Polly Parrot Learns to Listen
Polly loves to talk — so much that she never hears what her friends are saying.
Polly the parrot had the brightest feathers in the jungle — red, blue, yellow and green. And she had the loudest voice.
"Good morning! Good morning! Did you hear about my new feather? I found a mango! Look at me! Look at me!"
Polly talked from sunrise to sunset. She talked while eating. She talked while flying. Sometimes she even talked in her sleep.
One day, Toucan tried to tell her something. "Polly, there's a—"
"Oh, Toucan! Did I tell you about my mango?"
"Polly, the branch you're on is—"
"And my new feather, it's the shiniest one—"
CRACK! The old branch snapped, and Polly tumbled into a bush. She shook the leaves out of her feathers. "Why didn't anyone tell me the branch was broken?"
Toucan sighed gently. "We tried, Polly. But you weren't listening."
Polly felt her cheeks get warm. She thought about all the times her friends had tried to talk to her.
The next morning, Polly flew to Toucan's tree. She took a breath. And she said just four words: "How are you today?"
Then she listened. Toucan told her about his family, his favorite fruit and a funny dream he had. Polly laughed and asked more questions.
She discovered that listening was just as fun as talking — maybe even more.
⭐ The End ⭐
💬 Talk about it
- What was Polly's problem?
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She talked so much she never listened. - What happened when Polly didn't listen to Toucan?
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The broken branch snapped and she fell into a bush. - What four words did Polly say to Toucan the next day?
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"How are you today?"
