The parrot

There once was a man who loved to listen to a holy teacher, but never made the effort to put his lessons into practice.
Once his parrot, who could speak well, asked where he went every day.
The man replied that he would like to find out more about God and liberation and that was why he went to listen to a holy man. The parrot wanted the man to ask the holy man the following question on his behalf: “How can I be liberated?”
The man put the question before the holy man, who immediately sank down to the ground, as if he suddenly passed out. The onlookers were very cross with the man, as he had asked such a crude question and they asked him to leave straight away. When the man came home, he told the parrot the whole story. The next morning he found the parrot lying still in his cage. The man assumed that he was dead and opened the cage to take him out.
The parrot flew immediately to the branch of a tree, however, and said: “I understood the holy man’s message and now I’m free. It would be good for you if you too would follow the holy man’s instructions.”