Jungle Talk (1995)

"Oh yeah?" said the Crow and on that high note left its perch. Now why on earth did the Crow say so you might well ask. The eagle was equally puzzled. The Owl stared in stunned silence. The one-legged Ostrich said, "My foot", and buried its head into the sand. The eagle turned a glassy eye towards the perch and noticing it empty promptly occupied it. "Eggs and glasses", screeched the parrot triumphantly. "What?" asked the dazed dove. "It's broken" said the Ostrich languidly raising its head. "Don't be silly. It's good for health" said the Prudish Pie. Cat the Cautious which was long eyeing the Pie suspiciously drew back with an air of finality. A speaking Pie was no good. Popular sentiment had it that it was bad for digestion. "Oh well what the hell as long as it sells", sang the swan and sold the eggs for a song. Left with the glasses on the branch the parrot didn't know whether to be or not to be and so broke them. The tinkle of the glass woke the worried sparrow as it walked sleepily into the dove. "What?", cried the dazed Dove. "It's broken", said the Crow as it landed on the perch. This worried the sparrow even more as it was a case of deja entendu and it wasn't used to such repetitions. Something was wrong in the jungle, it muttered to itself. The eagle wasn't so sociable and sent the crow packing from the perch. The Owl had the last laugh as it went into a soliloquy.

"Be it bonded liquor or bound books...the crash of the hammer against the iron or the thundering hoofs of the horses upon the gravel...the ridicule of silence or the sounds of music...the touch of the nib on paper or the tearing sound of a blown tyre...the swish of the cane in empty air or the hazy hue of the orangish evening sky...the play of the waves on the beach or the hazy beauty of the mosaic...the walk of the ants on the marble stone or the crunching feet of the busy men on the city streets...the crackling fire in the wintery night or the broken heart of a love lost...the binding touch of a child or the flights of imagination...the touch of a fairy or the hazy shade of winter...the shine of the shoe in the sunlight or the whine of a desolate dog...the nail on the floor or the flower on the branch...the ring of the phone or the call of the postman...the grind of the machine or the growl of an engine...the joy of living is forever mine" and went off to sleep. Silence reigned in the jungle as it rained happily ever after in the jungle.