A long time ago there lived an old man and old woman. The old man, who had a kind heart, kept a young sparrow, which he raised lovingly. However, his wife was a mean old thing. One day, the sparrow pecked at some starch that she was going to starch her linen with. The old woman flew into a great rage, cut the sparrow's tongue, and turned it loose.
When the old man got home, he found that the bird had flown away. He asked the old woman what had happened to his bird. She said that she had cut his tongue and turned him loose after the bird had pecked at her starch. After hearing of the old woman's cruel act, he was sorely grieved. He thought to himself, " Alas! Where can my bird be? Poor thing. Poor little tongue-cut sparrow! Where is your home now?" The old man wandered far and wide looking for his pet and crying "Mr. Sparrow! Mr. Sparrow! Where are you living now?"
Finally, one day at the foot of a mountain, the old man met with his beloved bird again. When they had congratulated each other on their mutual safety, the sparrow led the old man to his home. After introducing him to his wife and chicks, the sparrow entertained him hospitably.
"Please partake of our humble fare," said the sparrow. "Poor as it is, you are very welcome."
"What a polite sparrow!" answered the old man, who remained a long time as the sparrow's guest. After many days of being treated royally by the sparrow, the old man said that he must now take his leave and return home. The bird, offering him 2 wicker baskets, begged him to carry them with him as a parting present. One of the baskets was heavy and the other was light. So, the old man saying that he was feeble and stricken in years would only accept the light one. He shouldered the basket and left for home, leaving the sparrow family disconsolate at parting from him.
When the old man got home, his old wife grew very angry and began to scold him. "Well, where have you been for these many days, especially at this time in your life?" "Oh! he replied, "I have been visiting the sparrows." "When I left they gave me this wicker basket." Then, they opened the basket and looked inside. Lo and behold, the basket was full of gold, silver, and other valuables. The old woman, who was greedy as she was mean, could not contain her joy.
"I'll go and visit the sparrows now," she said. "And I'll get a pretty present too." So, she asked the old man the way to get to the sparrow's house, and set out on her journey.
Following his directions, she at last met with the tongue-cut sparrow. "Well we meet again, Mr. Sparrow, she said. I have looking forward to the pleasure of seeing you. She tried to flatter and cajole the sparrow with her words.
The sparrow could not help but invite the old woman into its home. But, he took no pains to feast her and said nothing about a parting gift. She, however would not be put off. So, she asked for something to carry away with her as a remembrance of her visit. The sparrow accordingly produced two baskets as before. The greedy old woman chose the heavier of the two and carried it off with her. Later when she opened the basket to see what was inside, all sorts of gouls, goblins, and elves sprang forth and began to torment her.
But the old man adopted a son, and his family grew rich and prosperous. What a happy old man!
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