The Little Parrot and the Angel’s Tears

There’s a certain charm to reading The Little Parrot and the Angel’s Tears. The beautiful, simple, and colorful illustrations combined with words in imperfect English take the reader to another country, and another time. In this story, Little Parrot worries that he is small compared with his other friends. One day, high in a tree, he spots a fire in the forest. He immediately flees to save himself, but then remembers that his friends can’t fly and returns to help them. Parrot dips his wing into the stream and carries water to the fire. It is done in a futile effort; however, he is noticed by Devtas, divine spirits who roam the earth. At first, they make fun of the parrot’s tiny effort, but the parrot persists for his friends. One Devtas notices the parrot’s loyalty to keep his friends safe. The Devtas cries for the parrot, and soon the fire is put out, and his friends are saved. The story itself is wonderful. However, the author chose to write the story in imperfect, and often forced, rhyme, which interferes greatly with reading and listening to the story. I think this story would have been better written in prose.