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Reading Short Stories/Content for English Learners

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Short Story 1013 – The Talking Parrot (Int)

Tom walked into the pet shop on a sunny afternoon. He wanted a bird for company. The shop owner pointed to a bright green parrot sitting on a perch.

“This one talks a lot,” the owner said. “His name is Percy.”

Tom paid and took Percy home in a cage. That evening Tom invited his friend Sam for dinner. They sat at the table with plates of chicken and rice. Percy watched from his perch near the window.

Suddenly Percy squawked, “More sauce, please!”

Sam nearly dropped his fork. “Did that bird just speak?”

Tom laughed. “Yes. He copies everything.”

Percy tilted his head. “Sam has dirty shoes!”

Sam looked down. His shoes were muddy from the street. He frowned. “Hey!”

Tom tried to quiet the bird, but Percy kept going. “Tom never washes the dishes! Tom never washes the dishes!”

Sam burst out laughing. Tom’s face turned red. “I do wash them… sometimes.”

During dessert Percy shouted, “Sam ate the last biscuit!”

Sam held up his hands. “It was only one!”

The two friends could not stop laughing. Every time they tried to talk, Percy joined in with a funny comment. He even sang a silly song about sticky rice.

At the end of the evening Sam stood up to leave. Percy called out, “Come back soon, dirty shoes!”

Sam waved at the cage. “You are the best dinner guest I have ever met, Percy.”

Tom smiled and gave the parrot a piece of apple. From that day the three of them met every week. Dinner was never quiet, and no one minded at all.


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Vocabulary Notes

Perch: noun
Meaning: a place where a bird sits or rests, often a stick or bar
Example: “The shop owner pointed to a bright green parrot sitting on a perch.”
Similar words: seat, resting place, branch, bar

Squawked: verb (past tense of squawk)
Meaning: to make a loud, sharp, high sound, like some birds do
Example: “Suddenly Percy squawked, ‘More sauce, please!’”
Similar words: screeched, cried, shouted, yelled

Tilted: verb (past tense of tilt)
Meaning: to move or lean something to one side
Example: “Percy tilted his head.”
Similar words: leaned, tipped, angled, inclined

Muddy: adjective
Meaning: covered with wet earth or dirt
Example: “His shoes were muddy from the street.”
Similar words: dirty, messy, soiled, filthy

Burst out laughing: phrasal verb
Meaning: to suddenly start laughing in a strong or uncontrolled way
Example: “Sam burst out laughing.”
Similar words: exploded with laughter, roared with laughter, cracked up, giggled loudly

Story and image generated by Grok.

Video generated by MoneyPrinterTurbo AI.

CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads.

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