The Toucan and the King
By Martin L. Shoemaker
Once the toucan was the favored bird of the king. He sang sweetly every daybreak, and mournfully in the evening. He perched on the king’s shoulder during the day, whispering advice. Sometimes the king took it, sometimes he ignored it, but he always listened.
The toucan then was a very different bird from what you know today. The sun god had gifted him with bright orange plumage that shown with all the colors of the sun, from rising to setting. He was a beautiful bird, worthy of the king’s shoulder. The king made a golden perch for the bird, and fed him fresh fruits every morning.
But the priest envied the bird, envied anyone who had the king’s ear but himself. And so one day he snuck up behind the king, and he made a horrible croaking noise like the largest frog found in the jungle; but when the king turned, all he saw was the toucan. The priest had cloaked himself in shadows.
“What cacophony is this?” the king demanded. But when the bird tried to sing an apology, again the priest croaked. “Begone from me!” the king ordered. He smashed the golden perch.
The toucan dutifully fled; but he knew his innocence. He knew the king was in danger. He had to find the real threat. So he went to the sun god and pleaded: “I must find the one who threatens the king and has wronged me. Please take back your beautiful gift so that I may search the shadows for the king’s enemies.”
The sun god shook his head in sorrow. The toucan was one of his favored birds, and he wished to agree; but even a god has rules. “A god’s gift may not be surrendered. It may only be… changed…” He stripped the color from the bird, leaving it with sleek black feathers so it could hide in dark places. But he also gave the bird a massive beak in the colors of the sun. “So all shall recognize you.”
The toucan didn’t stop to think on his loss. He had to protect the king! So he flew back to the temple, and he found the priest and the temple guard conspiring in the shadows to depose the king. The toucan tried to sing a warning, only to learn what he had really lost: his beautiful voice! He now croaked just as the priest had!
And croak he did! Loud and long, flapping through the temple’s shadowy rafters so the temple guards could not assault him, he croaked: “Treason! Murder! The king! The king!”
And there came a shouted answer: “Where is the toucan? Where? I ordered him away!” Then the king and all his guards burst through the door, letting sunlight into the shadows. The temple guards, startled, attacked. The priest cried for the king’s head; but the toucan swooped down and thrust his giant bill twice in the eyes. The priest saw the colors of the sun for the last time before he fell to the king’s guard.
After that, the king understood that the toucan was a loyal bird, regardless of his harsh voice. He repaired the golden perch, and he ordered fruits for his friend. And ever after, the toucan’s croak gave him comfort. The bird was watching.
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