The next thing my distraught brother did was even stranger. Instead of putting the bird back to the cage, he took some tapioca flour to make some starch. He used the sticky starch to stick back the tail, much to the annoyance of the struggling and squawking bird. Then, he left the house in a hurry, warning me not to tell my mother about what he had just done.
Later that evening, a Malay boy mysteriously appeared at my house asking for my brother. Nobody understood very much what he said but at the mention of my brother’s name, we knew it had something to do with him. He was holding the same parakeet that my brother had that afternoon!
I could recognise it by its broken tail. He sounded very angry. On seeing that we could not produce the person he wanted, he left the house shouting something that I knew could not mean anything good.
Just as the Malay boy cycled away in his bicycle, my brother appeared behind me. He whispered to me that if he ever came again, I must tell him that he did not live there. I demanded to know the reason and my brother waved three dollars at my face. What is that, I asked. Incidentally, that was the money from the sale of the parakeet. He chuckled as he related how he tricked the boy by selling him the parakeet with a broken tail. If he had not stuck the tail back, the deal could not have materialised. Who would want to buy a parakeet with a broken tail, he remarked.
I could recognise it by its broken tail. He sounded very angry. On seeing that we could not produce the person he wanted, he left the house shouting something that I knew could not mean anything good.
Just as the Malay boy cycled away in his bicycle, my brother appeared behind me. He whispered to me that if he ever came again, I must tell him that he did not live there. I demanded to know the reason and my brother waved three dollars at my face. What is that, I asked. Incidentally, that was the money from the sale of the parakeet. He chuckled as he related how he tricked the boy by selling him the parakeet with a broken tail. If he had not stuck the tail back, the deal could not have materialised. Who would want to buy a parakeet with a broken tail, he remarked.
I did not like it at all. I did not like the way he tricked that boy, but my brother thought he was being very clever.
The incident about the sale of the parakeet had to be kept a top secret from my mother. My elder brother had told me specifically that if I ever let the cat out of the bag, he would hit me out of my skin. Ah, the usual threat but he would not dare, I mocked at him. He knew he had too many shortcomings that he would not like anymore to annoy my parents. He tried to bribe me and I demanded one of those syrupy ‘ ice balls’ he would often buy on the way back from school.
However, my brother could not keep his mischief under control for long. One day, for no reason or rhyme at all, he irritated me to the extreme. He made scream at him all kinds of names I could think of and feeling defeat, I blurted out the secret that was so well kept for the past few weeks.
Unfortunately for him, my mother’s sharp ears picked up the exchange between both of us and the look on her face changed immediately. In a serious, nonsensical voice she reprimanded my brother and told him to return the three dollars to the Malay boy.
The incident about the sale of the parakeet had to be kept a top secret from my mother. My elder brother had told me specifically that if I ever let the cat out of the bag, he would hit me out of my skin. Ah, the usual threat but he would not dare, I mocked at him. He knew he had too many shortcomings that he would not like anymore to annoy my parents. He tried to bribe me and I demanded one of those syrupy ‘ ice balls’ he would often buy on the way back from school.
However, my brother could not keep his mischief under control for long. One day, for no reason or rhyme at all, he irritated me to the extreme. He made scream at him all kinds of names I could think of and feeling defeat, I blurted out the secret that was so well kept for the past few weeks.
Unfortunately for him, my mother’s sharp ears picked up the exchange between both of us and the look on her face changed immediately. In a serious, nonsensical voice she reprimanded my brother and told him to return the three dollars to the Malay boy.
A few weeks passed with the incident totally forgotten.
One evening, I saw the same Malay boy cycling towards our house. Quickly, I signalled to my brother who was lazing on the floor of the living room, of his arrival. As swift as a deer, he got up and ran into the bedroom to hide. When the boy came up to the door of our house, he spoke in Malay. I could not understand a single word and I was a little mad at him because he spoke no other language that I could understand. Using sign language, I knew he wanted to show off his bird which had by then grown its tail again. I could hardly recognise it myself. Its new owner had fixed one end of a metal chain which was about a foot long at its leg and the other end was fixed to a T-shaped bamboo stand, cleverly made with a handle to hold. It looked happy and would not give me a look when I called out its name. I called it “Chit-chit” when it first joined our family.
One evening, I saw the same Malay boy cycling towards our house. Quickly, I signalled to my brother who was lazing on the floor of the living room, of his arrival. As swift as a deer, he got up and ran into the bedroom to hide. When the boy came up to the door of our house, he spoke in Malay. I could not understand a single word and I was a little mad at him because he spoke no other language that I could understand. Using sign language, I knew he wanted to show off his bird which had by then grown its tail again. I could hardly recognise it myself. Its new owner had fixed one end of a metal chain which was about a foot long at its leg and the other end was fixed to a T-shaped bamboo stand, cleverly made with a handle to hold. It looked happy and would not give me a look when I called out its name. I called it “Chit-chit” when it first joined our family.
A few moments later, my brother appeared, pretending to stifle a yawn and pretending that he had just woke up from his nap. They began to speak amicably which told me that there was no more anger from the Malay boy. He must have forgiven my brother after all “Chit-chit” did gave him much happiness during the past few weeks.
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