Pagina 385 di 626

The shoemaker heard him, and he jumped up and ran out in his

shirt-sleeves, and stood looking up at the bird on the roof with

his hand over his eyes to keep himself from being blinded by the

sun.

'Bird,' he said, 'how beautifully you sing!' Then he called

through the door to his wife: 'Wife, come out; here is a bird,

come and look at it and hear how beautifully it sings.' Then he

called his daughter and the children, then the apprentices, girls

and boys, and they all ran up the street to look at the bird, and

saw how splendid it was with its red and green feathers, and its

neck like burnished gold, and eyes like two bright stars in its

head.

'Bird,' said the shoemaker, 'sing me that song again.'

'Nay,' answered the bird, 'I do not sing twice for nothing; you

must give me something.'

'Wife,' said the man, 'go into the garret; on the upper shelf you

will see a pair of red shoes; bring them to me.' The wife went in

and fetched the shoes.