Page 555 - Child's own book

to walk in it as often as they liked* but he warned them not to
be frightened at a dean] bird that was lying in the passage. It
was a complete bird with beak and feathers, apparently but
recently dead, and was now bulled just on the spot where the
mole bad made his vault. The mole held in his mouth a piece
of phosphorescent wood, that shines like fire in the daik, and
went before to light them through the long gloomy passage.
When they came to the spot where Jay the dead bird, the mole
bored a hole through the ceiling with his broad nose, so that
the earth gave way and the light came through. On the
ground lay a dead swallow; with his pretty wings pressed close
to his sides, and his feet and head drawn up under the feathers;
the poor bird had evidently died of cold. Little Maja was
moved to pity, for she was very fond of all little birds, they
sung and twittered to her so sweetly all the summer - but the
mole only pushed the dead bird aside with his short legs,
unfeelingly observing* “ He won't pipe any more. What a
miserable fate it must be to be born a little bird! Thank
Heaven, none of my children will be so badly off as thatl for
a creature who can say nothing but Hwifc, tw it!" must needs
starve in winter." u You speak Uka a rational man/* said the
field mouse; ** what indeed does a bird get for all his twit-twitting!
when the winter sets in, he must starve and get frozen. But I
suppose that is vastly genteel.” Maja said nothing, but when
the two others had turned their backs, she stooped down to the
dead bird* and stroking aside the feathers that covered his head*
she kissed his closed eyes. 4t Perhaps it was he who sang so
sweetly to me in summer," thought she* “ and how he used to
delight me, dear pretty bird that he was ! ”
The mole now stopped up once more the hole through wliich
light had entered, and then accompanied the ladies home. But
Maja could not sleep that night; so she got np and wove a nice