said the hyaenas one to another . ` Of course , this creature is quite different , and not at all like the little hare . ' Then they went on their way , but , finding no traces of the little hare , they returned sadly to their village , saying , ` To think we should have allowed ourselves to be swept away by a wretched creature like that ! ' The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue From the Japanische Marchen und Sagen . A long long time ago , an old couple dwelt in the very heart of a high mountain . They lived together in peace and harmony , although they were very different in character , the man being good-natured and honest , and the wife being greedy and quarrelsome when anyone came her way that she could possibly quarrel with . One day the old man was sitting in front of his cottage , as he was very fond of doing , when he saw flying towards him a little sparrow , followed by a big black raven . The poor little thing was very much frightened and cried out as it flew , and the great bird came behind it terribly fast , flapping its wings and craning its beak , for it was hungry and wanted some dinner . But as they drew near the old man , he jumped up , and beat back the raven , which mounted , with hoarse screams of disappointment , into the sky , and the little bird , freed from its enemy , nestled into the old man 's hand , and he carried it into the house . He stroked its feathers , and told it not to be afraid , for it was quite safe ; but as he still felt its heart beating , he put it into a cage , where it soon plucked up courage to twitter and hop about . The old man was fond of all creatures , and every morning he used to open the cage door , and the sparrow flew happily about until it caught sight of a cat or a rat or some other fierce beast , when it would instantly return to the cage , knowing that there no harm could come to it . The woman , who was always on the look-out for something to grumble at , grew very jealous of her husband 's affection for the bird , and would gladly have done it some harm had she dared . At last , one morning her opportunity came . Her husband had gone to the town some miles away down the mountain , and would not be back for several hours , but before he left he did not forget to open the door of the cage . The sparrow hopped about as usual , twittering happily , and thinking no evil , and all the while the woman 's brow became blacker and blacker , and at length her fury broke out . She threw her broom at the bird , who was perched on a bracket high up on the wall . The broom missed the bird , but knocked down and broke the vase on the bracket , which did not soothe the angry woman . Then she chased it from place to place , and at last had it safe between her fingers , almost as frightened as on the day that it had made its first entrance into the hut . By this time the woman was more furious than ever . If she had dared , she would have killed the sparrow then and there , but as it was she only ventured to slit its tongue .
The bird struggled and piped , but there was no one XXXXX hear it , and then , crying out loud with the pain , it flew from the house and was lost in the depths of the forest .
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