Once Mangoo was going out of town for some business. In those days, there was no means of telecommunication so the only way to convey one’s message was to send it through a person or by a letter. And if someone ever happened to travel out of town, he would always be loaded with several messages to convey to people.
Similarly, many people asked Mangoo to convey their messages and all this time his parrot watched him from its cage. Then, finding a good opportunity, the parrot requested him to convey a message to his far flung cousin parrots that lived on the branch of an old oak tree (which was quite famous for its height) in the town where Mangoo was going.
Mangoo asked, “What is your message, my dear parrot?”
The parrot replied, “Please tell my cousins that they are lucky as they can fly wherever they like, do whatever they want while I am bored sitting in a cage for so many years.”
Mangoo replied, “Very well then, I shall certainly deliver your message.”
In the town, when Mangoo, finished his errands, he conveyed all the messages including the one given by his parrot. The parrot’s cousins were shocked to know that their cousin was a captive. All of them suddenly dropped dead on the ground. Mangoo was awestruck by this and felt deeply sad for the dead parrots lying on the ground. He wondered, how he would tell the terrible news to his parrot…
When he returned home, his parrot inquired about his cousins. At first Mangoo was reluctant to give an answer but finally he narrated the painful event. Hearing that, his parrot also dropped dead. The man was heartbroken to see his dear parrot die. In his state of sorrow, he opened the cage and took out the dead parrot and held it in his palm but, to his utmost surprise, the parrot flew out of his hand and sat atop the branch of a nearby tree. Feeling a mixture of relief and anger, Mangoo asked the parrot what was all this about.
“My cousins didn’t die, it was a message to me that if I want liberty I have to pretend to die. I just followed their instruction and now I am free and can live like my cousins. Thank you for delivering both the messages.”
At this, Mangoo laughed at his own foolishness, while the parrot flew up in the sky towards his cousins’ abode.