And there in the nest the sparrow lay asleep, dreaming of the warm, delightful land with all the gnats and flies and cherries.
He was still lying fast asleep when, in the middle of the night, the swallow came back. He had filled his broad bill with mud, and quite quietly began to wall up the hole into the nest. To and fro he flew the whole night long, and by the time the sun rose the hole was quite closed up.
"Now he's happy," thought the swallow, as he began to build himself a new nest.
Three days later the swallow and the starling met in the meadow. They said, "How do you do?" and told each other all they had gone through since they last saw one another.
"The most remarkable thing comes last," said the swallow. "Just fancy! When I came home I found the sparrow had taken my nest, and I could not get him to come out."
"Well, I never!" cried the starling. "What on earth did you do to him?"