“The sparrow was angry and thought: “I’ll fly hither and thither, up, down and around, and take the whole bundle of bread.”  And so it did and flew away with it.

It flew for a long time until it came upon a herd of sheep.  It alighted in front of the shepherd who was sitting under a tree and said: “Meat from you, bread from me.”

The shepherd said: “All right.”  He slaughtered a small sheep and roasted it over the fire.  When they were about to eat, the sparrow said: “Wait a moment, I want to wash my hands in the brook.”  But when it came back from the brook, the shepherd had eaten his share and the sparrow’s share too.  The sparrow was angry and thought: “I’ll fly hither and thither, up, down and around, and take a fat sheep with me.”  And so it did and flew away with it.

It flew for a long time, until it came to a field where a farmer was sowing wheat.  The bird alighted in front of the farmer and said: “Meat from me, wheat from you.”

“All right,” said the farmer.  He killed the fat sheep and roasted it over the fire.  When they were about to eat, the sparrow said: “Wait a moment, I want to wash my hands in the water channel.”  But when it came back, the farmer had eaten his share and sparrow’s share too.  The sparrow was angry and thought:  “I’ll fly hither and thither, up, down and around, and take the farmer’s strong ox.”  And so it did and flew away with it.

The sparrow flew for a long time, until it heard the ‘dombe-domb’ of a drum in a village where there was a wedding.  The people were so poor that they wanted to kill a big shaggy dog for meat.  The sparrow said: “Kill the ox instead and we’ll eat it together.”

The people were glad about this and killed the ox and roasted it over the fire.  Just as they were about to eat, the sparrow said: “Wait a moment, I want to wash my hands at the well.”  But when it came back from the well, the people had eaten the whole ox. 

The sparrow was angry and said: “I’ll fly hither and thither, up, down and around, and take the bride away.”  And so it did and flew away with her.

It flew for a long time until it came to a poor minstrel sitting all alone on a rock.  It alighted in front of him and said: “The bride from me, a song from you.”