Now mind you don’t harm it. Better let it go.”

“No, no, I’ll feed it and give it some water,” cried Misha.

For two days Misha fed the little bird and cleaned out the cage. On the third day, however, he forgot about his sparrow and did not change its water or clean the cage.

His mother scolded him.

“Just as I said, you shouldn’t put birds in cages. Better let it go.”

“No, I won’t forget again,” said Misha. “I’ll put some water in at once and clean the cage”

Misha opened the cage door, put in his hand and began to clean the cage floor. Meanwhile, the poor sparrow fluttered about the cage, beating its wings on the bars. When the cage was clean, Misha went for some water, forgetting to shut the door.

As soon as the little bird discovered the open door, it spread its wings and flew across the room to the window But, not noticing the glass, it flew straight into the windowpane and dropped heavily upon the sill.

Hearing the strange noise, Misha ran back into the room and picked up the bird; though its heart was still beating, it now lay where Misha put it in the cage, on its breast, its wings outspread, breathing heavily

Misha’s eyes filled with tears as he gazed at his little bird.

“Mama, what am I to do?” he cried.

‘There’s nothing you can do, my son,” replied his mother.

All through the day, Misha stayed by the cage, staring at the sparrow lying on its breast and panting fast.

When Misha went to bed the little sparrow was still alive.

For a long time he could not sleep. Each time he shut his eyes he saw his little sparrow lying on the floor of the cage. And in the morning, when he came downstairs, he found the bird upon its back, its tiny claws clenched tight, its body stiff and cold.

From that day on Misha never caught birds again.

THE PLUM STONE

Mother had bought a pound of plums, washed them, and left them on a big plate in the center of the table. They were for dinner.

Little Vanya had never tasted plums in all his life and was very curious. First he sniffed the fruit, wrinkled his nose at the pleasing smell, and decided he liked them very much. Dinnertime was still a long way off and Vanya could not wait.

As soon as he was alone in the dining room, he seized a big plum and ate it quickly.

When dinnertime came, Mother counted the plums and noticed that one was missing. She informed Father.

The whole family sat around the table to eat and, in the course of the meal, Father asked, “Now then, children, have any of you eaten a plum?”

Each child answered in turn: “No”

But Vanya turned as red as a lobster.

Then Father said, “It is wrong to steal a plum; but that’s not all. You see, plums have stones and if you swallow a stone you’ll die. That’s what really bothers me.”

This time Vanya went as pale as a sheet.

“No, no,” he stuttered. “I threw the stone out of the window”

At that everyone laughed.

Poor Vanya burst into tears.

BETTER TO BE LEAN
AND FREE THAN PLUMP
AND CHAINED

A lean and hungry wolf came prowling by a village one frosty morning when he met a dog, sleek and well fed.

“Tell me, Cousin,” said the wolf, “how is it you’re so plump?”

“People feed me,” said the dog.

“Is that so?” said the wolf in amazement. “And is your job hard in earning your keep?”

“Oh no,” replied the dog. “All I do is guard the farmyard at night”

“And you get food for that?” asked the wolf “If that’s all there is to it, I’ll join you. You’ve no idea how tough it is to find food in the wild”

“The Master is sure to feed you well,” said the dog.

Eagerly licking his lips, the wolf set off with the dog to serve people. But just as the two animals were entering the yard, the wolf noticed a bald patch on the dog’s neck.

“Hold on, Cousin,” he exclaimed. “How did you come to lose your fur?”

“The chain rubbed it away . . . You see, for most of the day and night I’m chained to a post.”

“Then farewell to you, my poor Cousin,” called the wolf as he ran off. “I’ve changed my mind about serving people after all. I may go hungry, but I prefer to be lean and free than plump and chained”

A YOUNG BOY’S STORY
OF HOW HE DID NOT
GO TO TOWN

Dad was going off to town.

“’Dad, take me with you,” I said. But he shook his head. “You’ll freeze there. Stay home”

I turned around, burst into tears, and hid in the scullery I cried and cried until I fell asleep.

In my dream I see a small path leading from our village to the chapel, and I see Dad walking along this path. So I catch up to him and off we go together to the city As I go I see a chimney smoking ahead of us.