‘If that’s all, dear brother,’ said the sparrow, ‘come to the town with
me, and I’ll soon get food for you.’
So they went together to the town, and when they came to a butcher’s
shop, the sparrow said to the dog: ‘You stand still and I’ll peck down a
piece of meat for you.’
First she looked all round to see that no one was watching her, and then
she set to work to peck at a piece of meat that lay on the edge of a
shelf, till at last it fell down. The dog seized it ravenously, and ran
with it to a dark corner where he gobbled it up in a very few minutes.
When he had finished it, the sparrow said: ‘Now come with me to another
shop, and I will get you a second piece, so that your hunger may be
satisfied.’ When the dog had finished the second piece of meat, the
sparrow asked him: ‘Brother, have you had enough now?’
‘Yes,’ replied the dog, ‘I’ve had quite enough meat, but I haven’t had
any bread yet.’
The sparrow said: ‘You shall have as much bread as you like, only come
with me.’ Then she led him to a baker’s shop, and pecked so long at two
rolls on a shelf that at last they fell down, and the dog ate them up.
But still his hunger was not appeased; so the sparrow took him to
another baker’s shop, and got some more rolls for him. Then she asked
him: ‘Well, brother, are you satisfied?’
‘Yes,’ he replied; ‘and now let us go for a little walk outside the
town.’
So the two went for a stroll into the country; but the day was very hot,
and after they had gone a short distance the dog said: ‘I am very tired,
and would like to go to sleep.’
‘Sleep, then,’ said the sparrow, ‘and I will keep watch meantime on the
branch of a tree.’
So the dog lay down in the middle of the road, and was soon fast asleep.
While he was sleeping a carter passed by, driving a waggon drawn by
three horses, and laden with two barrels of wine. The sparrow noticed
that the man was not going out of his way to avoid the dog, but was
driving right in the middle of the road where the poor animal lay; so
she called out: ‘Carter, take care what you are about, or I shall make
you suffer for it.’
But the carter merely laughed at her words, and, cracking his whip, he
drove his waggon right over the dog, so that the heavy wheels killed
him.
Then the sparrow called out: ‘You have caused my brother’s death, and
your cruelty will cost you your waggon and horses.’
‘Waggon and horses, indeed,’ said the carter; ‘I’d like to know how you
could rob me of them!’
The sparrow said nothing, but crept under the cover of the waggon and
pecked so long at the bunghole of one of the barrels that at last
she got the cork away, and all the wine ran out without the carter’s
noticing it.
But at last he turned round and saw that the bottom of the cart was
wet, and when he examined it, he found that one of the barrels was quite
empty. ‘Oh! what an unlucky fellow I am!’ he exclaimed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account