The Beautiful Birds

 Two young and pretty parrots were seated on the topmost branch of a tree. They started a quarrel. Each one claimed that he was more beautiful than the other. They argued angrily and were about to attack each other physically. Then they heard an affectionate call from a lower branch of the same tree.

                 A cunning cat was seated there, watching the conflict carefully with intense interest. He tried to console the birds with his apparently pleasing words. "Do not fight, my dear birds", he told them. "I will tell you who is more beautiful. We will have a beauty contest. I will be your judge. Please come close to me so that I can examine you clearly and pronounce my just judgment."

                 Excited on hearing this offer, the foolish birds moved towards the cat. They were blind with envy and enmity and could not realize the real aim of the cunning cat. Suddenly the mother parrot reached the scene. She sensed the imminent danger and immediately pushed the young parrots away. She gave a stern warning to them to fly away. Seated safely on the highest branch, she convinced the parrots that the cat was actually planning to pounce on them and eat them as soon as they came near him. They realized their mistake and breathed a sigh of relief. They thanked their mother for arriving in time to save them. They were really sorry for losing their senses by their ignorance and arrogance. The mother drew them close to her body and told them affectionately, "Listen, children, both of you are equally beautiful. Try to love and appreciate each other. No one wins by an argument."

                Jesus taught that real beauty is a gift of God: "Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. It is God who clothes the wild grass.."{Matthew 6: 28-30}.

                St. Peter teaches us, "You should not use outward aids to make yourselves beautiful, such as the way you do your hair, or the jewellery you put on, or the dresses you wear. Instead, your beauty should consist of  your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God's sight" {1 Peter 3: 3, 4}.

© By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India. For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit my web-site: http://www.moralstorieschristian.blogspot.com