Taking advantage of the Sunday holiday, Tabraiz went to his friend Hajis’s house. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Hajis standing in the courtyard. Many sparrows and mynas were busy pecking at grains on the ground, and Hajis was feeding them. This scene was amazing for Tabraiz. He was even more surprised to see that the birds were sitting without any fear and felt no danger from Hajis.
"Oh, Tabraiz! Come here, my friend," Hajis called out with pleasant surprise when he saw Tabraiz waiting near the door. Tabraiz turned his surprised expression into a smile and walked over, but as soon as the birds saw him, they all flew away.
"Why did they fly away?" Tabraiz asked.
"Because they saw you and flew off feeling unsafe," Hajis explained with a laugh.
"But you’ve been standing near them for so long, why didn't they fly away from you? Why didn't they feel any danger?" Tabraiz asked several simple questions at once.
"Because the birds are my friends, and they know I won't hurt them," Hajis said.
"Oh, wow!" said Tabraiz.
"Anyway, I came to meet you. You told me at school the day before yesterday that you have many storybooks. I want to read them too; I love reading stories," Tabraiz said happily.
"Yes! Come into my room," Hajis took his hand.
OO
"I should also make friends with birds like Hajis," Tabraiz thought after returning home, sitting on the cot in his courtyard.
"How nice it will be when I make friends with birds and play with them," he muttered to himself.
"But how will they become my friends?" He scratched his head while thinking.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp!" He raised his head and saw a sparrow singing on the wall, feeling deep joy.
"Sweet sparrow!" He moved towards it. "Will you be my friend?" But the sparrow flew away without answering his question.
Tabraiz kept watching. Now a myna flew in and perched on the same wall. "Sweet myna! I want to be your friend." As soon as he stepped forward, the myna felt endangered and took flight. Not a single bird was ready to be his friend.
"No bird wants to be my friend," Tabraiz began to feel sad. Somehow, he pulled himself together, and early the next morning, he went to Hajis's house. As usual, Hajis was busy feeding his "friends."
Seeing Tabraiz, all the birds left the grains and flew away. Tabraiz made a face.
"Look at that! These friends of yours flew away as soon as they saw this friend of yours," Tabraiz said, looking at Hajis.
"Hahaha!" Hajis laughed after listening and said, "My friend, they are scared of a stranger."
Tabraiz nodded and said, "Well, I came to you for some work."
"Yes, yes! Tell me."
"I tried yesterday to make friends with them, but I couldn't."
"How did you try?"
Tabraiz recounted everything from yesterday, which made Hajis burst into laughter.
"That's not how you make friends with birds!" Hajis said.
"Then how do you do it?" he asked.
"Let me fetch half a piece of bread from the kitchen," Hajis moved towards the kitchen.
"Why, haven't you had breakfast yet? Wait, first teach me how to make friends with birds, then we’ll go to my house. I’ll give you a whole piece of bread there, not just half, and you can enjoy it," Tabraiz said in one breath.
Hajis stopped on his way to the kitchen, looked at him, and laughed out loud. "I'm not getting half a piece of bread for myself," Hajis explained.
"Then for whom?"
"Just watch."
"Alright!"
Hajis brought half a piece of bread, broke it into small crumbs, and told Tabraiz, "Go into that room and watch through the window." Tabraiz went into the room and peeked through the window.
Hajis was scattering the small crumbs and grains on the ground. Mynas started coming and pecking at them.
"Ah! So this is how you make friends with birds," Tabraiz realized while watching from the window.
Hajis smiled, looked at Tabraiz peeking from the window, and signaled him to come out. As soon as Tabraiz came outside, the birds flew away.
"Feed the birds seeds and water, and they will become your friends," Hajis advised. Tabraiz nodded in understanding.
OO
Next Sunday morning, Hajis came to Tabraiz's house to visit him. He saw Tabraiz standing in the courtyard, feeding grains and small pieces of bread to the birds, and the birds were happily pecking at them. As Hajis came near him, all the birds flew away.
"Oh, they flew away!" Hajis said.
"Yes, because they are my friends, not yours!"
Tabraiz and Hajis burst into laughter together.