In short
Themes: Loyalty; friendship; care; empathy.
Summary: This assembly, which is suitable for an act of collective worship, focuses on a story from the Buddhist tradition called ‘The Steadfast Parrot’.
Resources: ; an image to display showing . You may also wish to source an image of a parrot and / or a puppet parrot to ask the questions with.
The video
AMY: Hi, I'm Amy, and this is the beautiful story of The Loyal Parrot. Thank you very much.
The parrot in this story had feathers that were green and yellow and blue and his eyes were bright and shiny. He was one good-looking bird. Squawk!
Now, this beautiful parrot lived in a beautiful tree, just like this one. Wow, that looks great! Thank you everyone.
PARROT: Squawk! I love you, tree. I love your leaves that give nice, cool shade. I love the way you whisper when the breezes blow.
KIDS: Whisper, whisper, whisper.
PARROT: Squawk! I love it when the tree does that. You know what? I love everything about this tree. I'm going to stick with this tree forever, no matter what. [YAWNS]
AMY: And with that, the happy parrot lay in one of the branches and had happy dreams about his leafy friend. Now, Chakra, king of the gods, was very impressed with the bird's loyalty and he decided to test the bird.
He waved his hand and made magic.
The tree had lost all its beautiful leaves and the lovely whispers changed to sad, creaking sounds.
KIDS: Creak, creak, creak.
PARROT: [YAWNS] What was that creaking noise? It woke me up! My beautiful tree! Oh no, where are all your beautiful leaves? Oh, my friend, I'm so sorry to see you like this. But, should I leave you just because you're no longer beautiful? No, I'm staying right here. In my eyes, you're just as beautiful as you always were. Squawk.
AMY: The loyal parrot stayed with his friend the tree for days and nights. Chakra, king of the gods, was impressed with the parrot's loyalty. It made Chakra smile, and Chakra's smile made magic happen.
PARROT: Squawk! Oh, my friend, you're beautiful and leafy again. I'm so happy for you. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes.
AMY: The parrot and the tree lived together for years and years and every day the tree gave cool shade and lovely whispers.
KIDS: Whisper, whisper, whisper.
AMY: And that is the story of the loyal parrot. Squawk! Thank you for helping tell the treasure story. It was an old Buddhist tale. Goodbye!
KIDS: Bye!
This story is a Buddhist tale.
Once upon a time, a parrot lived in a beautiful tree. The parrot always returned to the same tree and Shakra (King of the Gods) was impressed with the parrot’s loyalty to the tree. The King decided to put the parrot's loyalty to the test, so he removed all the leaves from the tree. The parrot was sad to see the tree without its leaves but it stayed loyal to the tree even though it was no longer beautiful. The parrot stayed with the tree day after day.
The King was now even more impressed with the loyalty of the parrot. There was a golden breeze, the King smiled, the leaves returned and the tree was beautiful once again. This can help us to reflect on the value of loyalty.
Video questions
- What colour was the parrot? (Green, yellow and blue)
- Where did the parrot live? (In a tree)
- Why did the parrot love the tree? (It loved its leaves that gave shade and the way it whispered in the wind)
- Who was Chakra? (King of the gods)
- What happened when the tree lost its leaves? (The parrot stayed with the tree)
- Why was the god Chakra impressed by the parrot? (Because the parrot was loyal and stayed with the tree)
Key links
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Click to display the image full size.
Suggested framework
1. Entry:
Play some video footage of parrots as children enter and / or play your chosen music and display the .
2. Introduction:
Ask the assembly what ‘loyalty’ means and gather responses. (Sticking with someone no matter what; people can ‘count on you’). Explain that everyone is going to watch a short video telling a story about loyalty and that while they are watching the children should think about the meaning of loyalty.
3. The video:.
Play the video. The duration is 3’ 51” and the final words are: ‘it was an old Buddhist tale. Goodbye!’
4. After the video – time to talk:.
Ask some or all of the video questions above to consolidate children’s understanding of it. Then lead a discussion by asking:
- Why do you think loyalty is a good value to have? (People trust you; it shows you are responsible; you put others first; it shows you care; etc).
- Are you loyal to a particular sports team? Why did you pick that team? (Children might talk about a link with a sports team through location or family loyalties).
- How do you show your loyalty? (Children might talk about supporting and cheering for a sports team or wearing clothing with the sports team colours - eg a football kit).
- How can you show loyalty to your family, your friends and your community?
5. Opportunity to sing:.Suggestions from ˿ Collections below.
6. Opportunity to reflect:
Be still now as we think about some of the things we’ve heard today…
We’ve heard an old Buddhist story about the importance of loyalty…and how the parrot remained loyal to tree no matter what…
How do you show your loyalty to others…?
Think about three different ways that you could show loyalty to your friends…
And why you think it’s important that you show loyalty to your friends…
Think about what those friendships would be like without trust and without loyalty…
7. Opportunity for prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for the loyalty of others - those who stick with us when we are finding things hard and help us when we may be struggling.
Help us to be good friends, to show our loyalty so that our friends know that they can trust us and rely on us.
Amen.
Suggested songs
Song: 'Being a friend' (All about our school, no 8. Vocal version)
Being a friend is the best thing you can be,
‘Cos in the end friends are something we all need.
You could score a goal for England,
Be a pop star on TV,
But being a friend
Is still the best thing you can ever be.
Being a friend is the best thing you can do,
Time and again it’s our friends that help us through.
You could be a millionaire,
Or fly a rocket to the moon,
But being a friend
Is still the best thing you can ever do.
Whatever we grow up to be,
And live in harmony,
Together we all need to see
That friendship is the key!
Being a friend is the best thing you can be,
‘Cos in the end friends are something we all need.
You could score a goal for England,
Be a pop star on TV,
But being a friend
Is still the best thing you can ever be.
Being a friend
Is still the best thing you can ever be.
'Build up' (All about our school, no 12)
Verse 1:
Every word you say, (wo-oh)
Every game you play, (wo-oh)
Every silly face, (wo-oh)
Every single place, (wo-oh)
You can build up,
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Or you can tear down.
Chorus:
Build up one another,
Build up your sisters and brothers,
Build up one another,
Build up!
Verse 2:
Every joke you tell, (wo-oh)
Every name you spell, (wo-oh)
Everywhere you go, (wo-oh)
Everyone you know, (wo-oh)
You can build up,
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Or you can tear down.
Chorus:
Build up one another,
Build up your sisters and brothers,
Build up one another,
Build up!
Build up!
Build up!
'Our school' - All about our school, no 9 (© Kate Walker / ˿)
In our school
We work together,
Yes, in our school
We try to help each other
Make our school
A happy place to be.In our school
We think of others,
Yes, in our school
We try to help each other
Make our school
A happy place to be.In our school
We make good friends,
Yes, in our school
We try to help each other
Make our school
A happy place to be.In our school
We work together,
Yes, in our school
We try to help each other
Make our school
A happy place to be.
In our school
A happy place to be!