>>1852
The bird flew to a goldsmith's house and began to sing;
"My mother, she killed me
My father, he ate me,
My sister,
She wrapped my bones in silk
Tweet tweet, what a beautiful bird am I."
The goldsmith looked up from his work in wonder at the bird's song. He pleaded for the bird to sing again.
The robin shook his head. "I don't sing twice for free, give me something and I'll sing again."
The goldsmith gave the bird the chain he was working on and the bird sang again.
The bird then flew to a shoemaker's house and began to sing;
"My mother, she killed me
My father, he ate me,
My sister,
She wrapped my bones in silk
Tweet tweet, what a beautiful bird am I."
The shoemaker and his children listened in delight, clapping their hands at the bird's song.
"Oh please Robin, sing again. Your feathers are so red, you are such a beautiful bird," pleaded the children.
The bird replied sternly "I'll sing again if you give me something, I don't sing twice for nothing."
The shoemaker rushed to find something for the bird and gave him a new pair of red boots, and the Robin sang again.
The bird finally flew to a mill and began to sing;
"My mother, she killed me
My father, he ate me,
My sister,
She wrapped my bones in silk
Tweet tweet, what a beautiful bird am I."
The workers stopped working and begged the bird to sing again while they laboured.
"Give me a mill stone and I'll sing as much as you please," the robin chirped. The workers struggled to lift the mill up to the bird who picked it up like a feather and began to sing again.
The bird flew back to the juniper tree and sang once again;
"My mother, she killed me
My father, he ate me,
My sister,
She wrapped my bones in silk
Tweet tweet, what a beautiful bird am I."
The family was inside and heard the bird's song. The husband felt content, while the woman felt ill and the daughter continued to cry.
"Mother, do you hear that bird? It feels me with joy like the sun is beaming down on me."
The woman turned to her husband and shook her head "It makes me feel scared and like my veins are frozen." The daughter cried harder.
The husband went outside to hear the bird better and it dropped the gold chain on his neck.
"Mother! Look at what the bird gave me!"
The daughter jumped up to look at the chain, while the woman turned away.
Once again, the bird sang the words;
"My mother, she killed me
My father, he ate me,
My sister,
She wrapped my bones in silk
Tweet tweet, what a beautiful bird am I."
The woman began to shake and had a feeling of dread pass over her. The daughter wiped her tear stained face and went out to see the bird. It chirped when he saw her and dropped the red boots by her feet, and the daughter felt sad no more and put on the boots and began to dance.
"Mother! Mother! Look how kind the bird is!"
For the last time, the bird sung;
"My mother, she killed me
My father, he ate me,
My sister,
She wrapped my bones in silk
Tweet tweet, what a beautiful bird am I."
Curious, the woman went out to see if the bird would give anything to her and BANG, the bird had dropped the mill stone on the woman's head. The husband and daughter went outside and found the garden full of smoke and when it cleared they saw the brother standing there and the sister ran to him, hugging him and rejoicing and all three lived happily for the rest of their lives.