Страница 417 из 626

Then, one day, as they were sitting before the house under a very

high tree, the father said, 'I should like to try what each of

you can do in this way.' So he looked up, and said to the second

son, 'At the top of this tree there is a chaffinch's nest; tell

me how many eggs there are in it.' The star-gazer took his glass,

looked up, and said, 'Five.' 'Now,' said the father to the eldest

son, 'take away the eggs without letting the bird that is sitting

upon them and hatching them know anything of what you are doing.'

So the cunning thief climbed up the tree, and brought away to his

father the five eggs from under the bird; and it never saw or

felt what he was doing, but kept sitting on at its ease. Then the

father took the eggs, and put one on each corner of the table,

and the fifth in the middle, and said to the huntsman, 'Cut all

the eggs in two pieces at one shot.' The huntsman took up his

bow, and at one shot struck all the five eggs as his father

wished.