Edward Steiner begins his autobiography, From Alien to Citizen, by framing the opening episode in the conventions of the fairy tale." Once upon a time," an Italian came to Steiner's town with a" grind-organ," a monkey, and a parrot. While the organ and the monkey played for both the rich and the poor, the parrot, which kept its eyes closed, could only be stirred to perform if one gave up a significant pile of kreutzers. Steiner says," No doubt the parrot was trying to forget this wretched company, and was dreaming of the far-off paradise which was his"(p. 19). Of course, Steiner the boy quickly ran home to get money from his mother, for according to its owner, the parrot was a famous fortuneteller. Here is the way the narrator recounts it:

His master took my money and struck the perch upon which the bird sat immovable, with eyes shut. Quizzically it cocked its head, looked at the promised reward in the hand of its trainer, then majestically descended, drew an envelope out of a row, which no doubt held the fate of all youths of my age, and dropped it upon the little table. Thus my fortune was told, and my fate sealed.