3O NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Story communicated to Gessner. 



But I, who could not sleep for nights together, 

 was perfectly sensible of their discourse. One 

 of their stories was concerning the tapster and 

 his wife, who refused to follow him to the wars, 

 as he desired her; for the husband endeavoured 

 to persuade his wife, as far as I understood by 

 die birds, that he would leave his service in that 

 inn, and go to the wars in hopes of plunder. But 

 she refused to follow him, resolving to stay either 

 at Ratisbon, or go to Nuremberg. There was a 

 long and earnest contention between them ; and 

 all this dialogue the birds repeated. They even 

 repeated the unseemly words which were cast 

 out between them, and which ought rather to 

 have been suppressed and kept a secret. But the 

 birds, not knowing the difference between mo- 

 dest, immodest, honest, and filthy words, did out 

 with them. The other story was concerning the 

 war which the emperor was then threatening 

 against the protestants; which the birds probably 

 heard from some of the generals that had confer- 

 ences in the house. These things did tho.y repeat 

 in the night after twelve o'clock, when there was 

 a deep silence. But in the day-time, for the 

 most part, they were silent, and seemed to do 

 nothing but meditate and revolve with themselves 

 upon what the guests conferred together as they 

 sat at table, or in their walk. I verily had never 

 believed our Pliny writing so many wonderful 

 things concerning these little creatures, had 1 

 not myself seen with my eyes, and heard them 



