Promise of Music

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 554, 5 January 1929, Page 25

Promise of Music

The Little Friend of the Excellent Bird Man

Promise of Music was a yellow canary bird who lived in a small black cage. He had a water cup that was blue and a cup for his millet seed that was smaller, but just as blue. And he and liis cage lived on the big street of the Lung Fu Ssu Fair, at the house of the Excellent Bird Man. Promise of Music had no friend so wonderful as the Excellent Bird Man. for it was he who put millet and water in the two blue cups and hung Promise of Music out in the sunshine when it was warm or put a blue cover down over his cage when night came. There were many other friends for Promise of Music, for the little shop of the Excellent Bird Man and the courtyard were quite filled with cages of birds. Little red-throated Love Birds lived two by two in bamboo cages. Grey Peaceful Birds with yellow spots on their tails and bits of gold in their feathers sat, fat and sleepy, on perches in other cages. There were Mongolian Larks that sang early, early in the morning, and Bager birds that little boys liked to buy and carry about on sticks. Out in the courtyard on good days there hung ten brass swings and on each one a terrifying macaw with curved yellow teak that bit and tore at the brass rings about his pink feet, or real parrots, green and shining and very proud and angry. White Macaw would laugh a high screaming laugh and hang her beak and say, “Well, well, the little yellow one is ready for breakfast, isn’t lie? Good day, little Promise of Music." She really felt quite friendly toward all the other birds and especially to Promise of Music, but she did have the strangest ways of showing her feelings. As soon as he was hung safely on his' own hook in the sunshine. Promise of Music felt quite at home and started to preen his feathers, puffing himself out like a yellow ball and then shaking himself well. He would spread out first one yellow wing and then the other, and comb them neatly with his beak.

A bird cannot be too careful about these little morning duties, for he never knows when a buyer may come and the Excellent Bird Man may try to sell him for many and many coppers. Some birds came to the shop one day and were sold the next, and always on Fair ,days -some one came to buy a bird. Promise of Music had been there long, long days and he often wondered why he had not been sold. Sometimes ho thought it was because he could not sing very beautifully yet, or because he did not keep his feathers clean enough, but he really believed in his little yellow bird heart that it was because the Excellent Bird Man liked him especially much and did not want him to go away. At least that seemed the only reasonable explanatian for asking three whole bags of coppers for him whenever anyone came to the shop and said, “And the little yellow canary sells for how much?”

Whatever the reason, Promise of Music was glad he had not been sold. He loved tfhe Excellent Bird Man more than anyone else in all the world and he did dread going on with someone who might not remember to give him fresh water and yellow millet in hia blue bowls every morning. Then came the day of the Fair. “The Fair will soon open." he thought, and chirruped to himself, “It

is such a gay day that many people should come.” The White Macaw heard Promise of Music and she added, “This is one of the most important Fairs of all the year. The Fair comes every ten days, but no other days are so important as this one.” “Why? Why?” whistled all the other birds. And White Macaw answered as she swung from her brass perch. “This is the Fair before the eighth month’s feast and after this day comes the day of paying bills when all the shops and all the people have to pay every bill they have. I know all about such things, for lam an old bird and verywise, very wise.” The other birds twittered softly together about what she said, and all of them began to feel excited. Little yellow Promise of Music stood quite still on the edge of his millet bowl and did not eat for a minute. He bent his little head to one side and listened and thought about the Excellent Bird Man and then it was lie heard him speak to a man who had just come in. “Yes, yes. I have not forgotten that big bill I owe you for yellow millet to feed my birds. lam sorry it is so long unpaid. 1 could not let the little things go hungry and I have not sold many Just lately. But to-day is the big Fair, and to-day when the people come in to buy* I shall be sure to sell enough, so that there will be money to pay you. lam sorry, lam sorry*. Please excuse me and be patient until after the Fair.” “Poor Excellent Bird Man,” thought kind little Promise of Music. “I wish I could help him,” he sang, and then he liked the sound of his own song, so he sang it over and over again, a little trilling, warbling tune that he poured rignt out of his yellow throat. When the sun shone straight down at noon time instead of sideways acruss the birds’ cages from the east, the fair grounds began to fill with people. Presently the Excellent Bird Man saw a beautiful woman gazing at Promise of Music through the bars of his small black cage. The little bird's throat* was fluttering with song. “If she buys me,” thought Promise of Music, “the Excellent Bird Man will be able to pay his bill.” “What a sweet singer.” said the beautiful woman. “I shall take this one.” The Excellent Bird Man was very sad to let Promise of Music go, but as he filled his little blue bowls with millet and wat?r for the last time, lie whispered, “Promise of Music, I know what you hare done, and you are a precious little bird. The money’- will make me happy, but nothing can make me happy enough to want you to go. Yet, have no fear, little one, for the rich lady’ likes you well, and you will not suffer for food and clean water. Good-bye. little Promise of Music.” “Good-bye,” sang the little bird. “Good-bye, and don’t worry about me, for I love you so much and I am so glad that I could help you a little. Good-bye.”

And the young lady’ took his cage carefully in her hand and carried him herself and laughed when he sang his to the bird man. “Servant,” she called, “let us go down by the grain market where the best bird seeds are sold and buy a great deal to feed my new* yellow bird, for we must never let him get hungry’, you know.” “Never, never, never,” sang Promiss of Music, and he was glad in his yellow bird heart.