IN the last house in a
little village the storks had built a nest, and the mother stork sat
in it with her four young ones, who stretched out their necks and
pointed their black beaks, which had not yet turned red like those
of the parent birds. A little way off, on the edge of the roof,
stood the father stork, quite upright and stiff; not liking to be
quite idle, he drew up one leg, and stood on the other, so still
that it seemed almost as if he were carved in wood. “It must look
very grand,” thought he, “for my wife to have a sentry guarding her
nest. They do not know that I am her husband; they will think I have
been commanded to stand here, which is quite aristocratic;” and so
he continued standing on one leg.
In the street below were a number of children at play, and when
they caught sight of the storks, one of the boldest amongst the boys
began to sing a song about them, and very soon he was joined by the
rest. These are the words of the song, but each only sang what he
could remember of them in his own way.
“Stork, stork, fly away,
Stand not on one leg, I pray,
See your wife is in her nest,
With her little ones at rest.
They will hang one,
And fry another;
They will shoot a third,
And roast his brother.”
“Just hear what those boys are singing,” said the young storks;
“they say we shall be hanged and roasted.” |