Once upon a time . . . hundreds of years ago, there lived a brave young Shah. His counsellor was a very old wise Minister called Saleb.

Like all his subjects, the Shah worshipped the God of Reason. Every day, he went to the temple he had built close to the palace. In response to the prayers, the God gave the Shah good advice on the difficult art of government. Indeed, the kingdom had never been so well ruled and had become very prosperous. One day, at the end of his first visit, the Shah was amazed to hear the God's deep voice say: "You no longer need my advice. You are wise enough. You can keep on praying to me, but this is the last time you will speak to me. But before I leave you to Fate, I will grant you a wish. Anything you ask will be given to you."

On his knees before the statue, the Shah thought for a long time before replying. Then he said: "Oh, God who rules over us all, thank you for all you have done for me and my people. Give me the power to transfer my soul into the body of another man or animal, whenever I want. And let my own body remain intact till I enter it again."

"It shall be so," said the God. "Now listen carefully . . ." Back at the palace, the Shah quickly called the Chief Minister.

"Would you believe it, Saleb! In his infinite goodness, the God has given me his trust and a great power . . ." and he told his counsellor all about it. The old man, however, had great doubts about the wisdom of this, but he hid his feelings.

"This strange incredible thing could change my master's whole life and destiny," the old man told himself. "I must do my best to make sure he doesn't alter his ways and makes no dangerous changes. What he needs is a wife and family to keep him from making risky decisions. It only takes strange deeds to ruin good government.

Far beyond the mountains bordering on the Shah's kingdom lay a great fertile plain, the realm of an old king, who had an only daughter named Gala. Gala was young and beautiful and so sweet and gentle that her father hated the thought of letting her get married. The Court, however, was eager to see her a bride. The king was very possessive and wanted to keep Gala all to himself, and with the help of a wizard, he had thought up a plan to discourage her suitors. A magic tree was planted in the garden, a huge pomegranate that had three fruits. At sunset, the branches bent over to touch the ground and the fruit split open. Inside each lay a soft feather bed. Gala, the princess, slept in the middle one, with her servants on each side. The fruit closed over the maidens and the branches swung back to the sky, carrying the princess high above all danger. Seven walls were built round the garden, each studded with thousands of spikes which nobody could ever cross. The king sent out a proclamation:

"Any man wishing to marry my daughter must be noble, rich and handsome. But he must also succeed in picking the fruit in which the princess sleeps. Yet, if he falters in trying to cross the seven circles of spikes, he will be left to die." As it so happens, the Shah's Chief Minister decided that the princess would make a good wife for his master. As time went by, many flne brave warriors perished on the spikes guarding the enchanted garden. Saleb, however, was sure that the special divine powers of the Shah would help him to overcome any obstacle. So he wanted to persuade the Shah to try and win the princess's hand. Every day, Saleb described the trials men had to go through to reach the king's daughter, and to begin with, the Shah was amused by such stories. Then he became curious and began to ask questions himself. The clever Minister told his master of the princess's beauty and all about her brave suitors. In the end, the Shah began to fall in love with the girl he had never seen, just by hearing so much about her. In no time at all, he began to pore over ways of reaching the fruit. And the Chief Minister was delighted to hear of the Shah's plans.

Next day, the Shah ordered a large, brightly feathered parrot with a strong beak to be brought to him. He had decided to use his own magic powers, and he said to Saleb:

"My soul is going to enter this parrot, but my lifeless bodyy wlll return. Watch over it day and night till I come back."

After a long prayer to the God of Reason, the Shah did everything he had been told and fell into a deep sleep. His breathing grew fainter and fainter till it died away and he lay still on the bed. Watching worriedly, Saleb saw that the parrot, which had been sitting quietly on its perch, was now flapping its wings wildly.

The parrot quickly reached the mountain. The air was cold and he flapped heavily upwards but the highest peak was soon left behind. Far below lay the turrets of the palace and the glinting of thousands of spikes. Somehow, the parrot struggled across tne rows of sharp steel and landed safely beside the magic tree.

The sun was setting when Gala and her two servants stepped into the fruit for the night. As the pomegranates closed, the calls of the three maidens rang in the ears of the Parrot Shah, and in the second before they shut, he caught a fleeting glimpse of the beautiful princess. Her gleaming dark eyes seemed to smile at him. Then the branches rose into the air and the fruit shrank back to their normal size. As they pointed upwards, the parrot sprang into the air and, with a blow of his strong beak, ripped the pomegranate containing the princess from its branch. Clutching the fruit in his claws, he flew off into the night.

The twinkling stars lit the Parrot Shah's path home. This time it was hard to cross the mountain, but the parrot felt neither cold nor fatigue, for he could still picture Gala's lovely face. As he gripped the magic pomegranate, the parrot knew that it was hindering his flight, and his wings grew weary and slow. In panic, he felt he was going to drop the fruit, but the thought of Gala's eyes filled him with new strength. Suddenly he saw the valley. He was over the mountain. Now, he had to find the energy to go on and re-enter his own body. And then admire Gala, the bride of his dreams.

Saleb had been watching at the window, left open day and night, and guarding his master's lifeless body. Full of remorse at having coaxed the Shah into undertaking such a dangerous mission, the poor Minister had never stopped praying. Suddenly, he leapt to his feet:

"Thank Heavens!" he cried. "At last! At last! . . " The stars were fading and the sun coming up, tinting the clouds with pink, when the parrot appeared. Gently laying its preclous burden on the bed, the bird went back to its perch... and the Shah's body came slowly to life. Saleb threw himself in front of his master.

"Sire!" he gasped. "I've been so afraid. I thought I'd never see you again." The magic worked as the sun rose over the horizon and its first rays shone through the window. The pomegranate began to grow and grow as it did each morning, then it gently opened and out stepped Gala, smiling.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" she gasped in surprise. The Shah clasped her hand and kissed it fleetingly.

"You're in your future husband's palace!" The Chief Minister clapped his hands in delight. The wedding took place the very next day and the couple ruled happily ever after. From that day, all the parrots in the Shah's kingdom were treated with great respect. A parrot was even included in the royal coat-of-arms and fluttered from the army's banners, while to all the people it was a sacred symbol.