The room was very smoky, for there was no chimney to the rude hut. A hole in the roof let the smoke out, and there were no windows, for the father of these children was a poor peasant who made his living by gathering turpentine in the pine forest.
Ned sat down, while the girl went on with her work until the black beans were ready for supper, when she put them all in a big wooden bowl, and invited Ned to join her and the four children.
While they were eating out of the bowl with a wooden spoon, a tame jackdaw who had been sitting on an old stool by the fireside, hopped over and perched himself close to Ned.
When the supper was over, and the children were ready for bed, he whispered, "This little family is very poor. Their father is away selling turpentine, and there is little food in the cupboard. But if you will come with me tonight, I will show you how we can help them."
When all the children were sound asleep, Ned looked over to the fireside where the jackdaw sat, his eyes shining brighter and brighter through the darkness, till they made the room so light that Ned could plainly see the five sleeping children huddled together on the straw bed in the corner.
Then the jackdaw nodded, and hopping down from the stool on which he sat, walked softly over to the door.
The moon shone brightly on the bare brown fields silvered with white frost, and in the still, cold air, the forest looked like a black cloud just dropped upon the earth.