Good Company and Bad Company

Two parrots had built their nest on a banyan tree. The female parrot laid two eggs in the nest. After sometime, the eggs latched. Two chicks came out of them. The parent birds took good care of them. After few weeks, the young birds were able to fly for some distances. The father bird said, “We have taken good care of our young ones. We have fed them well too. They have played together. They have learned to fly. Now they can take care of themselves. Let us slowly leave them to decide on their own."

Every morning the parent birds flew out to fetch food for the young birds. Then they returned in the evening with food for their young children. This was their lives went on for a while.

A hunter saw this behavior of these birds. He learned that the old birds went out in the morning. He decided to catch the young birds after the old birds would go away in the morning. As planned he caught the young birds. The young birds struggled their best to free themselves from the clutches of the hunter. One of the two young birds escaped from the hunter. The other bird was taken in a cage by the hunter to his house.

“I caught tow birds. But I lost one parrot," said the hunter to his children. And he further added to his children, “Keep this parrot safely in the cage and play with this parrot."

The hunter’s children played with the parrot. Very soon the parrot in the house of the hunter learnt to speak few words. The children said to their father, “Dad, our parrot has learnt to say a few words."

The other parrot flew away. It had escaped from the hunter. It flew for some time. Then it came to a hermitage. Some holy men lived in the hermitage. They did not do any harm to the young parrot. The young parrot stayed there. It listened to their talk. It learnt to say a few words.

A certain traveler was walking near the hunter’s hut. He was tires. He sat nest the hut. He heard the parrot speak. It said, “Fool, why have you come here? I will cut your throat."

The traveler was very sorry to hear such bad words. He got up immediately. He left the place in a hurry. Then he walked for some time and reached the hermitage. The parrot was sitting on a tree near the hermitage.

The parrot spoke, “Welcome, traveler. Welcome to this hermitage. We have a lot of good fruits in this forest. Eat whatever you like. The holy men will treat you well."

The traveler was surprised. He said to the parrot. “I met a young parrot near a hunter’s hut. It spoke badly. I left the place immediately. Now I have met you. You speak so well. Your words are kind and gentle. Both you and the other birds are parrots. Then why this difference in your language is there?"

By this statement, the parrot in the hermitage guessed that the other parrot was none other than its brother. The hermitage parrot said, “Traveler, the other parrot is my brother. But we have lived in two different places. My brother has learnt the hunter’s language. But I have learnt the language of holy people. It is the company that shapes your words and deeds."

Good company helps you learn good things. Bad company makes you lean bad things.