Now, what the little Chinese seabird had seen was a boat. Within the boat were three boys—and these boys were coming to the island to hunt for birds’ eggs. The little Chinese seabird knew this, and her bright, wild little eyes glistened like jewels, and she shivered and shuddered as she spread herself as close to the ground as she could.
The boys beached the boat and were soon scrambling over the island, gathering all the eggs that they could find. Sometimes they passed so near to the little Chinese seabird that she thought she must surely be trampled upon, and she set her little beak tight and close so that she might make no sound, should so painful an accident occur. Once, however, when the tip of a boy’s queue dangled against her head and tickled it, the little Chinese seabird forgot entirely her prudent resolve to suffer in silence, and recklessly peeked at the dangling queue. Fortunately for her, the mother who had braided the queue of the boy had neglected to tie properly the bright red cord at the end thereof. Therefore when the little Chinese seabird pecked at the braid, the effect of the peck was not to cause pain to the boy and make him turn around, as might otherwise have been the case, but to pull out of his queue the bright red cord. This, the little Chinese seabird held in her beak for quite a long time. She enjoyed glancing down at its bright red color, and was afraid to let it fall in case the boys might hear.
Meanwhile, the boys, having gathered all the eggs they could find, plotted together against the little Chinese seabird and against her brothers and sisters, and the little seabird, holding the red cord in her beak, listened with interest. For many hours after the boys had left the island, the little Chinese seabird sat meditating over what she had heard. So deeply did she meditate that she forgot all about the pain of her broken wing.
Towards evening her brothers and sisters came home and settled over the island like a wide-spreading mantle of wings.
For some time the little Chinese seabird remained perfectly still and quiet. She kept saying to herself, “Why should I care? Why should I care?” But as she did care, she suddenly let fall the bright red cord and opened and closed her beak several times.
“What is all that noise?” inquired the eldest seabird.
“Dear brother,” returned the little Chinese seabird, “I hope I have not disturbed you; but is not this a very lovely night? See how radiant the moon.”
“Go to sleep! Go to sleep!”
“Did you have an enjoyable flight today, brother?”
“Tiresome little bird, go to sleep, go to sleep.”