“tweet, tweet,” sounded over her head suddenly. she looked up,and there was the swallow himself flying close by. as soon as he spied tiny, hewas delighted; and then she told him how unwilling she felt to marry the uglymole, and to live always beneath the earth, and never to see the bright sun anymore. and as she told him she wept.
“cold winter is coming,” said the swallow, “and i am going tofly away into warmer countries. will you go with me? you can sit on my back,and fasten yourself on with your sash. then we can fly away from the ugly moleand his gloomy rooms,—far away, over the mountains, into warmer countries,where the sun shines more brightly—than here; where it is always summer, andthe flowers bloom in greater beauty. fly now with me, dear little tiny; yousaved my life when i lay frozen in that dark passage.”
“yes, i will go with you,” said tiny; and she seated herself onthe bird’s back, with her feet on his outstretched wings, and tied her girdleto one of his strongest feathers.
then the swallow rose in the air, and flew over forest and oversea, high above the highest mountains, covered with eternal snow. tiny wouldhave been frozen in the cold air, but she crept under the bird’s warm feathers,keeping her little head uncovered, so that she might admire the beautiful landsover which they passed. at length they reached the warm countries, where thesun shines brightly, and the sky seems so much higher above the earth. here, onthe hedges, and by the wayside, grew purple, green, and white grapes; lemonsand oranges hung from trees in the woods; and the air was fragrant with myrtlesand orange blossoms. beautiful children ran along the country lanes, playingwith large gay butterflies; and as the swallow flew farther and farther, everyplace appeared still more lovely.
at last they came to a blue lake, and by the side of it, shadedby trees of the deepest green, stood a palace of dazzling white marble, builtin the olden times. vines clustered round its lofty pillars, and at the topwere many swallows’ nests, and one of these was the home of the swallow whocarried tiny.
“this is my house,” said the swallow; “but it would not do foryou to live there—you would not be comfortable. you must choose for yourselfone of those lovely flowers, and i will put you down upon it, and then youshall have everything that you can wish to make you happy.”
用户评论