Tour Agent

Chẫu Chàng

Hanoi, Spring

31-1-2026

© 2023 Anhinga, painting of Bùi Quang Khiêm

Does the Bird Village like traveling? Of course it does. By nature—loving freedom, open-spirited, fond of arguing, and always on the wing—how wouldn’t birds enjoy journeys to faraway places?

Even so, for the Bird Village, this remains a distant dream.

Long-distance travel is both difficult and dangerous. Only Pelicans, as a migratory species, can manage it—but they are not villagers.

So the dream of traveling far away exists merely as a beautiful fantasy to be imagined.

Clearly, this is an unmet need. If the residents of the Bird Village could be satisfied, the merit would truly be immeasurable. Knowing this, Kingfisher sends his disciples to explore options. In the end, they find Anhinga—fashionable, sociable, and well-versed in travel services since this handsome bird seems to be highly experienced in traveling.

The travel organizing committee members, i.e., Heron, Sparrow, Drongo, and Red-whiskered Bulbul, thoroughly investigate all aspects with Anhinga: transportation, health and safety, sightseeing, food, and lodging. Turns out Anhinga’s plan meets the very stringent requirements set by Kingfisher.

Finally, the organizers bring Anhinga to meet Kingfisher.

 When the entire Bird Village hears the news, they are overjoyed, chattering endlessly everywhere. It is even stranger that they stay up late to make such a racket, because—apart from Owl—birds usually go to sleep as soon as the sun is about to set. But this dreamlike travel event creates something unprecedented in the Village’s history: birds staying up at night!

Kingfisher feels extremely proud, sensing that he is about to perform a great deed that will go down in history. All night in his cave, Kingfisher silently rehearses the questions for a deep investigation of Anhinga, including AI-assisted lie-detection techniques.

(AI is very good at detecting lies, since Kingfisher himself has been fooled by AI many times before. Using poison to fight poison.)

However, the most worrying issue is cost. While secretly listening to the Village’s late-night chatter, Kingfisher picks up that the birds’ greatest shared concern is centered on expenses. The words of sleepy birds are always laden with truth.

These questions and thoughts lull Kingfisher into a fitful sleep. In his dream, he sees himself leading the entire Bird Village to a place as beautiful as paradise, grandly pointing the way like a tour leader—though inwardly anxious about losing the route. Suddenly, he jolts awake to a noisy clamor; it turns out that dawn has already broken.

The Bird Village’s travel organizing committee—made up of trusted disciples: Heron, Sparrow, Drongo, and Red-whiskered Bulbul—arrive on time, escorting the well-dressed Anhinga to discuss the travel plans.

From afar, outside the cave entrance, birds from all over the village abandon their work to stand around and wait for the outcome.

Acting as the gracious host, Kingfisher invites Anhinga to enjoy a plate of fine fish from the pond before getting down to business. Anhinga eats very elegantly, commenting as he eats. Listening to his remarks on fish-eating style, flavor evaluation, and global culinary comparisons, Kingfisher is very pleased. Recalling the investigative questions from the night before, he finds Anhinga entirely trustworthy.

Everything seems fine; all that remains is to avoid being deceived about the costs, and then everything will truly be fine. Reassured, Kingfisher moves on to the main topic: expenses.

Kingfisher: “How about the costs for procedures and transportation?”

Anhinga: “Free.”

Stunned, Kingfisher continues: “And the sightseeing costs?”

Anhinga: “Free.”

Unable to believe his ears, Kingfisher asks again: “Then what about food and lodging, health care, communication, and even guiding services?”

Anhinga: “Completely free.”

At this point, Kingfisher asks Anhinga to wait while he consults with the organizing committee. The birds follow Kingfisher into a deep corner of the cave to check with the AI.

The AI’s answer: “Anhinga is telling the truth.”

When they return, Kingfisher, together with the organizing committee and Anhinga, unanimously agree on the travel arrangement. Anhinga is now entrusted with full authority to recruit a coordinating tour agent, especially to ensure perfect destination services and attentive care for the group.

Anhinga replies confidently: “Careful down to every single feather!”

The organizing committee is extremely satisfied. Everything is settled. The whole Village rejoices, bustling with preparations. Spirits are high—more jubilant than at any time in the past 200 years. As the departure day approaches, Kingfisher suddenly remembers that the wisest bird in the Village is Owl, and decides to visit him.

No sooner has Kingfisher reached the door than Owl says flatly: “I’m not going. Many have invited me already—I’m not going.”

Kingfisher says: “It’s free, it’ll be fun, and traveling is enriching. Why won’t you go?”

Owl gives no answer, only insisting that he won’t go. No matter how Kingfisher asks, Owl refuses to give a reason.

Out of options, Kingfisher resorts to pleading, recounting old stories—like the time when Young Owl had been exhausted by severe diarrhea and couldn’t recover, and Kingfisher had to search for a fish species whose flesh could stop the diarrhea before Young Owl finally recovered…

Only then does Owl reluctantly reveal that intelligence reports indicate the tour agent that Anhinga hired to provide the services is highly suspicious...

Panicking, Kingfisher cries out: “Suspicious how?”

Owl replies: “That guy is a taxidermist by trade. His primary income comes from selling tickets to a museum of stuffed birds.”

¤

Epilogue:

Much later, after he has calmed down, Kingfisher finally understands what Anhinga meant by “careful down to every single feather.” Realizing that Anhinga has not been joking at all, Kingfisher nods in deep appreciation—convinced more than ever that AI lie detection truly works very well.

References

Vuong, Q. H. (2024). Wild Wise Weird. https://books.google.com/books?&id=rq82EQAAQBAJ