Leo Tolstoy Archive
Written: 1888
Source: Translated by Nathan Haskell Dole
Transcription/Markup: Andy Carloff
Online Source: RevoltLib.com; 2021
It was Serozha's birthday, and he received many different gifts, peg-tops and hobby-horses and pictures. But Serozha's uncle gave him a gift which he prized above all the rest : it was a trap for snaring birds. The trap was constructed in such a way that a board was fitted on the frame and shut down upon the top. If seed were scattered on the board, and it was put out in the yard, the little bird would fly down, hop upon the board, the board would give way, and the trap would shut with a clap.
Serozha was delighted and he ran to his mother to show her the trap.
His mother said :
" It is not a good plaything. What do you want to do with birds ? Why do you want to torture them ? "
" I am going to put them in a cage. They will sing, and I will feed them."
Serozha got some seed, scattered it on the board, and set the trap in the garden. And he stood by and expected the birds to fly down. But the birds were afraid of him, and did not come near the cage. Serozha ran in to get something to eat, and left the cage.
After dinner he went to look at it ; the cage had shut, and in it a little bird was beating against the bars.
Serozha was delighted, took up the bird, and carried it into the house.
" Mama, I have caught a bird ; I think it is a night- ingale ; and how its heart beats ! "
His mother said it was a canary.
" Be careful ! don't hurt it ; you would better let it
go."
" No ; I am going to give it something to eat and drink."
Serozha put the canary in a cage, and for two days gave him seed and water and cleaned the cage. But on the third day he forgot all about the canary, and did not change the water.
And his mother said :
" See here : you have forgotten your bird ; you would better let it go."
" No ; I will not forget it again ; I will immediately give it fresh water and clean its cage."
Serozha thrust his hand into the cage and .began to clean it, but the little bird was frightened and fluttered. After Serozha had cleaned the cage, he went to get some water. His mother perceived that he had for- gotten to shut the cage door, and she called after him :
" Serozha, shut up your cage, else your bird will fly out and hurt itself."
She had hardly spoken these words, when the bird found the door, was delighted, spread its wings, and flew around the room toward the window. But it did not see the glass, and struck against it and fell back on the window-sill. Serozha came running in, picked up the bird, and put it back in the cage. The bird was still alive, but it lay on its breast, with its wings spread out, and breathed heavily. Serozha looked and looked, and began to cry :
" Mama, what can I do now ? "
"You can do nothing now."
.Serozha did not leave the cage all day, but gazed at the canary, and all the time the bird lay on its breast and breathed hard and fast.
When Serozha went to bed, the bird was dead. Sero- zha could not get to sleep for a long time ; every time that he shut his eyes he seemed to see the bird still lying and sighing.
In the morning, when Serozha went to his cage, he saw the bird lying on his back, with his legs crossed, and all stiff.
After that Serozha never again tried to snare birds.