"'Son of a tramp!' it began, 'thou wasteful peddler, wouldst thou shoot an innocent bird to suit thy idle curiosity? Shame! shame!'
"The creature stretched its beak and laughed in my face, nodding its topknot in mock defiance.
"I stood motionless in sheer fright, but when the bird jeered at me again, I seized my gun, saying: 'Balaam's ass! I shall teach you respect for your superiors! Dare you, that perch every night upon the stump of a tree, address a decent son of Adam in terms of scorn? I shall fill you with shot, pluck your feathers out, tear your tongue from your head, and throw you to the wolverines.'
"I raised my gun to fire, when the monster bird spoke again.
"'Shoot, if thou darest, fool! I have beaten thee in thine argument. Because thou art big as a moose, strong as Goliath, thou thinkest to put an end to my arguments by destroying my mortal body! Thou art no man; thou art a coward, as all argumentative humans are! Go home and learn thy A-B-C's! Teach thy grandmother! Tell her that a pee-wee crow has beaten thee in a debate!'
"'Well, of all things!' thought I, lowering my gun, and eyeing the impudent thing. 'Who are you?' I asked. 'Speak! If not, I shall scatter your brains to the four winds.'
"But the bird merely grinned, turning his head from side to side, tauntingly.
"'Bang!' I fired, and the report was terrific. For a while I could not see anything on account of the smoke, but, when the smoke had cleared away, I saw beneath the place where the insolent bird had been, a monk. He was holding the bleeding bird in his arms. Where had he come from? I began to have cold chills down my back, and worse, remorse crept into my soul. I turned to flee, but my boots stuck fast to the earth.
"The monk spoke bluntly, but also very tenderly. 'Sir,' he said, 'thou has wronged thyself! Thinkest thou this poor bird, whose only fault was to be in thy angry, inhuman path, has died for naught? No, my son. Thou hast shot the King of Crows, and every drop of his blood, and every feather also, must be sacredly gathered by thee and brought to me before twelve hours have passed away.'
"He held to my view the bleeding bird.