It was the first day of school after the long summer holidays. All the animals were happy to return to the Happy Forest School. The blue jays and the eagles were the first to reach and took their seats on the lush banyan tree. The horses neighed a “good morning” to their friends and strode towards the stable. The pigs snorted, as they reached their sty and rolled in the mud. The cows mooed joyfully in their shed. The sheep bleated greetings and went into their pen.
Everyone was sharing stories of summer holidays and talking happily. But there was one unhappy person. It was the little green parrot’s first day at school and she was afraid to be away from her parents. Also, she knew that that school wouldn’t have her favourite food: the red chilli.
Her mother coaxed her into getting ready and gave her a chilli in case she felt hungry at school. She also promised yummy guavas when she came back home. As her parents flew away after dropping her at school, tears rolled down the little parrot’s cheeks.
The other birds welcomed her with a bright “Good morning” but the little green parrot turned away. Still sobbing, she reached into her bag for the chilli but, as she took it out, she sneezed. The chilli fell down and a horse in her class stepped in it. “How careless,” she thought.
Just then, the teacher — a wise old owl — walked in. “Good morning!” he hooted. “Welcome back to school. Hope you all enjoyed your holidays. What did you all do in the summer?” All the animals happily shared details of their holidays. Except the parrot.
Then the owl asked them to open their books and start reading. “I don’t want to read in this heat,” whined the parrot. “I want to go home.”
A blue jay said, “Your nest is in a tree. Think of this tree as your home.”
“No! My home is the lovely nest mummy made in the neem tree. Not this banyan tree,” she screeched.
Soon it was time for lunch. The owl said, “Everyone go clean yourselves and come back.” Once the animals were back, the owl gave the cows and sheep grass and leaves, the horses were treated with hay and the birds got a heap of seeds. But the baby parrot stayed on her branch howling, “I don’t like this. I want a chilli.”
The cows offered her grass but she yelled, “Go away! I don’t eat grass.” So, the sheep told her about a steep hill some distance away where chillies grew. The baby parrot immediately flew off happily.
Once lunch was over, all the animals were back in their seats. Except the parrot. The owl asked the eagle to bring her back. When the eagle found her, the parrot did not want to come back to school. The eagle tried to reason with her. “Today is Wednesday. The week will soon be over and you can play over the weekend.” But the parrot would not listen.
Finally the eagle had an idea. “I’ve never had chillies before. Will you give me one?” she asked. The parrot gave her one. The eagle’s eyes lit up, as she ate it. “Wow! These are delicious,” she said. The parrot was delighted. “Have some more,” she offered. As the two ate, they also chatted comfortably. After a while, the eagle said, “I am thirsty. Shall we head back to school?”
Now that she had a friend, the parrot’s mood had changed. She went back to the banyan tree with the eagle. Soon she was playing with everyone and reading in class too.
When the bell rang for end of day, the owl asked the parrot, “Will we see you tomorrow? I’ll have some chillies for you.” The baby parrot waved her wings, “Yes. I will be here. I like it here now.” 
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Printable version | Nov 2, 2022 11:13:16 am | https://www.thehindu.com/children/at-the-happy-forest-school/article66038863.ece
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