Select the tale Contents Two brothers The happy cobbler The invincible Cock Lazy Hoory The paradise flower The hunter that lied A big pot of gold The master and the labourer The carnival Brother axe The foolish man The king & the peddler Travelers Nazar the brave The fox that lost its tail The dog and the cat The handless girl Black kiddy Unlucky Panoss The liar One drop of honey The sparrow The death of Kikos The talking fish The end of the wicked The Miller- King Zangi Zrangi

THE SPARROW

Once there was a sparrow that had a thorn in its fool. It flew here and there until it came across an old woman looking for firewood to heat her oven and bake some bread.
"Granny, Granny", said the sparrow, "pull this thorn out of my foot. Then make your fire and I'll go peck-pecking not to starve."

The old woman pulled the thorn out and built her oven fire.
The sparrow hopped off a little way, then returned and told the old woman to give it back its thorn.
"I have dropped the thorn into the oven fire", she said.
The sparrow insisted.
"Give me back my thorn or I'll fly off with a loaf,"

The old woman gave the sparrow a loaf, and it flew away. A short while later it came across a shepherd drinking his milk without bread.
"Shepherd, Shepherd," it said. "Why are you having your milk without bread? Here, take this loaf, crumble it in your milk and eat it and I'll go peck-pecking not to starve."
The sparrow hopped off a little way, then returned and told the shepherd to give it back its loaf of bread. "I have eaten it," said the shepherd.

Give me back my loaf of bread," insisted the sparrow, "or I'll fly off with a lamb from your flock."
The shepherd gave the sparrow a lamb and it flew away. A short while later it came across some people who were celebrating a wedding but had no cattle to slaughter.
"Don't worry," it said, "here, take my lamb, kill it and prepare a feast, and I'll go peck-pecking not to starve." The sparrow hopped off a little way, then returned and demanded the Iamb back.
"We have killed and eaten it," said the people. "How can we return it?"
"Give me back my lamb," insisted the sparrow, "or I'll fly off with the bride " And it snatched up the bride and flew away. It flew and flew until it came across a min-strel walking along a road.
"Minstrel minstrel,'' it said. "Take this bride and keep her and I'll go peek-peeking not to starve."

The sparrow hopped off a little way, then returned and demanded the bride back. "But the bride has gone home to her love." said the minstrel. "Give me back my bride," insisted the sparrow, "or I'll fly off with your saz." The minstrel gave the sparrow his saz, and it slung it over its shoulder and flew away, Then it perched on a branch and began to twang and chirrup thus:

"Twang, twang, twang,
I traded a thorn for a loaf,
I bartered the loaf for a lamb,
I exchanged the lamb for a bride,
I swapped the bride for a saz,
I got the saz and became a minstrel.
Twang, twang, twang.":