The Merchant and the Talking Parrot (from One Thousand and One Nights)

In a busy market town, there lived a merchant named Hasan. He sold bright cloth and sweet-smelling spices in a little shop near the fountain. He lived above the shop with his daughter, Layla, who was seven years old and full of ideas.

One day, Hasan came home from a long trip with a surprise. It was a golden cage, and inside it sat a bright green parrot with a red patch on her wing.

"Her name is Zumurrud," said Hasan. "It means emerald. And she is a very special bird. She can talk, and she remembers everything she sees."

"Good morning!" squawked Zumurrud. "Good morning! Pretty Layla!"

Layla laughed and clapped her hands. She loved Zumurrud at once.

Every day, Hasan went down to the shop, and Zumurrud stayed upstairs with Layla. Every evening, when Hasan came up for supper, he asked the parrot, "Zumurrud, what happened today?"

And Zumurrud told him everything. "Layla ate three figs! Layla watered the plants! Layla sang a song about a camel!"

Hasan would chuckle. "What a clever bird you are," he would say, and give Zumurrud a sunflower seed.

Layla thought this was funny at first. But soon, she found that it was not always so funny. Zumurrud told Hasan when Layla forgot to make her bed. She told him when Layla put her sandals on the wrong feet. She even told him when Layla ate the last honey cake.

"Zumurrud," said Layla one morning, "you are a terrible tattletale."

"Tattletale!" squawked Zumurrud happily. She liked new words.

One afternoon, Layla wanted to help her father. He had a big blue vase on the shelf, his favorite. It had belonged to his own mother. Layla thought it would look even prettier with flowers in it. She climbed onto a stool and reached for the vase. The stool wobbled. The vase slipped from her fingers. Crash! It broke into three big pieces on the floor.

Layla's tummy felt cold and twisty. "Oh no," she whispered. "Father loves that vase."

"Crash!" squawked Zumurrud. "Vase broke! Layla broke the vase!"

Layla looked at the parrot. She knew that as soon as her father came home, Zumurrud would tell him everything. Layla did not want her father to be sad. And she did not want him to be cross with her.

So she thought of a plan.

She hid the pieces of the vase in a basket under her bed. Then she hung a big dark blanket over Zumurrud's cage, so it was dark inside, like night. She took a pot and a wooden spoon and banged them together. Bong, bong, bong! "Thunder!" she said in a deep voice. She sprinkled water from a cup over the blanket. Drip, drip, drip! "Rain!" she said. She waved a big fan up and down. Whoosh, whoosh! "Wind!"

She did this for a long time, until her arms were tired. Then she took the blanket off the cage. Outside, the sun was shining as bright as ever.

That evening, Hasan came upstairs. "Zumurrud," he said, "what happened today?"

"Big storm!" squawked Zumurrud. "Thunder! Rain! Wind! Dark all day!"

Hasan frowned. "A storm? But it was sunny all day. I was sitting by the fountain. There was not a single cloud."

"Big storm!" said Zumurrud again. "And vase broke! Layla broke the vase!"

Hasan looked up at the shelf. The vase was gone. Then he looked at the parrot and shook his head. "Zumurrud, you must be confused today. There was no storm. Maybe you are wrong about the vase too." He looked at Layla. "Do you know where my blue vase is, my dear?"

Layla's mouth opened. She could say she did not know. Her father would believe her. Zumurrud would get no sunflower seed, and everyone would think the parrot told silly stories.

Layla looked at Zumurrud. The parrot's feathers drooped. Hasan had not given her a seed. She looked sad and puzzled, because she had only told what she heard.

Layla's cheeks grew hot. Her plan had worked. But it did not feel good at all. It felt even worse than breaking the vase.

"Father," she said in a small voice. "Zumurrud is not confused. There was no storm. I made it. I banged a pot for thunder and sprinkled water for rain. I did it so you would not believe her. Because she was telling the truth. I broke your vase."

She went to her room and came back with the basket. Inside were the three blue pieces.

Hasan was quiet for a moment. Then he knelt down and looked at Layla. "Why did you take down the vase?"

"I wanted to put flowers in it for you," said Layla. "I am sorry."

Hasan hugged her tight. "Thank you for telling me the truth," he said. "That was harder than breaking a vase. And it is worth much more."

Then he picked up the three pieces. "Look," he said. "They broke cleanly. Tomorrow we will take them to the potter, and he will mend them with golden glue. The vase will have golden lines on it, and every time we see them, we will remember today."

Layla smiled. Then she turned to the cage. "I am sorry too, Zumurrud," she said. "You were not a tattletale. You were just telling the truth."

Hasan gave Zumurrud two sunflower seeds instead of one. "Truth!" squawked Zumurrud happily, cracking the seeds. "Truth! Pretty Layla!"

The next day, the potter mended the vase with shining gold along every crack. Hasan put it back on the shelf, lower this time, so Layla could reach it safely. Layla filled it with yellow flowers.

And that evening, when Hasan asked, "Zumurrud, what happened today?" the parrot said, "Sunny day! Flowers in the vase! Layla told the truth!"