[align=center]W. Somerset Maugham[/align]

First the King of Siam had two daughters and he called them Night
and Day., Then he had two more, so he changed the names of the first
ones and called the four of them after the seasons, Spring and Autumn,
Winter and Summer. But in course of time he had three others and he
changed their names again and called all seven by the days of the week.
But when his eighth daughter was born he did not know what to do till he
suddenly thought of the months of the year. The Queen said there were
only twelve and it confused her to have to remember so many new names,
but the King had a methodical mind and when he made it up he never
could change it if he tried. He changed the names of all his daughters and
called them January, February, March (though of course in Siamese) till he
came to the youngest, who was called August, and the next one was called
September.
` 'That only leaves October, November, and December'; said the
Queen. `And after that we shall have to begin all over again.'
'No, we shan't,' said the King, 'because I think twelve daughters are
enough for any man and after the birth of dear little December I shall be
reluctantly compelled to cut off your head.'
'He cried bitterly when he said this, for he was extremely fond of the
Queen. Of course it made the Queen very uneasy because she knew that it
would distress the King very much if he had to cut off her head. And it
would not be very nice for her. But it so happened that there was no need
for either of them to worry because September was the last daughter they
ever had. The Queen only had sons after that and they were called by the
letters of the alphabet, so there was no cause for anxiety there for a long
time, since she had only reached the letter J.
Now the King of Siam's daughters had had their characters
permanently embittered by having to change their names in this way, and
the older ones, whose names of course had been changed oftener than the
others; had their characters more permanently embittered. But
September, who had never known what it was to be called anything but
September (except of course by her sisters, who because their characters
were embittered called her all sorts of names), had a very sweet and
charming nature.
The King of Siam had a habit which I think might be usefully imitated
in Europe. Instead of receiving presents on his birthday he gave them and
it looks as though he liked it, for he used often to say he was sorry he had
only been born on one day and so only had one birthday in the year. But in
this way he managed in course of time to give away all his wedding
presents and the loyal addresses which the mayors of the cities in Siam
presented him with and all his own crowns which had gone out of fashion.
One year on his birthday, not having anything else handy, he gave each of
his daughters a beautiful green parrot in a beautiful golden cage. There
were nine of them and on each cage was written the name of the month
which was the name of the princess it belonged to. The nine princesses
were very proud of their parrots and they spent an hour every day (for like
their father they were of a methodical turn of mind) in teaching them to
talk. Presently all the parrots could say God Save the King (in Siamese,
which is very difficult) and some of them could say Pretty Polly in no less
than seven oriental languages. But one day when the Princess September
went to say good morning to her parrot she found it lying dead at the
bottom of its golden cage. She burst into a flood of tears, and nothing that
her Maids of Honour could say comforted her. She cried so much that the
Maids of Honour, not knowing what to do, told the Queen, and the Queen
said it was stuff and nonsense and the child had better go to bed without
any supper. The Maids of Honour wanted to go to a party, so they put the
Princess September to bed as quickly as they could and left her by herself.
And while she lay in her bed, crying still even though she felt rather
hungry, she saw a little bird hop into her room. She took her thumb out of
her mouth and sat up. Then the little bird began to sing and he sang a
beautiful song all about the lake in the King's garden and the willow trees
that looked at themselves in the still water and the goldfish that glided in
and out of the branches that were reflected in it. When he had finished, the
Princess was not crying any more and she quite forgot that she had had no
supper.
.' 'That was a very nice song,' she said
The little bird gave her a bow, for artists have naturally good
manners, and they like to be appreciated.
' Would you care to have me instead of your parrot? said the little
bird. 'It's true that I'm not so pretty to look at, but on the other hand I
have a much better voice.'
The Princess September clapped her hands with delight and then the
little bird hopped on to the end of her bed and sang her to sleep.
When she awoke next day the little bird was still sitting there, and as
she opened her eyes he said good morning. The Maids of Honour brought
in her breakfast, and he ate rice out of her hand and he had his bath in her
saucer. He drank out of it too. The Maids of Honour said they didn't think it
was very polite to drink one's bath water, but the Princess September said
that was the artistic temperament. When he had finished his breakfast he
began to sing again so beautifully that the Maids of Honour were quite
surprised, for they had never heard anything like it, and the Princess
September was very proud and happy.
' Now I want to show you to my eight sisters,' said the Princess.
She stretched out the first finger of her right hand so that it served
as a perch and the little bird flew down and sat on it. Then, followed by her
Maids of Honour, she went through the palace and called on each of the
Princesses in turn, starting with January, for she was mindful of etiquette,
and going all the way down to August. And for each of the Princesses the
little bird sang a different song. But the parrots could only say God Save
the King and Pretty Polly. At last she showed the little bird to the King and
Queen. They were surprised and delighted.
' I knew I was right to send you to bed without any supper,' said the
Queen.
' This bird sings much better than the parrots,' said the King.
'I should have thought you got quite tired of hearing people say God
Save the King,' said the Queen. 'I can't think why those girls wanted to
teach their parrots to say it too.
'The sentiment is admirable,' said the King, 'and I never mind how
often I hear it. But I do get tired of hearing those parrots say Pretty Polly.'
' 'They say it in seven different languages,' said the Princesses.
' 'I dare say they do,' said the King, ‘but it reminds me too much of
my councillors. They say the same thing in seven different ways and it
never means anything in any way they say.'
The Princesses, their characters as I have already said being
naturally embittered, were vexed at this, and the parrots looked very glum
indeed. But the Princess September ran through all the rooms of the
palace, singing like a lark, while the little bird flew round and round her,
singing like a nightingale, which indeed it was.
Things went on like this for several days and then the eight
Princesses put their heads together. They went to September and sat down
in a circle round her, hiding their feet as is proper for Siamese princesses
to do.
' 'My poor September,' they said. 'We are sorry for the death of your
beautiful parrot. It must be dreadful for you not to have a pet bird as we
have. So we have all put our pocket-money together and we are going to
buy you a lovely green and yellow parrot.'
' 'Thank you for nothing,' said September. (This was not very civil of
her, but Siamese princesses are sometimes a little short with one
another.)'I have a pet bird which sings the most charm
Sing songs to me and I don't know what on earth I should do with a
green and yellow parrot.'
January sniffed, then February sniffed, then March sniffed; in fact all
the Princesses sniffed, but in their proper order of precedence. When they
had finished September asked them:
-'Why do you sniff? Have you all got colds in the head?'
` 'Well, my dear,' they said, 'it's absurd to talk of your bird when the
little fellow flies in and out just as he likes.' They looked round the room
and raised their eyebrows so high that their foreheads entirely
disappeared.
` 'You’ll get dreadful wrinkles,' said September.
' 'Do you mind our asking where your bird is now?' they said
'He's gone to pay a visit to his father-in-law,' said the Princess
September.
` 'And what makes you think he'll come back?' asked the Princesses
` 'He always does come back,' said September.
' 'Well, my dear,' said the eight Princesses, 'if you'll take our advice
you won't run any risks like that. If he comes back, and mind you, if he
does you'll be lucky, pop him into the cage and keep him there. That's the
only way you can be sure of him.'
'But I like to have him fly about the room,' said the Princess
September.'
' 'Safety first,' said her sisters ominously
They got up and walked out of the room, shaking their heads, and
they left September very uneasy. It seemed to her that her little bird was
away a long time and she could not think what he was doing. Something
might have happened to him. What with hawks and men with snares you
never knew what trouble he might get into. Besides, he might forget her,
or he might take a fancy to somebody else; that would be dreadful; oh,
she wished he were safely back again, and in the golden cage that stood
there empty and ready. For when the Maids of Honour had buried the dead
parrot they had left the cage in its old place.
Suddenly September heard a tweet-tweet just behind her ear and
she saw the little bird sitting on her shoulder. He had come in so quietly
and alighted so softly that she had not heard him.
' 'I wondered what on earth had become of you,' said the Princess
' 'I thought you'd wonder that,' said the little bird. 'The fact is I very
nearly didn't come back tonight at all. My father-in-law was giving a party
and they all wanted me to stay, but I thought you'd be anxious'.
Under the circumstances this was a very unfortunate remark for the
little bird to make.
September felt her heart go thump, thump against her chest, and
she made up her mind to take no more risks. She put up her hand and
took hold of the bird. This he was quite used to, she liked feeling his heart
go pit-a-pat, so fast, in the hollow of her hand, and I think he liked the soft
warmth of her little hand. So the bird suspected nothing and he was so
surprised when she carried him over to the cage, popped him in, and shut
the door on him for a moment he could think of nothing to say. But in a
moment or two he hopped up on the ivory perch and said:
' 'What is the joke?

'There's no joke,' said September, 'but some of mamma's cats are 'prowling
about tonight, and I think you're much safer in there
'I can't think why the Queen wants to have all those cats,' said the little bird
rather crossly.',
'Well, you see, they're very special cats,' said the Princess, 'they
have blue eyes and a kink in their tails, and they're a speciality of the royal
family, if you understand what I mean.'
'Perfectly,' said the little bird, 'but why did you put me in this cage without
saying anything about it. I don't think it's the sort of place I like.'
' ' I shouldn't have slept a wink all night if I hadn't known you were safe
'Well, just for this once I don't mind,' said the little bird, 'so long as you let
me out in the morning.'
He ate a very good supper and then began to sing. But in the middle of his
song he stopped.
'I don't know what is the matter with me,' he said, 'but I don't feel like
singing tonight.'
' ' Very well,' said September, ‘go to sleep instead
So he put his head under his wing and in a minute was fast asleep.
September went to sleep too. But when the dawn broke she was awakened
by the little bird calling her at the top of his voice:
` 'Wake up, wake up,' he said. 'Open the door of this cage and let me
out. I want to have a good fly while the dew is still on the ground.'
'You're much better off where you are,' said September. 'You have a
beautiful golden cage. It was made by the best workman in my papa's
kingdom, and my papa was so pleased with it that he cut off his head so
that he should never make another.'
'Let me out, let me out,' said the little bird
' 'You'll have three meals a day served by my Maids of Honour; you'll
have nothing to worry you from morning till night, and you can sing to
your heart's content.'
' 'Let me out, let me out,' said the little bird. And he tried to slip
through the bars of the cage, but of course he couldn't, and he beat
against the door but of course he couldn't open it. Then the eight
Princesses came in and looked at him. They told September she was very
wise to take their advice. They said he would soon get used to the cage
and in a few days would quite forget that he had ever been free. The little
bird said nothing at all while they were there, but as soon as they were
gone he began to cry again: 'Let me out, let me.'
'Don't be such an old silly,' said September. 'I've only put you in the
cage because I'm so fond of you. I know what's good for you much better
than you do yourself. Sing me a little song and I'll give you a piece of
brown sugar.'
'But the little bird stood in the corner of his cage, looking out at the
blue sky, and never sang a note. He never sang all day.'
'What's the good of sulking?' said September. ‘Why don't you sing
and forget your troubles?'
'How can I sing? answered the bird. 'I want to see the trees and the
lake and the green rice growing in the fields.'
' 'If that's all you want I'll take you for a walk,' said September
She picked up the cage and went out and she walked down to the
lake round which grew the willow trees, and she stood at the edge of the
rice-fields that stretched as far as the eye could see.
'I'll take you out every day,' she said. 'I love you and I only want to
make you happy.'
'It's not the same thing,' said the little bird. 'The rice-fields and the
lake and the willow trees look quite different when you see them through
the bars of a cage.'
'So she brought him home again and gave him his supper. But he
wouldn't eat a thing. The Princess was a little anxious at this, and asked
her sisters what they thought about it.'
' 'You must be firm,' they said
' 'But if he won't eat, he'll die,' she answered
'That would be very ungrateful of him,' they said. 'He must know
that you're only thinking of his own good. If he's obstinate and dies it'll
serve him right and you'll be well rid of him.'
'September didn't see how that was going to do her very much good,
but they were eight to one and all older than she, so she said nothing.
' 'Perhaps he'll have got used to his cage by tomorrow,' she said
And next day when she awoke she cried out good morning in a
cheerful voice. She got no answer. She jumped out of bed and ran to the
cage. She gave a startled cry, for there the little bird lay, at the bottom, on
his side, with his eyes closed, and he looked as if he were dead. She
opened the door and putting her hand in lifted him out. She gave a sob of
relief, for she felt that his little heart was beating still.
' 'Wake up, wake up, little bird,' she said
She began to cry and her tears fell on the little bird. He opened his
eyes and felt that the bars of the cage were no longer round him.
' 'I cannot sing unless I'm free and if I cannot sing, I die,' he said
The Princess gave a great sob
' 'Then take your freedom,' she said, 'I shut you in a golden cage
because I loved you and wanted to have you all to myself. But I never
knew it would kill you. Go. Fly away among the trees that are round the
lake and fly over the green rice-fields. I love you enough to let you be
happy in your own way.'
She threw open the window and gently placed the little bird on the sill.
He shook himself a little.
' 'Come and go as you will, little bird,' she said. 'I will never put you in
a cage any more
'I will come because I love you, little Princess,' said the bird. 'And I
will sing you the loveliest songs I know. I shall go far away, but I shall
always come back, and I shall never forget you.' He gave himself another
shake. 'Good gracious me, how stiff I am,' he said
Then he opened his wings and flew right away into the blue. But the
little Princess burst into tears, for it is very difficult to put the happiness of
someone you love before your own, and with her little bird far out of sight
she felt on a sudden very lonely. When her sisters knew what had
happened they mocked her and said that the little bird would never return.
But he did at last. And he sat on September's shoulder and ate out of her
hand and sang her the beautiful songs he had learned while he was flying
up and down the fair places of the world. September kept her window open
day and night so that the little bird might come into her room whenever he
felt inclined, and this was very good for her; so she grew extremely
beautiful. And when she was old enough she married the King of Cambodia
and was carried all the way to the city in which he lived on a white
elephant. But her sisters never slept with their windows open, so they grew
extremely ugly as well as disagreeable, and when the time came to marry
them off they were given away to the King's councillors with a pound of tea
and a Siamese cat.

really fantastic , I enjoy it very much
the story does seem like a fairy tale , one that is rather suitable for kids, but deep within it carries a profound wisdom and a meaningful lesson
one should not blindly adopt certain values and traditions, but he must question their validity first. Because if you are old fashioned , you will always be given what others decide suitable for you., but if you are open-minded you will have your own choice....... somehow this story teaches the following: I am the me I choose to be
that is what I understand , hope you share this with me
best wishes
heba

i like its simplicity
allow me to quote this : but i think it may also go the other way around
especially for You
SWEET SACRIFICE

keep going and let us have more of such lovely stories


NAIM

God bless you