THE MONEY-PIG. 197
to the top, that the birds of heaven might have a good meal, and
rejoice in the happy, blessed time.

And on Christmas morning the sun arose and shone upon the
ears of corn, which were surrounded by a number of twittering
birds. Then out of the hole in the wall streamed forth the voice
of another bird, and the bird soared forth from his hiding-place;
and in heaven it was well known what bird this was.

It was a hard winter. The ponds were covered with ice, and
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air were stinted for -
food. Our little bird soared away over the high road, and in
the ruts of the sledges he found here and there a grain of corn,
and at the halting-places some crumbs. Of these he ate only a
few, but he called all the other hungry sparrows around him, that
they, too, might have some food. He flew into the towns, and
looked round about ; and wherever a kind hand had strewn bread
on the window-sill for the birds, he only ate a single crumb him-
self, and gave all the rest to the other birds.

In the course of the winter, the bird had collected so many
bread-crumbs, and given them to the other birds, that they
equalled the weight of the loaf on which Ingé had trod to keep
her shoes clean; and when the last bread-crumb had been found
aS given, the grey wings of the bird became white, and spread

ar out.

“Yonder is a sea-swallow, flying away across the water,” said
the children, when they saw the white bird. Now it dived into
the sea, and now it rose again into the clear sunlight. It gleamed
white; but no one could tell whither it went, though some asserted
that it flew straight into the sun,

THE MONEY-PIG.

JN the nursery a number of toys lay strewn about: high
up, on the wardrobe, stood the money-box, made of clay
and purchased of the potter, and it was in the shape of a
little pig; of course the pig had a slit in his back, and this slit
had been so enlarged with a knife that whole dollar pieces could
slip through ; and, indeed, two such had slipped into the box,
besides a number of pence. The Money-Pig was stuffed so full
that it could no longer rattle, and that is the highest point of
nerfection a money-pig can attain. There it stood upon the cup-
board, high and lofty, looking down upon everything else in the
room, It knew very well that what it had in its stomach would