fter 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. It extended so far that the
gardener himself did not know where the end was. If one went on and
on, one came to a glorious forest. The wood extended straight down to
the sea, and in the trees lived a Nightingale. It sang so splendidly
that even the poor fisherman, who had many other things to do, stopped
still and listened, when he had gone out at night to throw his nets,
to hear the Nightingale.

From all the countries of the world travellers came to admire the
Emperor's palace and his garden, but when they heard the Nightingale
they said, "That is the best of all!"

At last their words came to the Emperor.

"What's that?" he exclaimed. "I don't know the Nightingale at all. Is
there such a bird in my empire, and even in my garden? I've never
heard of that. I command that he shall appear this evening and sing
before me!"

But where was the Nightingale to be found? The court had not heard of
it either. There was a great inquiry after the wonderful Nightingale
which all the world knew except the people at the