
One day, he saw a parrot that was kept inside a cage for sale in front of a shop. And there was a note pinned on to the cage
It reads….
Want to protect your home against possible pilferage? Here is the talking Parrot! Take it home. It can keep the servants under surveillance. Its price is 25 gold coins only! ”
“This is it!” thought the merchant. “It will be useful to me!” He bought the parrot and took it home. He hung the cage in the living room so that the parrot could see almost all the rooms! But he did not say a word about this talking parrot to anybody.
The parrot quickly remembered all the faces! Among many servants, there was a maid. She was a full-time servant over there. One day, soon after the merchant had left home in the morning, the servant-maid looked around as usual.
She saw a new flower vase in one corner. It tempted her! Taking a quick look around, she picked it up and she packed it. Then when her eight-year-old son came to see her, she passed it on to him, “Take it home and hide it,” she said.
The boy left with the stolen vase. But they did not escape the eyes of the parrot. It remained quiet. When the merchant returned home in the evening, he noticed that the flower vase was missing!
Turning to the parrot, he enquired who had taken it.
“It is your servant maid, master. She stole it and gave it to her son who took it home!” replied the parrot.
The annoyed merchant called the servant maid and asked her “I did not take anything, master!” she spoke up innocently.
The merchant, who expected this answer from her, asked the parrot once again “I told you. It is the servant-maid who had stolen it from here and handed it over to her son. If you go to their house and check, you will find the flower vase over there!” the parrot said.
It rattled the servant maid! She never knew that the parrot could talk. She denied the charges, saying that the parrot was wrong “No. It won’t speak false,” the master snapped.
“Do not believe it, master. I can prove you that it is wrong!” she maintained. The merchant let it drift.
The servant-maid wanted to prove that the parrot was wrong. That afternoon, she got an idea. Her intention was to fool the parrot!
It was summer and there was no sign of rain! That afternoon, she implemented her plan. She placed an empty tin under the cage. Next, she took a rope and tied both ends to the window grill with a sieve at the center. Exactly over the cage, satisfied, she brought a bucket of water.
Then she did that funny thing! She beat the drum, raising a deafening noise!
She poured the water over the sieve that began dripping on the parrot inside the cage. Finally, she brought a mirror and stood near the window.
Positioning herself, through the mirror, she reflected the sunlight against the parrot that shifted its glance away! She kept doing that for some time. Then she gave up.
She removed the empty tin, rope, and sieve. She also wiped the wet floor! She was certain that she had fooled the parrot. Keeping the mirror back in its place, she surveyed the scene.
When the merchant returned home in the evening, he went straight to the parrot. The maid too had joined him. The merchant asked the parrot “Was there any pilferage?”
“Nothing,” replied the innocent parrot. “This afternoon there was a thunderstorm. Severe rain followed I got soaked in the rain!” the parrot shuddered.
The maid laughed. “See, he is lying. I told you that he always tells lies!” smiled the crafty maid.
The merchant got annoyed with the parrot. He grabbed the cage and tossed it out! The poor parrot flew off aimlessly!