The Canary

By Benjamin Parsons

Inspired by the twelfth century lais of Marie de France, this modern folktale tells of Damiah, a young woman torn between loyalty to her sister and the man she loves. One day she hopelessly pours out her heart to a golden canary - without realising that her little bird's song is full of the hope she lacks. Part of the collection Tales from the Old World.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Benjamin Parsons
• Release date: Oct 8, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301668298

Benjamin Parsons

I am a writer and artist from the Westcountry of England now living in London. I write and illustrate stories about love, hate, ambition, revenge, beauty, and the supernatural.

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The Canary

Copyright 2023 Benjamin Parsons. First published in 2016.

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You know I love to tell you stories of love, and lovers, so I must mention that just off busy Hornsey High Street there’s a little monument, neglected and weather-worn, to love.

The street is as urban and commercial as any other in North London I suppose, but it’s unusual because it retains the ruins of an ancient church amongst the modernity. The tower stands yet to its full height, but all around it are merely low fragments, and an overgrown graveyard cluttered with the tumbledown tombs of the