WHY THE PARROT REPEATS THE WORDS OF MEN.
In the olden times when the earth was young, all the birds knew the language of men and could talk with them. Everybody liked the parrot, because he always told things as they were, and they called him the bird that tells the truth.
This bird that always told the truth lived with a man who was a thief, and one night the man killed another man's ox and hid its flesh.
When the other man came to look for it in the morning, he asked the thief, "Have you seen my ox?"
"No, I have not seen it," said the man.
"Is that the truth?" the owner asked.
"Yes, it is. I have not seen the ox," repeated the man.
"Ask the parrot," said one of the villagers. "He always tells the truth."
"O bird of truth," said they to the parrot, "did this man kill an ox and hide its flesh?"