After Serozha had cleaned
the cage, he went to get some water. His mother saw that he had
forgotten to shut the cage door, and she called after him.
"Serozha, shut up your cage, else your bird will fly out and hurt
itself."
She had hardly spoken the words when the bird found the door, was
delighted, spread its wings, and flew around the room toward the
window. Serozha came running in, picked up the bird, and put it back
in the cage. The bird was still alive, but it lay on its breast, with
its wings spread out, and breathed heavily. Serozha looked and looked
at it, and began to cry.
"Mother, what can I do now?" he asked.
"You can do nothing now," she replied.
Serozha stayed by the cage all day. He did nothing but look at the
bird. And all the time the bird lay on its breast and breathed hard
and fast.
When Serozha went to bed, the bird was dead. Serozha could not get to
sleep for a long time; every time that he shut his eyes he seemed to
see the bird still lying and sighing.
In the morning when Serozha went to his cage, he saw the bird lying on
its back, with its legs crossed, and all stiff.
After that Serozha never again snared birds.
THE NIGHTINGALE
The Emperor's palace was the most beautiful in the world.
In the garden were to be seen wonderful flowers, and to the costliest
of these silver bells were tied, which rang, so that nobody should
pass by without noticing the garden.
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