Sunday, April 06, 2008

A Tale of Two Parrots

An old lady was tired of her daughter-in-law’s frequent attacks using abusive words. The young lady had a pet parrot, which repeated these foul words whenever the old woman came near. This intensified her agony.

The worried old woman sought the help of the parish priest. He gave her his own pet parrot, trained to recite only prayers and holy words. He asked her to keep his parrot in a cage, close to the parrot at home. He hoped that the lady’s parrot would learn some good words from his pet and would forget the words of curse forever. Overjoyed, the old woman followed the vicar’s instructions.

The next morning, when the old woman approached the cages for feeding the pets, the domestic parrot repeated the usual words of curse, “Let the old fool go to hell.” Then the priest’s parrot added, “God, hear this prayer.”

We cannot transform a fallen friend by our passive presence alone. But God can work wonders with His grace and our earnest efforts in His name.


Yrs lovingly,

Adele Josephine Tan

'Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.' - Hebrews 10:23

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