There was a king named Yash. A very old mango tree stood in his royal garden. Very sweet mangoes used to grow on that tree. The king liked that tree. Now the branches of the old tree were drying and dying. Very few mangoes grew on it.

The king thought of planting a new tree in its place. He ordered the minister to cut down the tree and plant a new mango sapling. The minister asked the woodcutter named ‘Shiva’ to axe the tree and clear the wood.

Shiva came with is axe to cut the tree down. Before his axe could start the cutting work, he saw a hollow in the trunk. A parrot sat inside with its two chicks.

The woodcutter said to the parrot, “Dear Parrot! Clear out and go to some other tree with your chicks. The king has ordered me to cut down this tree.”

The parrot spoke, “Look brother! I won’t go to any other tree. If you want to axe the tree, do so. I shall stay inside with my chicks.

The woodcutter thought that it was a silly bird. He warned, “ In a short time this tree will be cut down by my axe. You and the chicks will get hurt or killed. So. Take your chicks from this place. Go and look for some other tree. Hurry up!”

But the parrot ignored the warning and kept sitting inside along with its chicks. The woodcutter tried to shoo them away.It did not work. The woodcutter tried to make the parrot understand the situation. But the parrot refused to move.

Shiva was a kind hearted person, he didn’t want to kill the bird and its chicks. He went to the king and told him about the parrot. The king was also a person who loved animals and birds. So, the king went to the garden with the woodcutter to talk to the parrot.

He found the parrot and its two chicks sitting inside the hollow of the mango tree. He spoke to the parrot, “dear parrot! I want to plant a new tree in place of this old tree. Therefore, this tree has to be cut down to make place for the new one. You may go to some other tree with your chicks.”

The parrot said, “King! I won’t leave this tree.”

“But why? Don’t you want to stay alive? Your chicks might get killed,” the king remarked.

The parrot explained its position, “King! Every creature by nature wants to stay alive. So do I. But duty and loyalty is more important than one’s life. Only because of that I and my chicks are not leaving this tree.”

“What duty, dear parrot? Will you make it clear?” the king wanted to know.

The parrot said, “King! The duty of loyalty to a friend. This tree is my old friend. I was born inside the hollow of this very tree. I grew up under its care. It provided me food and branches to perch on. It stood by me through thick and thin. God knows from how many storms, rains, blizzards and hot summers it has sheltered me! Every summer it helps me raise a family of chicks as you see now. Today this friendly tree of mine has grown old and faces death.How can I leave it alone at such a troubled hour? If you want this tree cut down, you may go ahead. But we won’t leave. We have decided to stand by our friend even if it means death.”

The king was amazed at the parrot’s words of great wisdom and his spirit of loyalty to the old tree. He was deeply moved and spoke to the parrot, “ O parrot! I admire your loyalty to a friend. I promise you that we won’t ever touch this tee. I wish you long life and good luck.”

The king sent back the woodcutter.

Song

Tune – Mary had a little lamb..

gems, valuable gems
God has gifted valuable gems
They are five together.
Truth is what we think and say
Think and say, think and say,
Truth is what we think and say
And do the same in action.
If we practice morality
Loyalty in reality
If we practice morality- we
Feel the peace within.
Love is a tool, powerful tool
Sharing and caring tool
Love is a tool, powerful tool
Grows up by giving.
Non-violence a precious gift
Person needs, Nation needs
Non-violence a precious gift
Completes human values.