Miemun and Khojisteh This introduction tells the story of a prince, Ahmed Sultaun, who prays and prays to the gods to bring him a son. Eventually. the creator of heaven and earth brings a son to him, who the prince names Miemun. Miemun one day finds a extremely overpriced parrot in the market, but decides to buy it after it speaks to him with wisom and seeming foretelling of the future. On this parrots advice, Miemun buys all the spikenard (a plant) in the city. Three days later a caravan from Cabul comes and buys this spikenard at five times the cost! Talk about a smart bird!
The Story of the Parrot of Ferukh Beg After witnessing Miemun's wife, Khojisteh, kill the other bird for speaking out against her plan to leave for another prince (talk about crazy), the parrot wisely decides instead to distract her with a story instead. The parrot tells the story of a similar situation, in which a wife cheats on her out of town husband while the parrot is left to witness. When the husband returns, he blames the parrot for not telling him and then plucks all his feathers out and throws him outside. Eventually, the parrot regrows his feathers and returns to convince the husband to take his wife back.
The Fowler, the Parrot, and her Young Ones The parrot tells another story in this section, this time about a parrot who is captured with her young. The parrot in this story tells her captured children to play dead so that the Fowler will release them. When the plan works, the Fowler is angered. To calm him, the parrot tells him she is a physician and worth a great sum on money. This prompts the Fowler to sell the parrot to the sick king. After making progress on his illness, the parrot asks the king to set her free so that she can cure him once and for all, but once she is released, she leaves and never returns.
Of a King and His Sons, and of a Frog and a Snake In this passage, the parrot tells the story of a young prince who has to flee his home city after his father passes away, for his eldest brother had the intention of killing him. On his way out of the city, this prince saves a frog from the mouth of a snake. However, the prince feels guilty for stealing a meal from the snake, and instead feeds him a piece of his own flesh. Both the frog and snake feel they owe the prince, and take the form of men and join him as servants. The three men take employ in the service of a king in a nearby city, until the eventually part ways.
The Nobleman who Concealed a Snake in His Sleeve This story tells the tale of a nobleman who, one day while hunting, happens across the frightened snake. The snake convinces the nobleman to hide him from another man trying to kill the snake. However, after he helps the snake, the snake calls him a fool for trusting him and says that he will kill the man. The nobleman distracts the snakes and crushes his head with a rock.
A King Falls in Love and the End of Khojisteh In this section, the parrot tells Khojisteh one last story, telling of a king who took a princess of a nearby kingdom by force. This king did not know that his new wife had a son from a previous marriage, and when she sneaks him into the city, he instead suspects this man to be her lover. He sentences her son to death, but a sympathetic executioner saves his life. Eventually, Miemun returns and the parrot tells him all of what has happened. Miemun kills Khojisteh on the spot.
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