Once king Krishnadeva Raya had a parrot of which he was excessively fond. He kept it in a silver cage and fed it fruit and nuts and anything else the bird asked for. The parrot longed for freedom and often asked for it but the king would always reply, “Ask for anything else.” One day, the parrot said to the king, “Give me freedom and I’ll give you three pieces of advice that could be of great benefit to you.” The king loved the parrot but he loved money more. The parrot said, “Never believe everything that is told to you. What you don’t know is that I’ve two priceless gems in my stomach,” said the bird. “Two priceless gems,” echoed the king, “Oh, what a fool I was to set you free! I’ll regret this for the rest of my life!” “I advised you never to grieve over losses but here you are grieving over losing me,” said the parrot, “I advised you never to believe everything you hear but you immediately believed me when I told you I had two gems in my stomach. Could I have survived if I really had two gems in my stomach?”
My third advice is, “Listen, learn to listen with your mind instead of just with your ears.” Saying these words, the parrot flew away.
