The Brave Little Parrot

Source: Buddhist Legend

(Rafe Martin's Adoption)

LITERAL COMPREHENSION:

"The Brave Little Parrot" is taken out from Buddhist legend. This short story deals about the importance of continuous helpful effort done by a little parrot to other creatures in the jungle.

Long ago, the Buddha was born as a little parrot and went to live in the jungle. One day, there was lightning, and the thunder struck the jungle, and the fire took the jungle in its grip. All the birds flew away to save their lives. Many animals got trapped on the flames and smoke. While the parrot was flying to the rivers, he saw on the way that many animals were trapped in the fire. The little parrot saw the plight of the animals. He was kind and brave. Not being able to tolerate the sufferings of animals, the little parrot made a plan to save their lives. The parrot flew towards the river, dived into the water, flew back and dropped the water of his body over the fire. But the water disappeared before reaching the fire. He continued his effort. Though it was too tired, the little parrot repeatedly went to the river & came back with drops of water with the hope of extinguishing fire. His wings and legs burn, his eyes became red like burning coals, his lungs ached and he felt giddiness (dizziness). Meanwhile some gods were watching all this from heaven. They thought that parrot was foolish and laughed at his fruitless effort but one of the gods was worried about parrot. So he disguised as golden eagle and came to the parrot. He advised the little parrot to give up his effort and save himself. But the little parrot replied that he needed help than any advice. The answer of the parrot melted the heart of the golden eagle; he felt ashamed & began to weep. The tears of the eagle came down on the earth as a cool rain and put out the fire. Miraculously the tears gave new life to everything including parrot. The fire was extinguished. New life sprung where the tears fell on. All the dead animals & the plants got their life back as if nothing had happened in the jungle. Multicolored feathers grew on the parrot’s body and he looked very handsome. The revived animals thanked the little parrot very much.

INTERPRETATION:

The writer may be trying to show the importance of selfless service. This beautiful story is probably trying to give the message that we can get success at the end if we continue our efforts without any hesitation. Because of its strong determination, the little parrot got victory over the deadly fire. Similarly, it also tells us that even the God has to bend its head in front of little creature like parrot if it takes the path of selfless welfare.

CRITICAL THINKING:

Though this story teaches very good moral lesson, some ideas of the writer are not convincing. The story is successful in spreading the Buddhist philosophy of social welfare. But a lot of questions emerge in the mind of a critical reader. Do Gods exist? If so, what is the proof of them? Can the Buddha really disguise as a parrot? Can the birds like the parrot have the feeling of help? Can the drops of tears put out such big forest’s fire? Can once dead animals and plants revive? So these are some of the situations in the story that are not agreeable.

ASSIMILATION:

The story is based on a myth. The story beautifully draws the Buddhist philosophy of ‘live and let live.’ After reading the story, I truly understood the value of living in a society. We are growing selfish these days. The story teaches us the principle of community service. Before reading this story I used to laugh at others troubles and I didn't use to help needed people and animals. But this story brought great change in my thought and behavior. I also learn that we should devote ourselves in the selfless social service to become great person. The story motivates its readers to be laborious, and help the others in need. Value of brotherhood is glorified in the story.

Comments

CONTENTS OF THE DEAD MAN’S POCKET

Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket is a short story by Jack Finney , originally published by both Good Housekeeping and Collier’s in 1956 . The story is a suspenseful tale of a man who travels onto a hazardous window ledge (ridge) to retrieve the papers he believes will make his career. Finney was a prolific (creative) writer, recognized for his science fiction novels The Body Snatchers and Time and Again , as well as thrillers, such as 5 Against the House . The story begins with protagonist Tom Benecke at a desk in the living room of his eleventh-floor apartment in New York City. He is preparing to type up a handwritten memo to be distributed to his office. He finds small ways to distract himself from starting. First, he tries to open a window, but it isn’t easily opened. He has to use quite a bit of force on the frame. Once the window is open, he continues to ignore the typewriter, crossing the room to talk t...

BBS First Year English Question Paper with Possible Answers (TU 2021)

FORMULAS OF ALL THE 12 TENSES

S + V + O || Subject + Verb + Object Simple Past Tense S + Past Form of the Verb + O E.g. He wrote a letter. Past Continuous Tense S + was/were + V + ING + O E.g. I was writing a letter. Past Perfect Tense S + had + Past Participle (PP.) of the Verb + O E.g. She had written a letter. Past Perfect Continuous Tense S + had been + V + ING + O + since/for E.g. We had been writing a letter since morning. Simple Present Tense S + V + O E.g. You write a letter. Present Continuous Tense S + is/am/are + V + ING + O E.g. She is writing a letter. Present Perfect Tense S + has/have + Past Participle (PP.) of the Verb + O E.g. They have written a letter. Present Perfect Continuous Tense S + has been/have been + V + ING + O + since/for E.g. You have been writing a letter for three hours. Simple Future Tense S + will/shall + V + O E.g. We shall write a letter. Future Continuous Tense S +...

Summary and Analysis of Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros

ONLY DAUGHTER -Sandra Cisneros Born into a working-class family in 1954, Sandra Cisneros was the daughter of a Mexican-American mother and a Mexican father. Only Daughter originally appeared in Glamour magazine in 1990. Cisneros through this essay describes the difficulties of growing up as the only daughter in a Mexican-American family of six sons. Historically, sons have been valued over daughters in most cultures, as reflected in the following proverbs: “A house full of daughters is like a cellar full of sour beer” (Dutch); “Daughters pay nae [no] debts” (Scottish); “A stupid son is better than a crafty daughter” (Chinese); and “A virtuous son is the sun of his family” (Sanskrit). Contemporary research suggests that while the preference for male children has diminished considerably in industrialised nations, a distinct preference for sons continues among many cultures in Asia and the Middle East, raising concerns among medical ethicists worldwide. And, even within ...

Summary and Analysis of My Mother Never Worked

MY MOTHER NEVER WORKED Bonnie Smith - Yackel SYNOPSIS In the essay “ My Mother Never Worked ,” Bonnie Smith-Yackel recollects the time when she called Social Security to claim her mother’s death benefits. Social Security places Smith-Yackel on hold so they can check their records on her mother, Martha Jerabek Smith . While waiting, she remembers the many things her mother did, and the compassion her mother felt towards her husband and children. When Social Security returns to the phone, they tell Smith-Yackel that she could not receive her mother’s death benefits because her mother never had a wage-earning job. A tremendous amount of irony is used in this essay. The title, in itself, is full of irony; it makes readers curious about the essay’s point and how the author feels about the situation. Smith-Yackel uses the essay to convey her opinion of work. Her thesis is not directly stated; however, she uses detail upon detail to prove her mother did work, just not in the eyes of ...

PROFESSIONS FOR WOMEN - Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

Summary : Virginia Adeline Woolf (1882-1941) was an English novelist and essayist, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century. She was one of the leaders in the literary movement of modernism. The speech of Professions for Women was given in 1931 to the Women’s Service League by Virginia Woolf. It was also included in Death of a Moth and Other Essays in 1942. Throughout the speech, Virginia Woolf brings forward a problem that is still relevant today: gender inequality . Woolf’s main point in this essay was to bring awareness to the phantoms (illusions) and obstacles women face in their jobs. Woolf argues that women must overcome special obstacles to become successful in their careers. She describes two hazards she thinks all women who aspire to professional life must overcome: their tendency to sacrifice their own interests to those of others and their reluctance (hesitancy) to challenge c...

Summary and Analysis of THE HIDDEN LIFE OF GARBAGE by Heather Rogers

THE HIDDEN LIFE OF GARBAGE Heather Rogers Journalist Heather Rogers has written articles on the environmental effects of mass production and consumption for the New York Times Magazine, the Utne Reader, Architecture, and a variety of other publications. Her 2002 documentary film Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage has been screened at festivals around the world and served as the basis for a book of the same title. Named an Editor’s Choice by the New York Times and the Guardian, the book, published in 2005, traces the history and politics of household garbage in the United States, drawing connections between modern industrial production, consumer culture, and our contemporary throwaway lifestyle. Americans produce the most waste of any people on Earth, says Rogers, but few of us ever think about where all that trash goes. Rogers endeavours to show the inner workings of the waste stream, from the garbage...

THIRD THOUGHTS - E.V. Lucas, England (1868-1938)

E.V. Lucas, England (1868-1938) The story ‘ Third Thoughts ’ by E.V. Lucas (1868-1938) is a great satire of the common human mentality. This story was told to Lucas by his friend who had a business especially buying at dearer (higher) prices and selling at cheap. However, he always used to bear the loss. He used to think that one day luck would favour him. As he thought, once he earned abnormal profit by selling Turner’s panting at 50 pounds which he had bought at only 10 shillings from a curio (Something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting) shop at Cathedral city . He was really happy and excited for the first time in his business so he wanted to share half of his profit with the dealer. But since he had no stamps to send the parcel, he went to the bed. When he woke up at 3.30 am, again he began to think that sharing half of the profit is not a good idea because no one had done this to him yet. Then he thought of giving ten pounds. Due to unexpectedly earning an abnormal ...

THE LADY WITH THE DOG (1899)

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) Ø Tells the story of an affair o Wealthy Banker ( Dmitry Gurov ) o Young Wife ( Anna ) Ø Builds off of what is expected o Affair was thought to be a quick experience o These characters were surprised to find that not the case o Specially the Banker Ø After short affair they meet again o Rekindle their relationship o Develop a new chapter in their lives o Discover themselves Ø The writer presents the Theme and Ideas o Progression of Character: § Moving from stereotype to developed § Dmitri: Rich playboy with no depth becomes entwined with Anna. § Anna: Moves from The Lady with the Dog to someone with a name. · Relates to getting to know people as well as individual development. o Open Ending and the Ability t...

A PAINFUL CASE

James Joyce Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. The stories depict a naturalistic Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20 th century. CHARACTERS: James Duffy Mrs Emily Sinico Captain Sinico (Ship Captain) Mary In A Painful Case by James Joyce we have the theme of loneliness, isolation, guilt, order and paralysis. Taken from his Dubliners collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early on in the story the reader realises that Joyce, through the use of colour, is highlighting to the reader how lonely the main character, James Duffy ’s life is a middle-aged bachelor without family or friends, is a cashier in a private bank and lives a Spartan (simple) existence in a Dublin suburb. He dislikes physical and mental disorder, ignores beggars’ pleas for alms (charities), and does not attend church. Hi...

Subodh Bhattarai (English & Communication Notes)

Search This Blog