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GERMAN FABLES
439
Then, as for a bird,
You may trust to my word,
'Twas the best imitation that ever you heard.
Yes, it must be confessed
That he copied them best;
You'd have thought he had lived all his life in a nest!
The Chaffinch's tone
Was completely his own;
Not one of the tribe had the difference known.
The Goldfinch and Thrush
Would often cry, "Hush!
Our brothers are singing in yonder low bush!"
And then what a race
To fly to the place.
Where the cunning rogue cleverly captured the brace!
But it happened one day
That he came in the way
Of a sportsman, an excellent marksman, they say.
While near a hedge-wall
With his little bird-call
He amused himself mimicking birds, one and all.
