Page:Tales of the Punjab.pdf/170

Rh Once upon a time there lived a cock-sparrow and his wife, who were both growing old.Bu despite his years the cock-sparrow was a gay, festive old bird, who plumed himself upon his appearance, and was quite a ladies' man.So he cast his eyes on a lively young hen, and determined to marry her, for he was tired of his sober old wife.The wedding was a mighty grand affair, and everybody as jolly and merry as could be, except of course the poor old wife, who crept away from all the noise and fun to sit disconsolately on a quiet branch just under a crow's nest, where she could be as melancholy as she liked without anybody poking fun at her.

Now while she sat there it began to rain, and after a while the drops, soaking through the crow's nest, came drip-dripping on to her feather; she, however, was far too miserable to care, and sat there all huddled up and peepy till the shower was over.Now it so happened that the crow had used some scraps of dyed cloth in lining its nest, and as these became wet the colours ran, and dripping down on to the poor old hen-sparrow beneath dyed her feathers until she was as gay as a peacock.