The evil twin - Part 3

Let's find out what Dazel is up to this week.
Published September 3, 2022

Dazel could see the lamp burning in Wiz Rooster's tree house even though it was past midnight. But she knew that the rooster who stayed awake was not Wiz but his evil brother Tezz who had taken over Wiz's home and his life.

"Wiz would never stay up so late. He always believed in early to bed early to rise," Dazel thought to herself. Not being able to quench her curiosity, with a soft fluttering of her bright wings Dazel flew towards the tree house. She felt like an intruder but still she peeked inside the window to Wiz Rooster's house.

In the flickering light of the lamp, she saw Tezz pacing up and down the wood-planked floor. An anxious expression was etched on his face. Just as quietly as she had crept up to the tree house, Dazel flew back to her pond home.

She fell into restless sleep where she dreamt about twin roosters.

It was Swain, the black swan, who lived with Dazel in the pond, who nudged her awake the next morning.

"Dazel, come on. Time for school! You're usually the first one awake every morning. I'm surprised you overslept," remarked Swain.

Quickly Dazel prepared to leave for school. But she did not look forward to her day at Aviary School as she used to in the past. Tezz, who had taken over Wiz Rooster's place, was bossy and loud, while Wiz Rooster had always been kind, firm and benevolent.

During morning assembly Ms. Thrush, who was the Vice Principal of Aviary School, invited Wiz Rooster to give details about the latest camping trip which was being planned for the beginning of summer. "Wiz Sir, you had told us that you would finally tell us where we are going for our summer camping trip this year. Please come and break the suspense. All the birds here are very excited to find out."

Tezz looked taken aback. "I...I ...have yet some planning left. I will disclose the place of the camping trip later," he stammered.

All the students looked disappointed. Ms. Thrush and the other teachers looked embarrassed too. Assembly dispersed and classes resumed as per schedule.

During recess time, one of the seagulls flew upto Dazel, "Do you know where Wiz Rooster is? I have a message from O1ly the Octopus. He has requested that Wiz Rooster meet him at the Aquatic School this evening. He wants Wiz's advice on the extension of the Aquatic School premises.

"I'll convey it to him," said Dazel and went towards the rooster's office.

The door was open and Tezz was seated at the desk. Dazel relayed O1ly the Octopus's message to Tezz. "Olly has requested Wiz Rooster to meet him at the new premises of the Aquatic School this evening.

"Tell him I'm busy and will be unable to," mumbled Tezz.

Just then a butterfly knocked on the office window. "Hello Wiz Sir," the colorful, winged insect said. "The caterpillars are going to undergo metamorphosis soon. You had suggested a training to prepare them for the process. The elder butterflies are asking when you will be able to take out time to speak to them."

"Ahh...ahh... not this week," stuttered Tezz.

Dazel crept out of the office.

"There are so many things Wiz Rooster used to manage. So many creatures he used to help out. Now what will happen? Oh Wiz Rooster! Where are you?" Dazel thought to herself in desperation.

At the lakeside that evening, Dazel met Din Din and Delma. "I have a message from the Old Rex, the mayor of the dinosaurs in Fruit Park. It's the mayor's birthday and he has invited Wiz Rooster to attend the dinner celebration tomorrow. This is the card."

The three friends looked at the invitation card in silence knowing that they had no idea where Wiz Rooster was. "I will deliver it to Tezz," said Dazel solemnly. "I feel so helpless. Is there nothing we can do?" she cried.

Early the next morning, before morning assembly started, when Dazel went into Wiz Rooster's office to deliver the card, she saw that the rooster's office was empty. The entire day Tezz could not be seen.

"Where has he disappeared to?" wondered Dazel that night. "And where is Wiz Rooster?" With troubled thoughts Dazel fell asleep.

The following morning Dazel didn't know whether to be surprised or not when she saw Tezz at assembly. Tezz stood up to address the students of Aviary School.

"Dear students of Aviary School and teachers. I have a confession to make," began Tezz.

Dazel's heart skipped a beat. "Is he really going to admit what he did?" she thought.

"I am Tezz, Wiz Rooster's identical twin brother," Tezz said. A collective gasp went through the crowd.

"I have been pretending to be Wiz Rooster for the past week. I was jealous of my brother's popularity which he enjoyed in D'Land. I wanted his position of respect and authority and I thought I could get it by simply getting rid of him and replacing him. But during this one week I have realized that this popularity and respect is because of his wisdom, kindness and hard work," Tezz took a deep breath. "That's when I realized I could never replace Wiz. And for the first time in my life, I felt guilty. And trust me, guilt didn't let me sleep."

"Where is Wiz?" demanded Dazel from the crowd.

"Ah Dazel! The one creature who knew I wasn't Wiz!" said Tezz with a laugh.

Everyone turned around to stare at Dazel.

"Here I am," came a voice as Wiz Rooster flapped his white wings and landed on the stage next to Tezz.

Dazel thought she would cry in relief. "Wiz! Wiz Sir!" chanted all the birds. They seemed thunderstruck by the two identical roosters before them.

"Hello, my dear birds! I am here with you. Tezz had taken me to the deepest caverns in D'Land. Maybe he thought I would get lost there and never be able to return. But I guess my brother did not realize that I know each and every corner of D'Land. If I had wanted, I would have been back here in Aviary School and confronted Tezz. But I wanted him to realize his mistake. And he did!" said Wiz Rooster in his compassionate and wise voice. "Yesterday he came to 'rescue' me. I was stunned to see how much he had changed. Living with kind creatures makes one kind!"

All the birds clapped their wings in applause. With Wiz Rooster back in their midst everything was back to normal.

(end of story)


This content is a paid advertisement by K&N's and is not associated with or necessarily reflective of the views of Dawn.com or its editorial staff.