There once lived a bird and her two new-born babies in a forest. One day, there was a big storm. There was thunder, lightning and rain and the wind blew down many trees. The tall tree in which the birds lived also came down. A big, heavy branch hit the nest and killed the mother bird. Fortunately for the baby birds, the strong wind blew them away to the other side of the forest. One of them came down near a cave where a gang of robbers (强盗) lived. The other landed outside a wise man's ashram a little distance away.
Days passed and the baby birds became big birds. One day, the king of the country came to the forest to hunt. He saw a deer and rode after it. It ran deep into the forest followed by the king. Soon the king lost his way.
He rode on for a long time till he came to the other side of the forest. Very tired by now, he got off his horse and sat down under a tree that stood near a cave. Suddenly he heard a voice cry out, "Quick! Hurry up! There's someone under the tree. Come and take his jewels and his horse. Hurry or else he'll slip away." The king was amazed. He looked up and saw a big, brown bird on the tree under which he was sitting. He also heard faint noises coming from the cave. He quickly got onto his horse and rode away as fast as he could.
Soon, he came to a clearing which looked like an ashram. It was the wise man's ashram. The king tied his horse to a tree and sat down. Suddenly he heard a gentle voice announce, "Welcome, Sir. Please go inside and rest. The host will be back soon. Come and make yourself comfortable." The king looked up and saw a big. brown bird. He was amazed. "This one looks like the other bird outside the cave," he said to himself.
Later the wise man came back. "Welcome, Sir," he said to the king. "Please come inside. You look tired. Rest for a while. Then you can share my food."
The king told the wise man the story of the two birds and how each had behaved so differently though they looked so alike." The forest is full of surprises," he said.
The wise man smiled and said, "After all,one is known by the company one keeps. That bird has always heard the talk of robbers. He talks about robbing people. This one has repeated what he has always heard. He welcomes people to the ashram."
