334
ANDERSEN'S TALES.
the eye and the nose. So now you know all ahoyt
them.”
When the evening closed In, and the gnats were
disporting in the warm air and: amidst the red clouds
the nightingale came and sang to the roses that the
beautiful resembles sunshine in this world, and that
‘he beautiful lives eternally. But the roses thought
the nightingale was singing her own praises, which
might easily be imagined; for that the song could
refer to themselves was a thing they never even
dreamed of. Still they were delighted with it, and
often wondered whether all the little sparrows would
ilkewise become nightingales. “I understood this
bird’s song quite well,” said the young sparrows,
«« There was only one word that I could not make out.
What is the beautiful?”
« Nothing of any consequence,” replied the mother
sparrow ; “1b merely relates to externals. Up yonder
ot the manor-house, where the pigeons have a house of
their own, and are fed daily with peas and corn—I
have myself shared their meal occasionally, and so
shall you, in time; for my maxim is: ¢Tell me with
whom thou goest, and I will tell thee what thou
Joest’—well, up yonder at the manor-house, as I was
saying, there are two birds, with green necks and a
tuft on their heads, who can spread out their tails like
a large wheel, that shines with so many colours that 1t
dazzles one’s eyes to look at it. These birds are called
peacocks, and they represent the beautiful ; but if they
were only plucked of some of their feathers, they would
not look different from all of us. And I would have
nlucked them too, had they not been so large.”
«T will pluck them!” squeaked out the smallest
sparrow, who had no feathers of his own yet.
In the cottage lived a young couple, who Toved
each other very dearly, and were active and indus-
trious, so that everything around them looked nice
and neat. Barly on Sunday morning, the youns wife
came out and gathered a handful of roses, and put
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