Page 63 - English Class 07

eat them the next day. But, they all were gnawed through. “The Rat Brigade had been there

again,” she screeched. The birds were inconsolable. The rest of the mangoes were to ripe
only in a few days. Everyone was worried.

It was Kaka who came up with the solution. “The other day, Ullunath had told us that he
preyed on rats. Why not ask him to tackle the rats?” Totabhai disapproved of this idea. But
Tiya, the oldest parrot and the Parakeet felt otherwise. “Do you think he will help us, after
all we have hardly been friendly to him?” said Parakeet.

“No harm in trying,” said Tiya. So, three of them went to Ullunath’s hollow. He was
sleeping. When parrots clicked their beaks outside his hollow, he emerged. His feathers were

ruffled and he looked annoyed. “What is it?” he asked gruffly. “We need your help,” said
Totabhai.

“What! You need help of a crazy bird!” asked Ullunath.
Totabhai squirmed . “Yes, please,” he replied humbly. He agreed to help them on a

condition that he should be allowed to hoot every night. The birds heaved a sigh of relief. A
little disturbed sleep was a small price to pay for getting rid of the rats.

Over the next few days as the mangoes ripened, the birds dropped them to the ground.
At night, they waited in suspense. They heard the rustle of the rats.

Ullunath was ready. He soared , plunged and came back, looking content. “There, I think
he has eaten one rat,” whispered Mithu.

Again and again, Ullunath swooped and struck till the rats went scurrying off.
The next night, the rats did not come. The parrots were
squirmed : twist
overjoyed. That night, when Ullunath hooted, “TOO ............. WHIT rustle : whisper
............. TOO ............. WHOO!” the parrots did not mind at all. soared : fly up
plunged : jump quickly
They chorused happily, “We love you, Ullunath!”

How many feathers do birds have? To determine this you’d have to keep track of feathers
into the thousands. When you plucked (as you would of chicken), you’d notice though that
the feathers didn’t cover the bird like a grass covers your lawn. Instead there are rows
(tracks) of feathers. Since, the feathers overlap each other, its seems like they are all one
continous covering.
To know more about the feathers of birds, visit the following website.

www.academy.allaboutbirds.org/feathers-article/2/

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