Once there was a very spoiled prinsess. Although she had more than any girl ever had, she always wanted more. Her poor father was constantly trying to buy her bigger and better gifts. But she was never satisfied. So is was with great dread that her father announced his daughter's tenth birthday party. Everyone was to bring the
greatest gifts in the land. But the king could think of nothing to get his daughter that she didn't already have. As he sat brooding over his problem, an old beggar approached his throne.
"Excuse me, your majesty." The beggar kneeled in front of the steps leading to the king's throne.
"How did you get in here?!" bellowed the king. "GUARDS!"
"The guards cannot hear you, my leige. And I promise to be out of here in a moment's time." then the beggar looked up to his king. "But first I have a gift for you."
Angry that his guards did not come, the king was ready to throw the beggar out himself. But something in his eyes told the king to hear him out. "All right, what is it you have for me?" Asked the king.
"Actually," said the man "It is something for your daughter. A birthday present for her."
The king's eyes lit up at this. He hadn't been able to think of a single gift, and if this beggar had something that his daughter had never heard of, the king would be able to give it to her!
The beggar reached inside a pouch hanging from his side and pulled out a single black sparrow.
"Here He is, my lord." and the beggar handed the sparrow to the king.
"What is so special about a sparrow?" asked the king.
"When you hear him sing, you will understand." and with that, the beggar turned and strode out of the throne room.
So the king put the sparrow in a cage and waited until the prinsess' birthday party.
On the night of her party, the prinsess was in a typical mood. Every present that anyone had brought to her
she either tossed on the floor, or just told them that she didn't like it. The king was afraid that the entire party would be a complete disaster. So he was very nervous when he pulled out the cage that held the sparrow.
"Here you are, my love." said the king.
"A puny little bird?" asked the prinsess.
"Well," said the king "it isn't just any bird. You should hear this bird sing."
"Okay, then make it sing." said the prinsess.
"Uhhmmm..." said the king "I am afraid I don't know how."
"DON'T KNOW HOW?!" yelled the prinsess. "WHY DON'T YOU KNOW HOW?" And the prinsess was about to throw the bird across the room in her rage when suddenly the bird spoke out:
"Please don't do that."
Everyone stopped and turned toward the bird. Had the bird really spoken?
"What's that you say?" asked the king.
"I said, I would appreciate it if you did not throw me. I do not know if I would be able to get myself straight in time." Then the bird stood up as high as he could and looked very regal.
"Wow, daddy. This is the best present ever!" Exclaimed the prinsess."But does it know how to sing?"
"Yes, my prinsess." replied the sparrow. "Shall I sing for you now?"
"Yes!" clapped the prinsess. And so the sparrow sang the most beautiful song that any had ever heard. He sang not only in bird-talk, but also in human-talk. He brought the listeners high into the air, then down into the earth. Everyone that heard him sing began to cry, it was so beautiful.
"Oh daddy, I love my bird! He is going to sleep in my room with me!" And with that the little prinsess rushed off into her room.
Everything went well for a couple of weeks. The Sparrow sang the prinsess to sleep every night, and he woke her in the morning with another song. She had him sing most of the day long, and rarely gave him any time to
rest. One morning the prinsess awoke without hearing the sparrow. Angry that he had not sung her awake, she stormed over to his cage. She saw him laying on the floor of the cage. Angry, she yelled at him.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"I am sorry, my sweet prinsess." said the parrot in a weak voice. "But I have been singing every day, and I am afraid that I cannot sing today. My voice is injured, and it will take some time to heal."
Angry at not getting what she wanted, the Prinsess ripped the door to the cage open and grabbed the sparrow.
"You WILL sing for me." She yelled.
"I am sorry," said the sparrow in a shaking voice. "I would love to sing for you, but I cannot. Instead, I will talk to you."
"I don't want you to talk to me!" Screamed the prinsess, "I want you to sing!"
"But I can't," sighed the sparrow. "How about I fly for you." And with that the sparrow weakly rose to his feet and tried to fly for her. But the prinsess grabbed him before he could go anywhere.
"I said NO!!" and with that she tore the sparrow's wings apart. "Now let's see you fly for me!"
The sparrow rose painfully to his feet and said, "Then I will stand for you."
Furious, the prinsess grabbed the poor sparrow and threw him to the ground. "Fine!" she yelled "Let's see
you stand for me now!"
Then the sparrow whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear, "Then, my prinsess, I will die for you."
