chapter 3

The mill went CLICKETY-CLACKK, CLICKETY-CLACKK, CLIKETY-CLACKK.

The miller had twenty men sitting in the mill, and they were hewing a stone. Their chisels went click-clack, click-clack, click-clack.

And the mill kept going CLICKETY-CLACKK, CLICKETY-CLACKK, CLICKETY-CLACKK.

The bird swooped down and landed on a linden tree outside the mill and sang:

"My mother, she killed me."

Then one of the men stopped working.

"My father, he ate me."

Then two more stopped and listened.

"My sister Marlene, she made sure to see."

Then four more stopped.

"My bones were gathered secretly,

Bound nicely in silk, as neat as can be."

Now only eight kept chiselling.

"And laid beneath..."

Now only five.

"...the juniper tree."

Now only one.

"Tweet Tweet! What a lovely bird I am!"

Then the last one also stopped and listened to the final words.

"Bird, how beautifully you sing! Let me hear that, too. Sing your song again for me."

"No." Said the bird.

"I never sing twice for nothing. Give me the millstone, and I'll sing the song again."

"I would if I could," he said. "But the millstone doesn't belong to me alone."

"If he sings again," said the others, " he can have it."

Then the bird swooped down, and all twenty of the miller's men took some wooden beams to lift the stone.

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

Then the bird stuck his neck through the hole, put the stone on like a collar, flew back to the tree, and sang:

"My mother, she killed me.

My father, he ate me.

My sister Marlene, she made sure to see

My bones were gathered secretly,

Bound nicely in silk, as neat as can be,

And laid beneath the juniper tree.

TWEET, TWEET! What a lovely bird I am!"

After the bird had finished his song, he spread his wings, and in his right claw he had the chain, in his left thr shoes, and around his neck the millstone. Then he flew away to his father's house.

The father, mother, and Marlene were sitting at the table in the parlor, and the father said,

"Oh, how happy I am! I just feel so wonderful!"

"Not me," said the mother. "I feel as if a storm were about to erupt."

Meanwhile, poor Marlene just sat there and kept weeping.

Then the bird flew up, and when he landed on the roof, the father said,

"oh, I'm in such good spirits. The sun's shinning so brightly outside, and I feel as though I were going to see an old friend again."

"Not me," said his wife. "I'm so frightened that my teeth are chattering. I feel as though fire were running through my veins."

She tore open her bodice, while Marlene sat in a corner and kept weeping.

She had her handkerchief infront of her eyes and wept until it was completely soaked with her tears.

The bird swooped down to the juniper tree, where he perched on a branch and began singing:

"My mother, she killed me."

The mother put her hands over her ears, shut her eyes,and tried not to see or hear anything, but there was a roaring in her ears like a turbulent storm, and her eyes flashed like lightning.

"My father, he ate me."

"Oh, good lord," Said the father,

"Listen to that beautiful bird singing so gloriously! The sun's so warm, and it smells like cinnamon."

"My sister, Marlene, she made sure to see."

Then Marlene laid her head on her knees and wept and wept, but the father said,

"I'm going outside. I must see the bird close up."

"Oh don't go!" Cried the wife. "I feel as if the whole house were shaking and about to go up in flames!"

Nevertheless, the father went out and looked at the bird.

"My bones were gathered secretly,

Bound nicely in silk, as neat as can be,

And laid beneath the juniper tree.

Tweet, tweet! What a lovely bird I am!"

After ending his song, the bird dropped the golden chain, and it fell around the father's neck just right, so that it fit him perfectly. Then he went back inside and said,

"Look how lovely that bird is! He gave me this beautiful golden chain, and he's just as beautiful as well!"

But the woman was petrified and fell to the floor. Her cap slipped off her head, and the bird began to sing again:

"My mother, she killed me."

"Oh, I wish I were a thousand feet beneath the earth so I wouldn't have to hear this!" She screeched.

"My father, he ate me."

Then the woman fell down as if she were dead.

"My sister, Marlene, she made sure to see."

"Oh," said Marlene, "I want to go outside, too, and see if the bird will give me something."

Then she went out.

"My bones were gathered secretly,

Bound nicely in silk, as neat as can be."

All at once the bird threw her the shoes.

"And laid them beneath the juniper tree.

Tweet, tweet! What a lovely bird I am!"

Marlene felt happy and cheerful. She put on the new red shoes and danced and skipped back into the house.

"Oh," she said. "I was so sad when I went out, and now I feel so cheerful. That certainly is a splendid bird. He gave me a pair of red shoes as a gift."

"Not me," said the wife, who jumped, and her hair flared up like red hot flames.

"I feel as if the world were coming to an end. Maybe I'd feel better if I went outside."

As she went out the door, CRAASHHHH!!

The bird threw the millstone down on her head, and she was crushed to death.

The father and Marlene heard the crash and went outside. Smoke, flames, and fire were rising from the spot, and when it was over, the little brother was standing there.

He took his father and Marlene by the hand, and all three were very happy. Then they went into the house, sat down at the table, and ate.

The end!