ATale of Friendship, Jealousy, and Justice--

‎Once upon a time, in a forest, lived a mynah and a sparrow. They were very good friends. They played and worked together. One day, the sparrow flew far away. When she felt thirsty, she drank cold water from a spring flowing from a mountain. A few drops from the mountain fell on her beak. She felt her beak getting heavy. She shook her head here and there, but the weight on her beak wouldn't lessen. She asked the mountain, "Oh Mountain, why is there so much weight on my beak?" The mountain replied, "Little sparrow, I cry once a year. My tears are made of gold. When you drank the water, by chance, a few drops of my tears fell on your beak, and a golden shell formed over it." The sparrow returned home.

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‎The next day, all the birds were staring at the sparrow. The shine of her golden beak was extraordinary. Everyone asked the sparrow the secret of her golden beak. The innocent sparrow told the whole story. The sparrow became famous in the forest as the one with the golden beak. Everyone praised her beauty. All the other small birds also wished to befriend the sparrow.

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‎The mynah didn't like this. She became jealous of the sparrow's fame. She hated her black beak. She secretly went to that mountain several times. The whole day would pass, but neither did the mountain shed tears, nor did the mynah's beak turn golden. She constantly worried that either her beak should turn golden, or the sparrow's golden beak should be lost. The sparrow was unaware of the mynah's envious glances.

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‎One day, the mynah came to the sparrow's house and said, "Sparrow sister, how much love we had between us once. But ever since your beak turned golden, you have forgotten me." The sparrow replied, "Mynah, what kind of things are you saying? My beak may have turned golden, but I haven't changed. Don't feel bad." The mynah said, "If that's the case, then have dinner with me tomorrow night. We'll talk a lot, play, and swing on the branches of the tree." The sparrow said, "Of course, I'll come to your place tomorrow evening. On my way back at night, Uncle Firefly will drop me off at my nest." The mynah got a promise from the sparrow and flew away again, straight to Dr. Fox. Dr. Fox saw the mynah and said, "Come, mynah, how come you're here? Are you not well?" The mynah replied, "Doctor, I haven't been able to sleep for many days. I don't know where my sleep has gone. Please give me some sleeping medicine so I can sleep soundly for a day or two." The mynah took the sleeping medicine from Dr. Fox and went home. She placed the medicine in a corner of her nest and then fell into a deep sleep.

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‎The next day, even before the sparrow arrived, the mynah prepared two or three kinds of good food for the sparrow. She arranged them on glass plates. She added the sleeping medicine given by Dr. Fox to the food and, finishing her work, waited for the sparrow. The poor sparrow went to the river and bathed well, combed her feathers, applied kohl to her eyes, and polished her shiny golden beak, then set off towards the mynah's house.

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‎On the way, she took flowers from Ms. Goat, and Ms. Goat exclaimed, "Wow, sparrow, you look completely golden today! Are you going to a wedding?" The sparrow told her about the mynah's invitation and took the flowers and continued on her way. On a tree along the way, Uncle Firefly was enjoying his sleep. The sparrow went near his ear and chirped loudly. He woke up with a start. The sparrow laughed and urged Uncle Firefly to drop her off at her house from the mynah's house on her way back that night because it would be dark on the way. Uncle Firefly promised the sparrow, and the sparrow happily reached the mynah's house.

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‎The two friends met with great affection. They sat and talked for a long time. Then the mynah offered food to the sparrow. The sparrow really liked the rice pudding and ate her fill. The mynah sat beside her, insisting and making the sparrow eat more. A little later, the sparrow felt her head heavy. Her eyes began to fill with sleep. The sparrow flapped her wings, trying to fly, but the sleeping medicine had taken effect, and the sparrow fainted. As soon as the sparrow fainted, the mynah quickly removed the golden beak shell from the sparrow, cut her own black beak, and put on the golden beak herself. She quickly flew towards the forest. Uncle Firefly waited for the sparrow outside the mynah's nest for a long time. But the sparrow did not come out of the nest. Since Firefly had promised the sparrow to drop her home, he would not break his promise under any circumstances, because if you make a promise to anyone, always keep it.

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‎That's why he started knocking on the mynah's nest door. But there was no answer from inside. The silence inside the nest made Firefly sense danger. Uncle Firefly entered the nest and saw the sparrow lying unconscious. He quickly splashed water on the sparrow's face. The sparrow moved a little and opened her eyes. Uncle Firefly asked, "Sparrow, who are you?" The sparrow replied, "Uncle, didn't you recognize me? I am your niece, the sparrow with the golden beak."

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‎Uncle Firefly said, "But your beak is not golden." The sparrow, startled, hit her beak with her claw and felt a thin beak near her nose. The heavy golden shell was gone. She remembered everything, how the mynah had deceived her. She looked for the mynah here and there. If the mynah had been there, she would have been seen. Not finding the mynah, the sparrow began to cry. In the darkness of the night, the sparrow's cries began to wake all the sleeping birds in the forest. Everyone gathered around the sparrow. The sparrow was weeping bitterly, and Uncle Firefly was busy repeatedly telling everyone the story of the mynah's deception and the sparrow's golden beak. All the birds were very angry with the mynah, wondering why she had deceived her friend, the sparrow, like that. The mynah was searched for everywhere in the forest, but she was not found. Every bird and animal in the forest wanted justice for the sparrow and punishment for the mynah. Therefore, the search for the mynah continued with full force.

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‎After many days, some friends of Mr. Monkey came to visit him from the farthest part of the forest. Sitting at night, all the monkeys were chatting. They were trying to surprise each other by telling various stories. A guest, a small monkey, said, "I saw a strange mynah in the forest. She is like an ordinary mynah, but her beak is golden. It shines so much that it illuminates even in the dark." Uncle Firefly was also sitting on the same tree branch, half-asleep, enjoying the monkeys' conversations. When the news of the golden-beaked mynah reached Uncle Firefly's ears, he was startled and began to listen carefully to the monkey's words. As soon as morning broke, he went to the sparrow's house and told her the whole story. The sparrow gathered her entire family, took Uncle Owl and Aunt Squirrel with her, and went to the monkeys. The poor monkeys were fast asleep. The noise of the birds woke them up.

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‎They asked about the mynah with the golden beak. After getting information about the tree, two armies of birds and small animals were prepared. Under the guidance of the guest monkeys, both armies reached the farthest part of the forest in the darkness of the night. Uncle Firefly, with his entire family, provided light. The sleeping mynah was arrested with a sudden attack during the night.

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‎The next morning, the forest was very lively. The lion, the king of the forest, was sitting in his court with great majesty. Owls, monkeys, bears, elephants, giraffes, mynahs, parrots, peacocks, and colorful sparrows were all gathered. Butterflies and fireflies were also flying around. The deceptive mynah was presented before the lion. The owl narrated the entire story. Dr. Fox testified that the mynah had taken sleeping medicine from her clinic that day, and Uncle Firefly testified that he had seen the sparrow lying unconscious in the mynah's nest. And the biggest proof was the mynah's shining golden beak. The mynah stood with her head bowed in shame. All the birds were requesting King Lion to grant justice to the sparrow.

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‎After hearing all the testimonies, the lion consulted with the cheetah and the elephant and told Dr. Fox to remove the mynah's golden beak and put it back on the sparrow immediately. Dr. Fox obeyed the order and removed the mynah's beak and put it back on the sparrow. And the mynah was released because she had arranged her own punishment. When she had cut her black beak and put on this golden beak, now the mynah wanders around the whole forest embarrassed and without a beak. She can neither peck grains properly nor hunt insects. Now she deeply regrets her actions, but what's the use of regretting now when the sparrows have already eaten the field.

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‎Friends! Do not think badly of your own things by looking at someone else's good things, and do not be jealous of anyone.