the heavy， damp mists of autumn， which destroy the leaves of the wood， had alreadyfallen upon forest and heath. Feathers of plucked birds， as they call the snow， flew about inthick showers， and winter was coming. The sparrows took possession of the stork's nest，and conversed about the absent owners in their own fashion; and they， the stork pair and alltheir young ones， where were they staying now? The storks might have been found in theland of Egypt， where the sun's rays shone forth bright and warm， as it does here atmidsummer. Tamarinds and acacias were in full bloom all over the country， the crescent ofMahomet glittered brightly from the cupolas of the mosques， and on the slender pinnacles satmany of the storks， resting after their long journey. Swarms of them took divided possessionof the nests—nests which lay close to each other between the venerable columns， andcrowded the arches of temples in forgotten cities. The date and the palm lifted themselves as ascreen or as a sun-shade over them. The gray pyramids looked like broken shadows in theclear air and the far-off desert， where the ostrich wheels his rapid flight， and the lion， withhis subtle eyes， gazes at the marble sphinx which lies half buried in sand. The waters of theNile had retreated， and the whole bed of the river was covered with frogs， which was a mostacceptable prospect for the stork families. The young storks thought their eyes deceivedthem， everything around appeared so beautiful.
“It is always like this here， and this is how welive in our warm country，” said the stork-mamma;and the thought made the young ones almost besidethemselves with pleasure.
“Is there anything more to see?” they asked; “are we going farther into the country?”
“there is nothing further for us to see，”answered the stork-mamma. “Beyond this delightfulregion there are immense forests， where thebranches of the trees entwine round each other，while prickly， creeping plants cover the paths， and only an elephant could force a passage forhimself with his GREat feet. The snakes are too large， and the lizards too lively for us tocatch. Then there is the desert; if you went there， your eyes would soon be full of sand withthe lightest breeze， and if it should blow great guns， you would most likely find yourself in asand-drift. Here is the best place for you， where there are frogs and locusts; here I shallremain， and so must you.” And so they stayed.
the parents sat in the nest on the slender minaret， and rested， yet still were busilyemployed in cleaning and smoothing their feathers， and in sharpening their beaks against theirred stockings; then they would stretch out their necks， salute each other， and gravelyraise their heads with the high-polished forehead， and soft， smooth feathers， while theirbrown eyes shone with intelligence. The female young ones strutted about amid the moistrushes， glancing at the other young storks and making acquaintances， and swallowing a frogat every third step， or tossing a little snake about with their beaks， in a way they consideredvery becoming， and besides it tasted very good. The young male storks soon began toquarrel; they struck at each other with their wings， and pecked with their beaks till the bloodcame. And in this manner many of the young ladies and gentlemen were betrothed to eachother： it was， of course， what they wanted， and indeed what they lived for. Then theyreturned to a nest， and there the quarrelling began afresh; for in hot countries people arealmost all violent and passionate. But for all that it was pleasant， especially for the oldpeople， who watched them with GREat joy： all that their young ones did suited them. Everyday here there was sunshine， plenty to eat， and nothing to think of but pleasure. But in therich castle of their Egyptian host， as they called him， pleasure was not to be found. The richand mighty lord of the castle lay on his couch， in the midst of the great hall， with its manycolored walls looking like the centre of a great tulip; but he was stiff and powerless in all hislimbs， and lay stretched out like a mummy. His family and servants stood round him; he wasnot dead， although he could scarcely be said to live. The healing moor-flower from thenorth， which was to have been found and brought to him by her who loved him so well， hadnot arrived. His young and beautiful daughter who， in swan's plumage， had flown over landand seas to the distant north， had never returned. She is dead， so the two swan-maidenshad said when they came home; and they made up quite a story about her， and this is whatthey told，—
“We three flew away together through the air，” said they： “a hunter caught sight of us，and shot at us with an arrow. The arrow struck our young friend and sister， and slowly singingher farewell song she sank down， a dying swan， into the forest lake. On the shores of thelake， under a spreading birch-tree， we laid her in the cold earth. We had our revenge; webound fire under the wings of a swallow， who had a nest on the thatched roof of thehuntsman. The house took fire， and burst into flames; the hunter was burnt with thehouse， and the light was reflected over the sea as far as the spreading birch， beneath whichwe laid her sleeping dust. She will never return to the land of Egypt.” And then they both wept.And stork-papa， who heard the story， snapped with his beak so that it might be heard a longway off.
“Deceit and lies!” cried he; “I should like to run my beak deep into their chests.”
“And perhaps break it off，” said the mamma stork， “then what a sight you would be.Think first of yourself， and then of your family; all others are nothing to us.”