NURZAHIRAH FARINIZ BT.

MOHD NIZAM

Thank you, chairperson.

A very good morning to the honorable panel of adjudicators, timekeeper,

teachers and my fellow friends. My name is NURZAHIRAH FARINIZ and I represent
my school, SK NANGA SPAK. My story for today is “NO GOOD COMES FROM BEING
GREEDY”.

Once upon a time, there lived a poor woodcutter. He lived in a hut by the woods.
Every day, he would go into the woods to collect firewood. Before leaving the
woods, the woodcutter would listen to the birds. He loved their whistles and calls.
Sometimes, he would whistle at them and they would whistle back at him.

Each day, the woodcutter had to walk deeper into the woods to gather firewood.
Then taking the bundles of wood, he would head to the marketplace. There, he
would sell them. With the money he got, he bought food and clothes.

Often, the money was not much. There would not be enough to but all the things
he wanted. So he always hoped and wished for more money.

One day, as he was setting down his firewood in the marketplace, he heard
beautiful bird song. Looking around, he saw several birds on a perch, their tiny
legs tied to it. The birds were singing beautifully. Many people stopped to listen.

A man standing close by called out, “Come and listen to the singing birds! Come
and see them!”

After a while, the birds stopped singing. It seemed they too needed a break. The
man held out some tiny birdseed and a small container of water. The birds
pecked at the birdseed and took sips of water with their tiny beaks.

A little later, the birds continued their singing. The entire marketplace was filled
with their melodious birdsong. Onlookers dropped coins and notes on the piece
of cloth that was spread on the ground.

The woodcutter enjoyed the birdsong as much as the other people. Then he
looked at the coins and notes on the cloth.

“Oh my! So much money!” the woodcutter exclaimed in surprise. “I’ve never seen
this much money before! I’ve to cut wood for a week to get this much money!”

The woodcutter then looked closely at the birds. “Hmmm! These birds look familiar.
I think they look very much like the birds in the woods!” he said.

Then, an idea struck him. He waited for the performance to be over before
approaching the owner.
“Excuse me, sir. May I know how you get the birds to sing?” he asked.

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“Go and find out yourself!” replied the owner rudely and turned away.

The woodcutter was taken aback. Sheepishly, he walked away. Then he asked
several people at the market the same question. Most of them shook their head.
Then one man replied, “Coat the birds’ tongues with honey.”

“Hey! That’s easy!” said the woodcutter, smiling. “Coating the birds’ tongues with
honey is as easy as ABC!”

The woodcutter had a plan. Already he was thinking of the money he would
make. He knew where the birds were and knew how to catch them.

Early the next morning, the woodcutter went into the woods. He brought along a
net which he kept in his pocket. Today he was not collecting firewood. He had
other things to do. He walked about the woods, looking closely at the birds. He
stood at one spot. He was also giving time for the birds to get used to his presence.

Then slowly, he took out the net from his pocket. In one swift move, he threw the
net over the birds. The net dropped on the startled birds and they shrieked and
squawked. Five birds were caught, being slow to get away. They frightened birds
struggled in the net. They tried to claw their way out of the net but they could not.

The woodcutter carefully gathered the ends of the net and tied them together.
He then headed home.

Upon reaching his hut, he took out each bird and tied its legs together. Then he
placed it on the ground. A little later, he picked up each bird, forced open its
beak and coated its tongue with honey. The birds struggled but he held them
firmly.

In his excitement, the woodcutter used too much honey. Soon, the honey
became thick and gluey in the birds’ mouths, turning into a gum-like substance.
Their beaks were sealed shut. The birds lay still on the ground, exhausted from all
the struggling.

The woodcutter took the birds into his hut and carefully placed them in the basket.
Then he went to the marketplace and bought birdseed.

Early the next day, the woodcutter took the birds to the marketplace. Selecting a
spot, he set up the perch and gently placed his birds on it. People were surprised
to see him without his firewood.
“Hey, woodcutter! Where’s your firewood today?” they called out.

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“I’m not selling firewood anymore,” the woodcutter replied cheerfully. “From now
on, I’m in the bird business. I’m into singing birds!” The people wondered what he
was up to.

Curious, the people gathered around. He began calling out, “Come everybody!
Come and listen to my birds singing. They are special songbirds. Once you’ve
heard their song, you’ll never forget the sweet melody!”

The birds sat quietly on their perch and looked at the people. It was time for the
performance. The woodcutter clicked his fingers and said, “Sing birds, sing!”
But the birds sat quiet. Their beaks tightly closed. The audience waited patiently.
“Sing birds, sing!” repeated the woodcutter, more loudly. Again, the birds were
quiet. People got restless. People was getting impatient. They began moving
away.

The woodcutter remembered the birdseed he had brought. Grabbing a handful,

he offered the seeds to the birds. He hoped they would open their beaks and
peck at the seeds. But the birds just looked at the seeds and had their beaks
closed.

The crowd was now impatient. More people started walking away. Then someone
called out, “Hey woodcutter! What are you up to? Why aren’t your birds singing?”

The woodcutter then grabbed hold of a bird and tried to open its beak. But to his
surprise, he found the beak sealed shut. He wondered what had happened.

Looking closely, he found a brownish substance all around the beak edge. Then,
it struck him. “Oh no! The honey has sealed your mouths shut. Oh, you poor things.
That’s why you can’t sing! You poor birds!” he said, looking at the birds.
Now the woodcutter realized hi wrongdoing and was angry with himself.

“Oh dear! What have I done? How could I’ve been so selfish? The honey has
sealed their beaks shut. And now they can’t eat or drink. They will surely die! I’ll
have to save them!”

He called out to the crowd, “I’m sorry, everyone. I’ve done a horrible thing. Can
anyone tell me how I can open these birds’ beaks? They’re sealed shut! Please
help me!”

People came by and looked at the birds’ beaks. Then shaking their head sadly.
They walked away.

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“Oh dear! What shall I do?” cried the woodcutter. Then an idea struck him. “I’ll
take them to the woods.”
Entering the woods, he cried out, “Help me, birds and animals! Help me, please!”

The birds and squirrels wondered what the commotion was about. “What’s the
matter, woodcutter?” asked a sparrow.

With tears running down his cheeks, the woodcutter pointed at the basket and
said, “Look at what I’ve done! I’ve done something horrible! Please help me save
them!

The sparrows looked at the unfortunate birds. The woodcutter explained how he
had coated the birds’ tongues with honey to make them sing. Hearing that, the
sparrows gasped in horror.

The sparrows said sharply, “Take them to the river. Wash their beaks with water.
The water will wash away the honey that sealed their beaks!”

The woodcutter rushed to the river and washed the birds’ beaks with water. The
water washed off the honey that sealed their beaks and the birds could open
their beaks again.

The woodcutter was so delighted. Immediately, he let the birds go free and they
flew up to the trees.

From that day on, the woodcutter was never cruel to any birds or animal. He
realized that he had almost killed innocent creatures because of his greed. He
then returned to his old job of collecting firewood.
MORAL OF THE STORY is “NO GOOD COMES FROM BEING GREEDY”.