There once was a very great king and queen who ruled over a flock of beautiful parakeets. This king and queen were growing old and becoming weak with increasingly poor sight. Fortunately they had a son. Their son was a magnificent parakeet with remarkable feathers and a good heart. The king and queen called their son and told him that it was his time to leas the flock to eat, since they were no longer strong enough to handle the task. Understanding their situation, he dutifully agreed and promised to care for them as well, just as they had cared for him when he was younger.
A wealthy man owned thousands of acres of rice fields surrounding the hill atop which the parakeets made their home. Eager to please his parents, the young parakeet noticed some ripe rice at the bottom of the hill and led the flock to feast. Now a field hand in the employ of the landowner saw this and was very displeased. You see he was in charge of tending the rice fields and did not like the birds on the property, so he attempted to chase them away. Of course, the young parakeet simply led the others to another spot in the fields.
As the field hand grew more and more frustrated he also became quite nervous that the landowner would suspect him of having taken the missing rice. So, he began to study the habits of the parakeets. Much to his surprise, he noticed that the most exquisitely beautiful of all the parakeets was not only feeding on the rice, but also gathering rice and flying off with it. He had never seen anything like this before.
Completely confused about what to do, the field hand went to the landowner to tell him the story of the beautiful bird that was stealing the rice. The landowner was not the least concerned with the rice, but very interested in the bird that was collecting it and ordered the field hand to set a trap to catch the bird and bring him back alive.
The next time the parakeet brought his flock to feed, he accidentally stepped into the trap. It tightened around his leg and caused him severe pain, yet he thought to himself that crying out would only frighten away the others, so he kept quiet until the last bird had eaten his fill. Finally he cried out an alarm that set the birds flying in all directions and caught the attention of the filed hand who was tremendously please to see that he had caught the very bird he was seeking.
When the field hand presented the young parakeet to the landowner, the landowner asked why the bird had been taking the rice. He was most curious to find out if the bird had a farm of his own or if this was based on animosity towards the landowner. The young parakeet responded that neither was the case, but that out of duty and obligation to his aging parents, he was simply bringing them some food that they were unable to attain for themselves.
Upon hearing the story, the landowner was so moved that he untied the bird and anointed his legs with oils to heal the damage done by the leather straps. He then told the bird that he had never known such noble and worthy actions before and that for that very reason all of the parakeets would be welcome to feast on his rice whenever they desired.
Before the parakeet left, the landowner thanked him for teaching him the love and respect that should always be demonstrated by a good son for his parents.
* * *
