Once upon a time, there was a little bird who loved to sing. She sang every morning when she woke up, every afternoon when she played with her friends, and every evening when she went to sleep. She sang songs about the sun, the sky, the trees, and the flowers. She sang songs about her family, her friends, and herself.
She was very happy and proud of her singing voice. She thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. She wanted everyone to hear her sing and enjoy her songs.
One day, she decided to fly around the forest and sing for all the animals she met. She flew from tree to tree and greeted each animal with a song.
She sang for the squirrel: “Hello, squirrel! You are so clever and bright! You can jump from branch to branch with ease! You have a bushy tail that looks so nice!”
She sang for the rabbit: “Hello, rabbit! You are so soft and fluffy! You can run fast and hop high! You have long ears that can hear everything!”
She sang for the deer: “Hello, deer! You are so graceful and elegant! You can walk gently and quietly! You have antlers that are so impressive!”
She sang for the bear: “Hello, bear! You are so big and strong! You can roar loudly and scare anyone! You have fur that keeps you warm!”
She sang for many other animals too: foxes, frogs, owls, mice, etc. She used new words to describe them: cool, chilly, bitter, freezing, raw, warm, humid, boiling, tropical, clever, bright, brilliant [ ^ 2 ^ ] , wise [ ^ 2 ^ ] , etc.
All the animals listened to her songs and thanked her for her compliments. They praised her for her singing voice and her vocabulary. They said things like: “Wow! That’s incredible!”, “You are so talented!”, “That sounds like music!”, “How do you know so many words?”
The little bird felt very happy and proud of herself. She thought she had made many new friends with her songs.
But not everyone was pleased by her singing. There was one animal who didn’t like it at all. It was the snake .
The snake was hiding under a rock near a pond where the little bird had just finished singing for some ducks . The snake heard her songs and felt annoyed by them . He thought they were too loud , too cheerful , too silly .
He didn’t like how the little bird used new words to describe other animals . He thought they were unnecessary , confusing , pretentious .
He decided to teach her a lesson .
He slithered out of his hiding place and approached the little bird who was resting on a branch near the pond .
“Hello there ,” he said in a smooth voice .
“Hello ,” said the little bird politely .
“I heard you singing ,” said the snake .
“Did you like it ?” asked the little bird eagerly .
“Not really ,” said the snake bluntly .
“Why not ?” asked the little bird surprised .
“Because your songs are too long , too boring , too repetitive,” said the snake .
“But I use different words for each animal ,” said the little bird defensively .
“That’s another problem ,” said the snake . “You use too many words that nobody understands . What do they mean ? What’s the point of using them ?”
“They mean different things ,” said the little bird . “They help me express myself better . They make my songs more interesting .”
“No , they don’t ,” said the snake . “They make your songs more complicated . They confuse your listeners . They make you sound arrogant.”
“No , they don’t ,” said the little bird . “They make my listeners curious . They teach them new things . They make me sound smart.”
The snake shook his head .
“You’re wrong ,” he said . “You’re not smart . You’re foolish. You’re wasting your time learning new words . You should stick to simple words that everyone knows . That’s what real singers do .”