The Nobleman who Concealed a Snake in His Sleeve In this story told by the parrot, a snake tricks a nobleman into hiding him from an enemy. This trickster approaches the nobleman and, seemingly frightened, begs the nobleman to hide him from his potential killer. After the nobleman agrees to hide the snake in his sleeve, and once the snake's enemy passes, the snake tells the nobleman he is going to kill him! Some may call the nobleman a fool, and the snake certainly seems to think so, going so far as to call him a "blockhead", but in the end, the nobleman manages to distract the snake and kill it with a rock.
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Of the Merchant and the Barber In this tale, the barber makes a major fool of himself. It begins with a wealthy merchant, who having no children of his own, decides to distribute his amassed wealth among the orphans and the poor. That night, the merchant has a vision in his dream telling him he shall be rewarded for his generosity. The vision tells him that he will appear to the merchant as a brahmin the next day, and that the merchant is to strike him on the head at which he will turn to gold. When this happens, the barber witnesses it and foolishly believes that striking any brahmin on the head will turn him to gold. This of course, causes much trouble for the barber.
We not only see tricksters and fools in the stories told by the parrot, but also in the overarching tale itself. Night after night, each time Khojisteh wishes to leave to her lover, the parrot tricks her into staying by telling her stories. Throughout the story he acts as if he only wants to help Khojisteh, but as soon Miemun returns, the parrot immediately tells him what has happened, upon which Miemun kills Khojisteh. The parrot is truely the ultimate trickster in Tales of a Parrot.
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