Serozha was delighted, and he ran into the house to show his mother
the trap.
His mother said:
"It is not a good plaything. What do you want to do with birds? Why do
you want to torture them?"
"I am going to put them in a cage," Serozha said. "They will sing, and
I will feed them."
He got some seed, scattered it on the board, and set the trap in the
garden. And he stood by and expected the birds to fly down. But the
birds were afraid of him and would not come near the cage. Serozha ran
in to get something to eat, and left the cage.
After dinner he went to look at it. The cage had shut, and in it a
little bird was beating against the bars.
Serozha took up the bird, and carried it into the house.
"Mother, I have caught a bird!" he cried. "I think it is a
nightingale; and how its heart beats!"
His mother said it was a wild canary. "Be careful! Don't hurt it; you
would better let it go."
"No," he said. "I am going to give it something to eat and drink."
Serozha put the bird in a cage, and for two days gave it seed and
water, and cleaned the cage. But on the third day he forgot all about
it, and did not change the water.
And his mother said, "See here, you have forgotten your bird. You
would better let it go."
Serozha thrust his hand in the cage and began to clean it, but the
little bird was frightened and fluttered.
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