A wealthy king kept a beautiful songbird as a pet in his castle. Every morning, the bird would softly wake up the king with a soothing tune. Although the bird would be fed and groomed well, the bird hated his trapped life. One day, while the king was taking his afternoon nap, the bird noticed the king forgot to lock his cage. Delighted by this opportunity, the bird escaped and instinctively flew to the forest. The bright, yellow bird was accustomed to receiving prepared meals, so he had no idea what to do except to admire himself in the reflection of the water.

“Wow. I must be the most beautiful creature on the planet.” the bird said to himself.

Nearby, an old monkey noticed the vain bird and decided to give him food by throwing a fruit next to the bird.

“Eat it!” the monkey exclaimed.

The bird immediately decided that he did not like this monkey. The bird told the monkey that he did not want the fruit.

“Suit yourself.” the monkey said.

Again, the bird found himself staring in the water at his own reflection.

“My yellow feathers are very attractive.” the bird said to himself.

Suddenly, there was a loud shriek and a strange shadow on the forest floor that
seemed to be moving across the forest. A snake appeared and hissed at the bird to hide. The bird was confused and the snake had to explain that the hawk was hunting. However, the bird did not care because he did not think anything would want to harm such a magnificent creature as himself.

“Suit yourself.” the snake said.

“And besides, the bird continued. Why would the hawk hurt me when we are both young and beautiful?”

The hawk circled above the forest treetops, looking for prey. Suddenly, he spotted a brilliant flash of yellow and swooped down to attack it. The songbird was still looking in the water when he noticed the hawk coming down to greet him.

The bird proclaimed, “Ah, hello hawk. Can you believe that these crazy animals thought that you would-" That was all the bird could say as a pile of yellow feathers fluttered to the floor and the hawk flew back to the sky after a tasty meal.
The monkey and the snake shared a sad glance at each other

Experience and wisdom is more rewarding than a pampered, easy life.