e at last! I am your little sparrow, whose
life you saved, and whom you took such care of.'

The old man seized her hands eagerly, but no time was given him to ask
any questions, for the maiden drew him into the house, and set food
before him, and waited on him herself.

While he was eating, the damsel and her maids took their lutes, and sang
and danced to him, and altogether the hours passed so swiftly that the
old man never saw that darkness had come, or remembered the scolding he
would get from his wife for returning home so late.

Thus, in dancing and singing, and talking over the days when the maiden
was a sparrow hopping in and out of her cage, the night passed away, and
when the first rays of sun broke through the hedge of bamboo, the
old man started up, thanked his hostess for her friendly welcome, and
prepared to say farewell. 'I am not going to let you depart like that,'
said she; 'I have a present for you, which you must take as a sign of my
gratitude.' And as she spoke, her servants brought in two chests, one
of them very small, the other large and heavy. 'Now choose which of them
you will carry with you.' So the old man chose the small chest, and hid
it under his cloak, and set out on his homeward way.

But as he drew near the house his heart sank a little, for he knew
what a fury his wife would be in, and how she would abuse him for
his absence. And it was even worse than he expected. However, long
experience had taught him to let her storm and say nothing, so he lit
his pipe and waited till she was tired out. The woman was still raging,
and did not seem likely to stop, when her husband, who by this time had
forgotten all about her, drew out the chest from under his cloak, and
opened it. Oh, what a blaze met his eyes! gold and precious stones were
heaped up to the very lid, and lay dancing in he sunlight. At the
sight of these wonders even the scolding tongue ceased, and the woman
approached, and took the stones in her hand, setting greedily aside
those that were the largest and most costly. Then her voice softened,
and she begged him quite politely to tell her where he had spent his
evening, and how he had come by these wonderful riches. So he told her
the whole story, and she listened with amazement, till he came to the
choice which had been given him between the two chests. At this her
tongue broke loose again, as she abused him for his folly in taking
the little one, and she never rested till her hu