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THE ROSES AND THE SPARROWS.
It really appeared as if something very important was going on by the duck pond; but this was not the case. A few minutes before, all the ducks had been resting on the water, or standing on their heads, for they can do so, and then they all swam in a bustle to the shore; the traces of their feet could be seen on the wet earth, and far and wide could be heard their quacking. The water, so lately clear and bright as a mirror, became quite in a commotion. A moment before, every tree and bush near the old farmhouse, and the house itself, with the holes in the roof, and the swallows’ nests, and above all, the beautiful rose-bush covered with roses, had been clearly reflected in the water. The rose-bush on the wall hung over the water, which resembled a picture, only every thing appeared upside down; but when the water was set in motion, it all vanished and the picture disappeared. Two feathers dropped by the fluttering ducks floated to and fro on the water; all at once they took a start, as if the wind were coming; but it did not come, so they were obliged to lie still, as the water became again quiet and atrest. The roses could once more behold their own reflections; they were very beautiful, but they knew it not, for no one had told them. The sun shone between the delicate leaves, everywhere the sweet fragrance spread itself, creating sensations of deep happiness.
“How beautiful is our existence,” said one of the roses, “I feel as if I should like to kiss the sun, it is so bright and warm. I should like to kiss the roses, too, our images in the water, and the pretty birds in their nests. There are some birds too in a nest above us, they stretch out their heads and cry, ‘Tweet, tweet,’ very faintly, they have no feathers yet, as their father and mother have; they are good neighbours both above us and below us. How beautiful is our life!” The young birds above, and the young ones below were the same; they were sparrows, and their nest was reflected in the water. Their parents were sparrows also, and they had taken possession of an
