In September the princess

In the beginning, the king of Siam had two daughters and called them Day and Night.

Then he had two more daughters, so he changed the names of the two daughters together, naming them with the seasons, calling them spring, summer, autumn and winter. By the time the eighth daughter was born, his daughter's name became January, February, March... The youngest is called August. Then the king had another daughter, and of course it was September.

September was the king's last daughter. The first eight daughters of the King of Siam had accumulated resentment because their names had always been changed, but September had only been called September since he was young, and he was so docile that everyone loved him.

One year, for his birthday, the King of Siam sent a beautiful green parrot to each of his daughters. The green parrot was kept in a beautiful golden cage.

The princesses were so proud of their parrots that they spent an hour every day training them to speak.

One day the princess of September went to say good morning to her parrot and found it lying dead at the bottom of its golden cage. She burst into tears when a bird jumped into her room. The little bird began to sing, and by the time it was over, the princess had stopped crying.

"That's a good song." She said.

"Would you like me to replace your parrot?" "Asked the bird." I am not so pretty, but I have a much better voice."

September the Princess clapped her hands happily, and at last she took the bird to the King and Queen. They were surprised and loved the birds.

"This bird sings much better than those parrots." Said the king.

"They're parrots that sing in seven languages." "Said the other princesses. Those princesses in the heart of the resentment is not open, heard this naturally angry, those parrot face is full of depressed. This went on for several more days, and at last the eight princesses got together and had a discussion. They found Princess September and sat down around her.

"Poor September," they said. "Your beautiful parrot died, and we're all so sorry. We all have pet birds. So we'll pool our pocket money and buy you a lovely green and yellow parrot. But where is your little bird now?"

"He's gone to visit his father-in-law." "Said Princess September.

"What makes you sure he will come back?" "Asked the other princesses.

"He always comes back." "Said Princess September.

"Well, my dear," said the other eight princesses, "do not take such a risk. Put him in the cage. That's the only way you'll be safe."

"But I like to let him fly around the house." "Said Princess September.

"Safety first." "Said her sisters. When they got up to leave, the Princess remembered that the bird seemed to have been gone a long time, and did not know what it was doing. He might forget himself, he might fall in love with someone else, and that would be too bad!

Just then the Princess heard a bird singing in her ear. She turned her head and saw the bird resting on her shoulder. "I was wondering what was wrong with you." "Said Princess September.

"I know you'll be worried," said the bird. "In fact, I almost won't be back tonight. My father-in-law is having a party, and they're all trying to persuade me to stay, but I thought you'd be worried."

September the princess heard her heart beating in her chest. She took the bird in her hand, went to the cage, dropped him in, and locked the door. The bird was so surprised that it couldn't think of anything to say.

"Mother's cats will come out tonight," said the princess. "I think you will be safer inside."

"Well, I'll put up with it again," said the bird, "as long as you let me out in the morning."

At daybreak, the Princess of September was wakened and heard the bird calling to her at the top of her voice. "Wake up," he said. "Open the cage for me and let me out. I want to have a good flight before the dew falls."

"Aren't you fine in your cage like this? "What a beautiful golden cage you have!" said Princess September. My ladies will bring you your meals, and you won't have to worry about anything from morning till night. Just sing to your best."

"How can I sing it now?" "I need to see the trees. I need to see the lake. I need to see the green shoots in the rice field."

"If you want to see these, I'll take you for a walk." "Said Princess September.

She picked up the cage and walked out of the palace to the lake where the willows stood. She was still standing on the edge of the rice field, watching the fields stretch out of sight.

"I'll bring you out every day." She said, "I love you and I just want you to be happy."

"It's not the same thing." "Said the bird." These rice fields, this lake, look different from flying through the gap in the cage."

So the princess took him back to the palace and gave him his supper, but the bird ate nothing. The princess became anxious and asked her sisters what they thought of it.

"Be firm in your own mind." They said.

"But he'll die if he doesn't eat." She answered.

"That would be very ungrateful of him." They said, "He should know that you are doing what is best for him. If he's so stubborn as to starve himself to death, it serves him right, and you don't have to worry about him any more."

When she woke up the next day, September cried out, for the bird was lying on its side at the bottom of the cage, with its eyes closed. It looked as if it had died. The princess opened the cage, reached in and lifted the bird out. She twitched, for she could feel the bird's heart beating. "Wake up, little bird, wake up." She said.

She really began to cry, and her tears fell on the bird. The bird opened its eyes and saw that the bars of the cage were gone.

"I can only sing when I'm free. If I can't sing, I can't live." He said.

The princess burst into tears and said, "Then enjoy your freedom. I have put you in a golden cage because I want to keep you for myself. But I never thought it would kill you. Go, fly among the trees by the lake, fly over the green rice fields. I won't stop you from living your life the way you want to."

She opened the window and gently placed the bird on the sill. The bird gave a little flutter.

"Come or go as you please, little bird." "Said the princess." I will never put you in a cage again."

"I'll be back, because I love you, little princess." The bird says.

Then he spread his wings and flew into the blue sky, and the little princess burst into tears. It's hard to put someone else's happiness above your own. The bird flew out of sight, and suddenly she felt very lonely.

Her sister knew what had happened and laughed at her, saying that the bird would never come back. But he came back. He landed on Princess September's shoulder, and made her palm his dinner plate, and sang her sweet songs.

September the princess's window was open from morning till night, so that whenever the little bird wanted to come back, it could fly straight into her room.