"somehow I feel as if it were all mine."
As he ate and ate, he threw the bones under the table until he was all done.
He let out a loud and satisfied burp and then wiped his greasy hands on his trouser leg.
☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆
Meanwhile, Marlene went to her dresser and took out her best best silk hankerchief from the bottom drawer, gathered all the bones from beneath the table, tied them up in her pretty silk kerchief, and carried them out the door.
There she wept bitter tears and laid the bones beneath the juniper tree.
As she put them there, she suddenly felt relieved and stopped crying.
Now the juniper tree began to move.
The branches separated and came together again as though they were clapping their hands in joy.
At the same time smoke came out of the tree, and in the middle of the smoke was a flame that seemed to be humming.
Then a beautiful bird flew out of the fire and began singing magnificently.
He soared high in the air, and after he vanished, the juniper tree was as it was before.
Yet, the silk kerchief tied at the bottom of the tree was gone.
Marlene was very happy and joyful.
It was as if her brother was still alive, and she went merrily back into the house, sat down at the table, and ate.
Meanwhile, the bird flew away, landed on the roof of a goldsmiths house, and began to sing prettily:
"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.
Tweeet, Tweet! What a lovely bird I am!!"
The goldsmith was sitting in his workshop making a golden chain. When he heard the bird singing on his roof, he thought the song was very beautiful.
Then he stood up, and as he walked a cross the threshold, he lost a slipper. Still, he kept on going, right into the middle of the street with only one sock and a slipper on.
He was also wearing his apron, and in one of his hands he held the golden chain, in the other his tongs.
The sun was shinning brightly on the street as he walked, and then he stopped to get a look at the bird.
"Bird," he said,
"how beautifully you sing!! sing me that song again."
"No." said the bird.
"I never sing twice for nothing. Give me that golden chain, and I'll sing it for you again. "
"All right," said the goldsmith. "Here's the golden chain. Now sing the song again."
The bird swooped down, grasped the golden chain in his right claw, went up to the goldsmith, and started singing:
"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 nice as can be,
And laid beneath the juniper tree.
Tweet tweeeet!! What a lovely bird I am!!!"
Then the bird flew off to a shoemaker, landed on his roof, and sang:
" My mother she killed me,
Mt 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 TWEEEET! What a lovely bird I am!"
When the shoemaker heard the song, he ran to the door in his shirt sleeves and looked up at the roof, keeping his hand over his eyes to protect them from the bright sun.
" Bird, " he said." how beautifully you sing!"
Then he called into the house," wife, come out here for a second! There's a bird up there. Just look!! How beautifully he sings!"
Then he called his daughter and her children, the journeymen, the apprentices, and the maid.
They all came running out to the street and saw how beautiful he was.
On the top of the roof the bird preened his feathers with a smug look, or at least as smug as a bird could be.
He had bright red and green feathers, and his neck glistened like pure gold, while his eyes sparkled in his head like stars.
"Bird," said the shoemaker.
"sing me that song again."
"No." said the bird
"I never sing twice for nothing. You'll have to give me a present."
"Wife," said the man, "go into the shop, there's a pair of red shoes on the top shelf, go fetch it for me."
His wife went and fetched the shoes
"There," said the man. "Now sing the song again."
"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 under the juniper tree
TWEET TWEEET!! WHAT A LOVELY BIRD I AM!!!"
When the bird finished the song, he flew away.
He had the chain in his right claw and the red shoes in his left, and he flew far away to a milll