Mottu To The Rescue!

Suddenly I heard a scream coming from the other room. I walked towards the room and saw something move in the shadows...This peculiar story ends with three cheers for me and a parrot. Anyone reading this must wonder how does this story involve a parrot? Let me start from the beginning. It was a bright Saturday morning and as usual, our house was in chaos. Mum was busy making breakfast in the kitchen while dad was running around the house searching for his suit and tie. Meanwhile, my annoying yet lovely little sister, Riya, was demanding a new wish: a new addition to our house, a pet. She got this new idea that she must have a pet after she saw her best friend, Lilly, with a new pet: a canary bird. Since then she's continuously begging and demanding our parents to buy a pet. 

Today they finally gave in and decided to get Riya a pet as it was really trying for them to listen to her tantrums all day. Frankly, I was happy with this decision as for many years I had been secretly desiring a pet but hadn't had the courage to admit my desire to our parents. So, the next week when we set out to buy a new family pet, sister and I couldn't stop squealing for joy. As soon as we reached the pet shop, my sister ran out of the car as fast as she could towards the shop while my parents and I followed in a more orderly and decent way. I pity the shopkeeper, who was dusting his shop, as my sister almost ran over him and the poor man got quite a shock. Fortunately, he was good-tempered and forgave my over-excited and careless sister quickly. He led us towards his vast collection of pets; each of them unique in their own way. We couldn't decide which one to buy when one special pet caught our eye. It was a parrot and the most beautiful one we've ever seen. My sister and I agreed at once that this was the one. My parents argued at first that we wouldn't be able to take care of him and should choose a smaller pet like a fish that could be easily taken care of but after hearing our continuous pleas and cries, they finally gave in. We bought him and he officially became a member of our loving family. He was named Mottu as that was the first name that popped into our minds. True to his name, Mottu loved eating and always had something in his mouth every five minutes. But yet he always held a special place in our hearts. He had a special talent, he could perfectly imitate humans like most parrots. Months passed and it was time for grandma's yearly visit. We all loved grandma but we had a problem; she absolutely detested pets. We knew we had to train Mottu to behave in his best manner but even though he tried his best he couldn't control his temptation for food. The day arrived and Grandma's taxi stopped before our doorstep. We welcomed her and prayed to God to let Mottu behave in his best manner. But unfortunately, when Mottu caught sight of the bag of sweets that grandma brought for us, he quickly flew and snatched the bag from her hand. She got a big shock and started scolding my parents for allowing us to have a pet. Mottu didn't even notice what happened and kept on eating the sweets. The scene was so hilarious that my sister and I laughed till our tears dropped while the adults gave us angry glares. After we had our laughter fiesta, we sat down for dinner and the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. No one dared to speak as grandma was in one of her thunderous moods. We quickly went to bed after dinner and hoped for a better start tomorrow. All of us except grandma silently prayed to the almighty to bestow a miracle upon us that would blossom grandma's and Mottu's relationship. After a few hours, I heard a sound. I thought I must be dreaming but then the sound came louder. I woke up and the next time the sound was heard much louder; it was the sound of someone screaming. I walked towards the room the sound was coming from and saw something move in the shadows. I quickly ran and grabbed the moving creature. The first thought that occurred to me was that the creature was a ghost. But then I remembered that mythical creatures like ghosts don't exist. Then, It turned to see what or who stopped it from escaping and I could easily identify him. It was Kalia, the notorious thief who was stealing valuable possessions from our neighbors and who couldn't be tracked down by the police. I felt a tinge of pride that I was able to do something that even the police weren't able to. I quickly tied him tight with a piece of rope so that he wouldn't escape and then went to search for the person who had screamed. I looked at our parents', grandma's, and my sister's bedrooms but all of them were sound asleep. So, who was the mysterious screamer who had helped me save the whole neighborhood from future thievery? It was Mottu! I came to know this as when I went outside to find the screamer, I saw him wide awake and he was screaming as loudly as he could. It was a perfectly imitated human scream! He had been screaming to warn that there was an intruder in our house. I was shocked and ran to our parents' bedroom to wake them and narrate my peculiar and thrilling story to them. They listened with amazement and agreed at once that the police must be informed. 

Our house was soon buzzing with police cars and local newspaper journalists who kept asking me various questions. Soon, grandma and Riya were awake and wondered what the ruckus was about. I narrated my tale and they too were amazed to hear such a strange and unbelievable story. Everyone was happy and satisfied with Kalia being captured and all the stolen goods were returned to their respective owners. Mottu and I got lots of praise and were extremely happy. But the best of all was that grandma agreed Mottu was worth keeping and even patted him in his back! Though unfortunately, I didn't even get a wink of sleep!