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"I told him I would think about it," Alandra answered as she picked up Coco and started to pet him. "My Father told me that I was foolish not to accept Grazza's request."

"Your Father is indeed a very wise leader and knows a lot about these things. Why did you not listen to him?" Marupa asked.

My Father is indeed a wise leader and knows a lot about most things," Alandra said. "However, my Father does not know my heart."

With a puzzled look, Marupa asked, "Just what are your heart's desires, Alandra?"

"That is for me to know and for you to find out," Alandra answered.

"Well," Marupa said as he stood up and turned toward the path to the village, "I must go back to my parents home and finish my day's duties."

Alandra also stood up and grabbed Marupa's arm. "Why do you not ask me to be your Offering Maiden, Marupa?"

"If I did," Marupa responded, "would you give me the same answer as you did to Grazza?"

Alandra gazed deeply into his eyes. With a young girl's anger she said, "Men can be so foolish sometimes. Do you not understand that you are the one I wish to carry the offering basket for? We have known each other since we were children. You have been my best friend for all of those years, and yet you, like my Father, cannot see into my heart?"

For the first time in his life, Marupa looked at Alandra in a different way. His heart stirred as he experienced a new feeling. There was love inside him for Alandra, a love that he had never experienced before. All of those years they had, indeed, been close friends, but he never knew his true feelings for her until that very moment. Before he could come out of his trance, Alandra had already left.

Marupa sat back down under the tree, shook his head, and breathed a deep sigh. "Wow! I never realized how I felt about her!"

Just then a pomegranate fell on his head with a dull thud. Then he heard a familiar, "Waak, waak." As he looked up, he saw a large parrot on a limb directly above him. Coco started jumping about, making laughing sounds at Marupa.

"Caleeko!" Marupa exclaimed, "Your timing really stinks! This is not a good time for me to peel this and feed you!"

The parrot cocked his head, trying to understand what Marupa was trying to tell him. Caleeko could tell by the tone of Marupa's voice that he was not too happy with him.

Marupa looked at Caleeko's bewildered face and felt sorry for him. "Come on down here, you bag of feathers."

Caleeko gracefully swooped down in front of Marupa. Marupa had raised Caleeko for about five years. He had found the parrot with a broken wing one day. He was able to put a splint on its wing and kept it until the bird was completely healed. When Marupa released the parrot to fly away, Caleeko would always come back to him. Since then, Caleeko and Marupa had become good friends. The name "Caleeko", means "many colors."

Marupa grabbed the pomegranate lying on the ground and sat down against the tree. He took out his knife from his belt strap and began to peel the fruit. "So, tell me, Caleeko, how are you with women? Do you claim to understand them?"

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