Olcott - The Bad Poppy-Seeds - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

It seems a week early to have Memorial Day, but it's this coming Monday instead of having it fixed at May 30th as it was until 1968 when Congress changed its observance to the last Monday in May. That change took effect at the federal level in 1971. Probably the American Legion will be selling Poppies this weekend through May 30th. Wikipedia explains:

In 1915, following the Second Battle of Ypres, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a physician with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields". Its opening lines refer to the fields of poppies that grew among the soldiers' graves in Flanders.^[80] Inspired by the poem, YWCA worker Moina Michael attended a YWCA Overseas War Secretaries' conference three years later wearing a silk poppy pinned to her coat and distributed over two dozen more to others present. The National American Legion adopted the poppy as its official symbol of remembrance in 1920.^[81]

Not just the United States, but around the world the Remembrance poppy is a symbol "to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. " Its choice goes way back in history as "Poppies have long been used as a symbol of sleep, peace, and death: Sleep because the opium extracted from them is a sedative, and death because of the common blood-red colour of the red poppy in particular.^[16]"  

The Twentieth Century especially chose poppies after that previously mentioned poem, ""In Flanders Fields", was written after the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.

It's certainly worth seeing those poppies, in Flanders Field or elsewhere, whether in Belgium or other cemeteries and battlefields or in the Youtube video of "Why Do Poppies Grow on Battlefields; The Science Behind Flanders Fields"

 

Here is a Bengali legend telling even a bit more about these flowers so closely involved with our Memorial Day and Remembrance Day in other countries. It comes from The Wonder Garden, an anthology that is perfect for garden lovers.

 

 

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This is part of a series of postings of stories under the category, “Keeping the Public in Public Domain.” The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated. I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20^th century. My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them. I hope you enjoy discovering them.

At the same time, my own involvement in storytelling regularly creates projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an audience.  Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.  This is a return to my regular posting of a research project here.  (Don't worry, this isn't dry research, my research is always geared towards future storytelling to an audience.)  Response has convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my other postings as often as I can manage it.

See the sidebar for other Public Domain story resources I recommend on the page “Public Domain Story Resources."

Colum - The Fish-Hook of Pearl - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

Here in the Great Lakes, with many additional inland lakes, fishing is very popular. This month is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month bringing attention to Hawaii. For some reason, back in 1922 Irish writer and folklorist Padraic Colum "was commissioned to write versions of Hawaiian folklore for young people. This resulted in the publication of three volumes of his versions of tales from the islands." Why wasn't a Hawaiian asked? I've no idea, but the best known of those books, At the Gateways of the Day, not only has the much-loved story of "Pu-nia and the King of the Sharks" but another tale of unusual fishing. Colum obviously knew how to get the most out of his four months in Hawaii! It's worth reading his Introduction to the book talking about the Polynesian differences from European folktales and his re-telling.

The book includes "Helps to Pronunciation", but it would be a good idea to look further online. Hawaiian Alphabet: a complete beginner's guide/ is a good starting point, followed by searching out audio pronunciation of specific words. Getting comfortable with the names is probably the hardest part to non-Islanders telling their stories.

The book contains many tales about the great Hawaiian hero, Maui, also the Hawaiian little people, the Menhune, and talks about Hawaiian mythology, but I find the stories about "ordinary people" like Punia and this tale of a family fishing much more approachable.

Oh, and a fathom is approximately six feet, but originally was the span of a man's outstretched arms, so the ten fathom canoe was quite large. 

Happy telling while you fish!

800-year-old pearl-shell fish hooks at the National Museum - Cook Islands

The Fish-Hook of Pearl.

There are fish-hooks and fish-hooks, but the most wonderful fish-hook that any one ever heard of was the fish-hook owned by Ku-ula. It was a fish-hook of pearl-shell; and every time Ku-ula went fishing he took a canoe, not five fathoms or eight fathoms in length, but ten fathoms, and when he fished with that hook (Ka-hu-oi was the name it had) the canoe would be filled up with the catch.

And it was the finest of fish, the aku fish, that would rise to that hook. He would let it down into the water, and the aku would throw themselves into the canoe. Ku-ula was rich because of all the fine fish he could catch with his pearl hook. It had been given to him by a bird that was called Ka-manu-wai, and this bird would sit on the rail of the canoe that Ku-ula went fishing in and eat some of the fish that Ku-ula caught.

One day when Ku-ula went fishing outside of Mamala the King of that place went fishing there too. The King caught few fish, and none of them were fine ones. He looked, and he saw Ku-ula fishing, and he saw that the aku fish were jumping in hundreds around the hook that the fisherman let down. His attendants told him of the pearl hook that was called Ka-hu-oi, and the King made up his mind to have this hook. He sent for Ku-ula, and he made him give up the hook that the bird Ka-manu-wai had given him.

After that Ku-ula caught no more aku fish; the bird Ka-manu-wai, not getting the food it liked, flew away; its eyes were closed with hunger where it roosted, and the place where that bird roosted is called Kau-maka-pili, “Roosting with Closed Eyes,” to this day. And Ku-ula got poorer and poorer, and he and his family got more and more hungry from that day.

And so it came about that when his child Ai-ai was born they had no food for him. They let him float down the stream, putting him in just above the place where the bird Ka-manu-wai roosted. The child floated down; a rock in the stream held him, and there little Ai-ai stayed in the shallow water. That very day the King’s daughter, who was then a young girl, was bathing in the stream with her attendants. She found little Ai-ai, and she took him to the King’s house; there Ai-ai grew up, and he was tended by the King’s daughter while he was a child.

When he grew up he was a strong and handsome youth. The King’s daughter who had saved him came to love him; she would have him marry her, and at last he and she got married.

It happened that one day after they were married his wife was sick, and she asked Ai-ai to get her some fish. He took a rod, and he went fishing along the shore. He caught a few fish, and he brought them home to her. After a while she was sick again, and she had a longing for fish again. And this time she wanted the aku, the fine fish from the depth of the sea.

He told her then that he could not fish for aku unless he had a canoe and a fish-hook of pearl. When she heard him say that, she remembered that her father had a pearl fish-hook. So she went to the King, her father. When she came before him, he said, “What is it you want, my daughter?” She said, “A canoe for my husband, and a pearl fish-hook.” He told her that her husband might take a canoe out of his canoe-shed, and then he said to her, “I have a pearl fish-hook, and I will give it to you for him.”

So he gave a pearl fish-hook to his daughter, and she hurried home with it. Now Ai-ai, since he had grown up, had known his father and had heard how the King had taken away the hook Ka-hu-oi from him. So when he saw the pearl fish-hook in his wife’s hands he was overjoyed; he took it from her, and he got a canoe in the King’s shed, and he went out to fish in the sea.

A bird came down and watched the shining fish-hook that he held. It rested on the rail of the canoe as he paddled out to sea. It watched him lower the hook. Its eyes were half closed, but now it opened them wide and looked down after the shining hook. This was the bird Ka-manu-wai that had given the hook to his father, Ai-ai knew; now the bird was going to eat plenty of the fine aku.

But no aku came on the hook, and no aku dashed up on the canoe on seeing the shining thing in the water. The bird closed its eyes again. It gave a croak and then flew away.

Ai-ai came back to his wife without any aku for her. Again she was sick, and she begged Ai-ai again to get her the aku fish. “It may be,” he said, “that the King has another pearl hook. Go to him once more and ask him for one. Tell him that in the calabash in which he keeps the fishing utensils that he used long ago there may be another pearl fish-hook.”

So again she went before the King. “I have come for a pearl fish-hook so that my husband may go out and catch me the aku fish that I long for.” “I gave the pearl fish-hook that I had.” “In the calabash in which you keep the fishing utensils that you used long ago there may be another pearl fish-hook.”

The King ordered that this calabash be brought to him. He searched amongst all the utensils that were in it, and at last he found the pearl fish-hook that he had taken. He had left it there and had forgotten it, for he had gone fishing only once after he had taken it from Ku-ula.

And now he gave the hook Ka-hu-oi to his daughter. She hurried home, and she put the pearl hook into the hands of her husband Ai-ai. He went straight down to the beach and took out the canoe and went fishing in the place where his father used to go. As he went the bird Ka-manu-wai flew down and lighted on the rail of the canoe. It opened wide its eyes to watch him let down the shining hook.

When he came to Mamala the aku began to jump to the hook. They threw themselves up and into the canoe. They filled it up—even that ten-fathom canoe was deep with them, and Ai-ai was hardly strong enough to paddle it back. The bird Ka-manu-wai ate of the fish, and as it ate the gleam came back into its plumage, and it was a wide-eyed, strong-winged bird once more.

It took the pearl fish-hook and flew away with it. But every day it would come back with the hook when Ai-ai took out his canoe. The bird guarded the hook and would never let it go into a stranger’s hands again. Sometimes it would bring Ka-hu-oi to Ku-ula, Ai-ai’s father; for the old man took to going out in his canoe again, and he would fish for aku outside of Mamala.

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Colum not only tells about his general sources in the book's Introduction, but concludes with Notes including this about "The Fish-Hook of Pearl"

This simple tale is given in the Fornander Collection, Vol. IV, Part III, of the Memoirs of the Bernice Pauahi Museum, with the title Kaao no Aiai, the Legend of Aiai.

Project Gutenberg has three volumes of the Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lore with Archive.org having volumes 4,5, and 6 for anyone wanting to fish even further into these tales.

Illustration for At the Gateways of the Day by Juliette May Fraser

 

 

 

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This is part of a series of postings of stories under the category, “Keeping the Public in Public Domain.” The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated. I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20^th century. My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them. I hope you enjoy discovering them.

At the same time, my own involvement in storytelling regularly creates projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an audience.  Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.  This is a return to my regular posting of a research project here.  (Don't worry, this isn't dry research, my research is always geared towards future storytelling to an audience.)  Response has convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my other postings as often as I can manage it.

See the sidebar for other Public Domain story resources I recommend on the page “Public Domain Story Resources."

 

 

Field - The Mother in Paradise - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

As adults many of my friends, and I, too, have lost our mothers on this Mother's Day. Somehow it leaves us feeling orphaned. Today's story is for all of us thinking about how our mothers must have felt as they left us. It's by Eugene Field, who probably mainly fits in our mind as a poet, especially for children. He also wrote much more, yet that Wikipedia link and so many others about him ignore his books of short stories. Today's story is from The Second Book of Tales, which Project Gutenberg introduces by saying:

This work presents a selection of whimsical and poignant tales that explore themes of childhood, love, and human nature, showcasing Field's deep understanding of the simplicity and complexity of life. The stories feature various characters, with an emphasis on children and familial relationships, reflecting the innocence and emotional depth that Field is known for.

It goes on to mention this story, "Each tale conveys a distinct emotional or moral lesson, such as ... a poignant encounter between a mother and her spirits in paradise as she seeks her lost child. This ... sets the tone for the rest of the collection, inviting readers into a world rich with relatable characters, both young and old, as they navigate life's trials and joys."

If I were re-telling it, I would drop the old-fashioned "thees" and "thous" and other such language which some think sounds more likely in heaven. I might also make one other change I'll mention after the story. On this Mother's Day it still has value for us as we "navigate life's trials and joys."

THE MOTHER IN PARADISE

A mother came to the gateway of Heaven. She was aged and weary. Her body was bowed and her face was wrinkled and withered, for her burden had been the burden of care and trouble and sorrow. So she was glad to be done with life and to seek at the gateway of Heaven the fulfilment of the Promise that had been her solace through all the hard, bitter years.

An angel met the Mother at the gateway, and put her arms about the drooping figure, and spoke gracious, tender words.

"Whom seekest thou?" asked the angel.

"I seek my dear ones who came hither before me," answered the Mother. "They are very many—my father, my mother, my husband, my children—they all are here together, and for many and weary years I have lived in my loneliness, with no other thing to cheer me but the thought that I should follow them in good time."

"Yes, they are here and they await thee," said the angel. "Lean upon me, dear Mother, and I will lead thee to them."

Then the angel led the way through the garden of Paradise, and the angel and the Mother talked as they walked together.

"I am not weary now," said the Mother, "and my heart is not troubled."

"It is the grace of Heaven that restoreth thee, dear Mother," quoth the angel. "Presently thou shalt be filled with the new life, and thou shalt be young again; and thou shalt sing with rapture, and thy soul shall know the endless ecstasy of Heaven."

"Alas, I care not to be young again," saith the Mother. "I care only to find and to be forever with my beloved ones."

As they journeyed in their way a company came to meet them. Then the Mother saw and knew her dear ones—even though the heavenly life had glorified their countenances, the Mother knew them, and she ran to greet them, and there was great joy to her and to them. Meanwhile the angel kept steadfastly at her side.

Now the Mother, when she had embraced her dear ones, looked at each of them separately once more, and then she said: "Ye are indeed my beloved—my mother, my father, my husband, and my children! But there is one who should be of your company whom I do not see—my babe, my little helpless babe that came hither alone so many, many years ago. My heart fainteth, my breast yearneth for that dear little lamb of mine! Come, let us go together and search for her; or await me here under these pleasant trees while I search and call in this fair garden for my dear, lost little babe!"

The others answered never a word, but the angel said: "I will go with thee, Mother, and together we shall find thy child."

As they went on their way the angel said: "Shall I tell thee of myself? For I was a little helpless babe when I came hither to this fair garden and into this heavenly life."

"Perchance thou knowest her, my precious lambkin!" cried the Mother.

"I was a babe when I came hither," said the angel. "See how I am grown and what happiness hath been mine! The compassion of divinity hath protected and fostered me, and hath led me all these years in the peace that passeth all human understanding. God hath instructed me in wisdom, and He shall instruct thee, too; for all who come hither are as children in His sight, and they shall grow in wisdom and in grace eternally."

"But my babe—my own lost little one whom I have not held in these arms for so many weary years—shall she not still be my little babe, and shall I not cradle her in my bosom?" asked the Mother.

"Thy child shall be restored to thee," said the angel; "for she yearneth for thee even as thou yearnest for her. Only with this difference, dear Mother: Thy child hath known, in the grace of heavenly wisdom, that at the last thy earthly sorrow should surely be rewarded with the joys of the endless reunion in Paradise!"

"Then she hath thought of me and longed for me to come!" cried the Mother. "And my lost babe shall be restored and shall know her mother again!"

"Ay, she loveth thee fondly," said the angel, "and she hath awaited thy coming, lo, these many years. Presently thine eyes shall be opened and thou shalt see her standing before thee in her heavenly raiment whiter than snow, and around her neck thou shalt see her wearing most precious pearls—the tears which thou hast shed, oh lonely Mother! and which are the pearls the little ones in Heaven gather up and cherish as an adornment most pleasing unto God and them."

Then the Mother felt that her eyes were opened, and she turned and looked upon the angel. And the Mother saw that the angel was her lost beloved child whom she was seeking: not the helpless babe that she had thought to find, but a maiden of such heavenly beauty and gentleness as only the dwellers in Paradise behold and know. And the Mother spread her arms, and gave a great cry of joy, and folded her very dear one to her bosom.

Then presently they returned together to the others. And there was rapturous acclaim in Paradise, and it was to God's sweet pleasance that it was so. For a Mother and her beloved communed in the holy companionship of love everlasting.

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I might mention after the story the idea of people becoming angels is non-Biblical, but meeting babies in heaven is indeed a concept in the Bible and found in several websites quoting verses. For those who have lost children, born or unborn, it, too, can be reassuring.

May you have a Happy Mother's Day.

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This is part of a series of postings of stories under the category, “Keeping the Public in Public Domain.” The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated. I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20^th century. My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them. I hope you enjoy discovering them.

At the same time, my own involvement in storytelling regularly creates projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an audience.  Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.  This is a return to my regular posting of a research project here.  (Don't worry, this isn't dry research, my research is always geared towards future storytelling to an audience.)  Response has convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my other postings as often as I can manage it.

See the sidebar for other Public Domain story resources I recommend on the page “Public Domain Story Resources."

 

 

Skinner - The Humpback of Colima - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

Cinco de Mayo is fast approaching. While this holiday is barely recognized in Mexico, here in the United States it is a time to celebrate Mexican culture instead of it memorializing an unlikely military victory 50 years before actual Mexican independence.

Of course I went looking for folktales, but there are frustratingly few anthologies of Mexican folklore! That will change next year as 1930 produces three! Until then Charles M. Skinner's Myths and Legends Beyond Our Borders is the best I could find. The first half of the book focuses on Canada, with the second half on Mexico. For anyone interested in early pre-historic times, it puts the mythical land of Mu as the source of both biblical and other ancient civilizations as part of Mexico. There are indeed folktales. The very first is today's story. Anyone familiar with Asian folklore will recognize the story. . . further support of civilization traveling from Mexico? However it originated, the story is a satisfying tale of justice. Along the way listeners can join in with the chant of the days of the week in Spanish:

Lunes, Martes,Miércoles -- tres!

          Jueves, Viernes, Sabado -- seis!

You can also ask if anyone knows the seventh day which makes siete?

Not only is it a fun bit of audience participation, but it teaches those days of the week.

 

Don't you love the ending? Of course you could go back afterwards teaching the numbers from Uno to Diez.

In the meantime: Domingo -- siete! 

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This is part of a series of postings of stories under the category, “Keeping the Public in Public Domain.” The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated. I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20^th century. My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them. I hope you enjoy discovering them.

At the same time, my own involvement in storytelling regularly creates projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an audience.  Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.  This is a return to my regular posting of a research project here.  (Don't worry, this isn't dry research, my research is always geared towards future storytelling to an audience.)  Response has convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my other postings as often as I can manage it.

See the sidebar for other Public Domain story resources I recommend on the page “Public Domain Story Resources."

 

Holbrook - The Story of the Bees and the Flies - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

Spring is actually starting to warm things up! Of course in addition to plants and animals waking up, insects are, too. While I know fear of bees is a problem for many, I value not only their honey, but also the work they do with pollination. Without them our agriculture would have serious problems. The U.S. Department of Agriculture quotes some scientists as estimating one in every three bites you eat is dependent on pollinators. American honeybees are clearly declining. Commercial beekeepers estimate a loss of 62% this year. Greenmatters.com quoted not only that worrisome fact, but a 2025 study, Project Apis m which gives not only the problem, but possible ways to help bee populations.

At the same time the fly is considered one of the world's most annoying insects. Fly Insect Facts gives a fair appraisal: 

Although they so often share an antagonistic relationship with humans as an annoyance or a potential carrier of diseases, these insects also serve many important ecological roles.

They are the second most common pollinators, behind only bees. They help to keep the environment free of decomposing animal flesh. And as a common subject of genetic research, they also help to advance the frontiers of human knowledge.

I recall the Ogden Nash verse stating "In His wisdom God created the fly; And then forgot to tell us why." I once asked Anishinaabe medicine woman and ethnobotanist, Keewaydinoquay Peschel about this. She disagreed with the Nash verse, pointing out their role in removing decomposing flesh. 

As you see both bees and flies, perhaps you will also think back to this story from Florence Holbrook's The Book of Nature Myths for a tale that seems to have Algonquian origin. Unfortunately back in 1902 giving the source of such stories wasn't common. I notice the Creator is called "the manito" and Wikipedia points out "Gitche Manitou (Gitchi Manitou, Kitchi Manitou, etc.) means "Great Spirit" in several Algonquian languages."

THE STORY OF THE BEES AND THE FLIES.

There were once two tribes of little people who lived near together. They were not at all alike, for one of the tribes looked for food and carried it away to put it up safely for winter, while the other played and sang and danced all day long.

"Come and play with us," said the lazy people, but the busy workers answered, "No, come and work with us. Winter will soon be here. Snow and ice will be everywhere, and if we do not put up food now we shall have none for the cold, stormy days."

So the busy people brought honey from the flowers, but the lazy people kept on playing. They laughed together and whispered to one another, "See those busy workers! They will have food for two tribes, and they will give us some. Let us go and dance."

While the summer lasted, one tribe worked and the other played. When winter came, the busy workers were sorry for their friends and said, "Let us give them some of our honey." So the people who played had as much food as if they, too, had brought honey from the flowers.

Another summer was coming, and the workers said, "If we should make our home near the lilies that give us honey, it would be easier to get our food." So the workers flew away, but the lazy people played and danced as they had done before while their friends were near, for they thought, "Oh, they will come back and bring us some honey."

By and by the cold came, but the lazy people had nothing to eat, and the workers did not come with food. The manito had said to them, "Dear little workers, you shall no longer walk from flower to flower. I will give you wings, and you shall be bees. Whenever men hear a gentle humming, they will say, 'Those are the busy bees, and their wings were given them because they were wise and good.'"

To the other tribe the manito said, "You shall be flies, and you, too, shall have wings; but while the workers fly from flower to flower and eat the yellow honey, you shall have for your food only what has been thrown away. When men hear your buzzing, they will say, 'It is good that the flies have wings, because we can drive them away from us the more quickly.'"

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This is part of a series of postings of stories under the category, “Keeping the Public in Public Domain.” The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated. I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20^th century. My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them. I hope you enjoy discovering them.

At the same time, my own involvement in storytelling regularly creates projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an audience.  Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.  This is a return to my regular posting of a research project here.  (Don't worry, this isn't dry research, my research is always geared towards future storytelling to an audience.)  Response has convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my other postings as often as I can manage it.

See the sidebar for other Public Domain story resources I recommend on the page “Public Domain Story Resources."

 

Happy Easter / Happy Passover / Happy Spring

ahrcusa.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is my wish for you!

As for Public Domain resources, of course the originals are in the Torah (also called the Pentateuch or the Law or the Old Testament) and the four books of the Gospels in the New Testament. There are other stories related to these holy days, but that is the true starting point. 

For Passover three anthologies are worth checking: Nathan Ausubel's A Treasury of Jewish Folklore, Judah Nadich's The Legends of the Rabbis, and Eric Kimmel's Wonders and Miracles; A Passover Companion. All three are still under copyright, but give their sources. The two links let you find them at the Internet Archive if unavailable locally.

For Easter I suggest: The Emerald Story Book by Ada and Eleanor Skinner, Good Stories for Great Holidays by Frances Jenkins Olcott, and while Wilhelmina Harper's Easter Chimes is still in copyright, that link will let you borrow it from Internet Archive or you may find it at your library. Both The Emerald Story Book and Easter Chimes also have Spring stories!

Fleeson - Why the Parrot and the Minor Bird but Echo the Words of Man - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

It's Earth Month, with Earth Day on April 22 so close to Easter and Passover that it seems good to consider it now. Today's story is from Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India by Katherine Neville Fleeson. Its section "Nature's Riddles and Their Answers" opens an important issue... Invasive Species. Not every plant, insect or animal is endangered and some may be considered dangerously invasive. Wikipedia's article on the Common Myna, talks about a bird "popular as cage birds for their singing and 'speaking' abilities." Even though they might be kept as pets: 

The range of the common myna is increasing at such a rapid rate that in 2000 the IUCN Species Survival Commission declared it one of the world's most invasive species and one of only three birds listed among "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Species" that pose a threat to biodiversity, agriculture and human interests. In particular, the species poses a serious threat to the ecosystems of Australia, where it was named "The Most Important Pest/Problem" in 2008.

The Common Myna was first introduced to Australia between 1863 and 1872 to control insects in the market gardens. One of the birds it threatens is the Parrot. "One-third of all parrot species are threatened by extinction, with a higher aggregate extinction risk (IUCN Red List Index) than any other comparable bird group." The Common Myna is notorious for taking over the nests of other birds. At the same time:

Parrots, being cavity nesters, are vulnerable to the loss of nesting sites and to competition with introduced species for those sites. The loss of old trees is a particular problem in some areas, particularly in Australia, where suitable nesting trees must be centuries old.

Both birds share territory in Asia and Australia including Laos. You may notice the story calls the Common Myna a "minor bird" which seems to be the pronunciation the author heard. Because it is also called the "sao bird" I went looking and found a site calling it a "mythical bird." The São Tomé Sunbird couldn't be the bird as it's on an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa.

As a result I'd tell the story as being about the Common Myna and the Parrot and include information about the problem caused by invasive species and endangered species. This story has both!

Why the Parrot and the Minor Bird but Echo the Words of Man

Long ago people caught and nourished the sao bird, because it learned the language of man more readily than either the parrot or minor bird. While they had to be taught with much care, the sao bird had but to hear a word and it could readily utter it; moreover, the sao bird could utter its own thoughts.

Upon a time a man of the north country, owning a sao bird, stole a buffalo from his neighbor and killed it. Part of the buffalo the man cooked and ate; the rest he hid either in the rice bin or over the rice house.

Seeking the buffalo, next day, the neighbor asked the man if he had seen it.

The man replied, “No.” The sao bird, however, cried out, “He killed it; part he hid in the rice bin, part over the rice house.”

The neighbor searched in both of these places and found the parts just as the sao bird had said.

“I did not steal the buffalo,” insisted the man.

But the bird ever called, “He killed it and put part into the rice bin, and part over the rice house.”

Unable to decide between the words of the man and the words of the bird, the neighbor appealed to the court. And, it happened, the night before the trial, that the man took the sao bird, placed it in a jar, covered the jar and poured water over the cloth and beat on the outside of the jar. The noise of the beating was low and rumbling. All that night was the bird kept in the jar, and not once did it see the bright moonlight, which was almost as bright as day, for it was in the midst of the dry season and full moon. When the eye of day opened, the man removed the bird from the jar and placed it in its cage, and then took it to the court as a witness.

When the bird was called, it said, as before, “He killed it; part he put in the rice bin, and part over the rice house.”

All people believed the bird.

“Ask it another question. Ask it what manner of night it was last night. Will you condemn me to death on the word of a bird?” cried the man.

The question was put to the bird, but, remembering its fear, during the night, of the rumbling noise and the sound of running water, it answered, “Last night the sky called and the rain fell.”

Then the people cried, “Of a truth, the bird cannot be believed. Because it has imperilled the life of an innocent man, from this time forth, the sao bird must not be cherished by man.”

The thief was set free because there were but the words of the bird to condemn him.

No longer is the sao bird nourished by man, but lives in the forest. Those who are full of fear, when they hear them talking in the forest, say, “it is the spirits.”

When the sao bird saw the bright plumage of the parrot, and the black and gold of the minor bird, it knew they were strangers who had come to dwell in the north, and it asked the crow and the owl what manner of birds they were.

“Beautiful in plumage, as thou canst readily see,” answered they. “Moreover, they speak the words of man.”

“Speak the words of man,” echoed the sao bird. “I’ll warn them. Come, let us greet them.” And they went forth to meet the beautiful strangers.

And upon a day, as they all came together in one place, the sao bird cried out, “We, the chief birds of the north land, come to greet you and to give you of our wisdom, as you are but strangers in our land. It is told me you speak as 44 does man; even so can I. Nourished by the hand of man many years, I did see with my eyes and hear with my ears, and my tongue uttered not only the things I beheld and heard, but things displeasing to my masters. At one time, all men spoke well of me, but afterward was I cruelly punished and driven from the homes of men. Therefore come I this day unto you to warn you that, if man learns of your speaking tongue, he will capture you and nourish you in his home. Yet, should you speak other than he teaches you, you will be punished and driven from the homes of men, for man loves only to hear his thoughts repeated and loves not even a bird that has wisdom or truth greater than his own.”

Fearful of uttering their thoughts, lest man resent it, the parrot and minor bird but echo the words of man.

 

 Quite by accident the weekend I posted this I also found a version of this story as "Why the Parrot Repeats the Words of Men" In Florence Holbrook's The Book of Nature Myths. I like the Laotian tale for the option of telling about both invasive & threatened birds.

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This is part of a series of postings of stories under the category, “Keeping the Public in Public Domain.” The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated. I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20^th century. My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them. I hope you enjoy discovering them.

At the same time, my own involvement in storytelling regularly creates projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an audience.  Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.  This is a return to my regular posting of a research project here.  (Don't worry, this isn't dry research, my research is always geared towards future storytelling to an audience.)  Response has convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my other postings as often as I can manage it.

See the sidebar for other Public Domain story resources I recommend on the page “Public Domain Story Resources."