sparrow
The Sparrow
Vocabulary
| long ago | farmer | spend (2) |
| field | since | keep/kept |
| pet | sparrow | friend |
| forest | gather | wood |
| while | bake | cake |
| birthday | place (2) | table |
| outside | return | see/saw/seen |
| fly/flew/flown | fly about | must have |
| eat/ate/eaten | think/thought | scold |
| curse | chase out | go away |
| never | come back | otherwise |
| destroy | fly off | noon |
| morning | afternoon | evening |
| look forward | silent | suppose |
| miss | answer | ask |
| hope | assure | next |
| rise/rose/risen | early | late |
| deep | enter | every so often |
| pause | cry out | continue |
| clear | clearing | branch |
| wonderful | joy | again |
| perch | chirp | follow |
| fly down | lead/led | beautiful |
| palace | inside | lady |
| introduce | dress (2) | fine |
| gown | bring/brought | delicious |
| plate | great | feast |
| middle | dinner | dance |
| wonderful | begin/began | dark |
| light (2) | must | otherwise |
| worry/worried | beg | stay |
| insist | box | choose |
| take home | select | food |
| hospitality | everyone | bid farewell |
| demand | fun | toil |
| labor | while | gold |
| silver | jewelry | trinket |
| lid | smile | repeat |
| delighted | shout | idiot |
| fool | believe | way |
| describe | after | arrive |
| pound (3) | need | entertain |
| stupid | that’s all | grab |
| hoist | hurry | often |
| sit down | rest | half |
| half-way | once again | ground |
| suddenly | demon | monsters |
| snake | toad | jump |
| surround | leap/leapt | scream |
| run/ran | fast | leg |
| until | reach | from then on |
| spend | modest | amount |
| treasure | kind | happily |
An Old Man and Woman
Long ago in there lived an old farmer and his wife. Since they had no children, the old man kept a pet sparrow. When he came home after work, he would talk to her. She was his only friend.
Gathering Wood in the Forest
One afternoon the old man went to the forest to gather wood, while the old woman baked a cake — it was her birthday. She then placed the cake on the table, and went outside.
When she came back she noticed that part of it had been eaten.
She then saw the sparrow fly about the house.
Scold and Curse
The old woman scolded and cursed the little bird. She chased it out of the house. “GO AWAY and NEVER come back!” yelled the old woman. “If you do, I’ll DESTROY you!”
The sparrow flew off into the forest.
That Evening
In the evening the old man returned home. He looked forward to seeing the sparrow. But its bird house was silent.
“Where is Miss Sparrow?” the old man asked his wife.
“The sparrow? I don’t know. I suppose it flew away,” answered his wife.
“Oh dear. I hope she’ll come back.”
“No, it will NEVER return! I can assure you!”
The Next Morning
The next morning the old man rose early, and entered the forest. He walked deeper and deeper. Every so often, he would pause and cry out:
“Miss Sparrow, Miss Sparrow, where are you?
He continued waking. Then at a cleaning in the forest, sitting on a tree branch — was the sparrow.
Miss Sparrow
“Oh Miss Sparrow, it’s wonderful to see you again!” said the old man with joy.
The sparrow flew down and perched on the old man’s hand.
It began chirping.
Then the sparrow told him to follow her, and flew off. She led him — to a beautiful palace.
“This is my home,” said the sparrow.
The Palace
They went inside.
The sparrow then turned into a Lady Sparrow. She introduced the old man to all her family and friends.
This done, some servants, dressed fine gowns, brought in delicious plates of food.
They all had a great feast.
Sparrows’ Dance
In the middle of the dinner, the sparrow’s daughters played music and performed a “Sparrows’ Dance.”
Everyone had a wonderful time.
Soon began to grow dark.
“I must return home. Otherwise my wife will be worried about me,” said the old man.
The Lady Sparrow begged him to stay with them…but the old man insisted he must return home.
The Boxes
At that point, the servants brought in two boxes: one big, the other small. The Lady Sparrow then asked him to choose one of them to take home. The old man selected the smaller box.
He thanked everyone for the food, hospitality, and gift. They bid each other farewell, and he left.
Back Home
When the old man returned home he found his wife at the door waiting for him. “Where have you been all this time?!?” she demanded. “Why have you come back so late?”
The old man showed her the box and explained everything that had happened.
“So you were out having fun while I toiled and labored at home?!?….Well let’s look inside the box.”
And so they then opened the lid…
Inside the Box
And found gold and silver coins, jewelry, trinkets, and decorations!
The old man smiled and kept repeating, “Thank you little sparrow!”
At first the old woman was delighted too…and then she shouted at her husband.
“You idiot! You fool! Why didn’t you bring back the large box!?! I can’t believe it!”
The Following Morning
The next morning the old woman got up very early. She made the old man describe the way to the sparrow’s palace, and then set off into the forest.
After walking for some, the old woman arrived at the sparrow’s palace. She pounded on the door.
The Lady Sparrow
The Lady Sparrow answered it.
“You need not entertain me as you did my husband,” said the old woman. “I have come to get the big box which he so stupidly left behind. That is all!”
The Lady Sparrow told her servants to bring out the big box. The old woman grabbed it, hoisted it on her back, and without saying thank you, hurried back home.
The Big Box
However she could not walk fast. Often she had to sit down and rest.
About half-way home, she stopped once again and put the box on the ground.
This time the old woman opened the lid.
Inside the Box
Suddenly, demons, monsters, snakes and toads jumped out of the box and surrounded her.
The old woman screamed. She leaped and ran as fast as her legs could take her until she reached home.
From that day on, she became a good, kind woman. And she and her husband lived happily, spending modest amounts of the treasure from the sparrow.
Questions
1. Describe the old man and the old woman. Were they the similar in character?
2. They had grandchildren. True or false?
3. What happened one day?
4. What happened the next day? The following day,…
5. What happened in the forest?
6. Which box did the old man choose? Why did he choose it?
7. What was his wife’s reaction when he returned?
8. What happened the following day? The next day,
9. What happened in the end?
10. What is the moral or lesson of the story?
