Once upon a time, so they say, there was a husband and wife, who had two young children. They were actually his children, while the wife was their stepmother. The girl and boy loved each other very much and were each the apple of each others eyes.

One day, the stepmother became fed up with the boy because she really couldn’t stand him. Secretly, she took the boy away from his sister, cut him into pieces, and cooked him.

When the husband returned home, he asked, “Where's the boy?”

“What do I know?” the wife said, "I didn't see him the entire day.”

When the little sister heard this, she burst into tears.

Then lunchtime arrived, and they sat down at the table and began eating. When the meat was served, each one ate his or her food, but the little girl refused because her heart told her that it was the flesh of her brother. So, what did she do? She gathered all the little bones of the flesh and kept them in a chest.

One day, she went and opened the chest, and all at once a little bird flew out. She wanted to catch it, but the little bird escaped.

Now a few days passed, and the little bird came to her window and began singing:

“Peep, peep, peep!

My stepmother, she has murdered me.

My father he has eaten me.

My sister refused to touch me.

She’s gathered my bones for all to see.”

Upon hearing this, the sister asked, “What are you saying? What are you saying, little bird?”

Then the bird responded: “Hold on, and take this,” and he threw a little piece of paper that his sister kept.

The next day the little bird flew to the mattress maker and sang:

“Peep, peep, peep

My stepmother, she has murdered me.

My father he has eaten me.

My sister refused to touch me.

She's gathered my bones for all to see.”

Upon hearing this, the mattress maker responded quickly:

“What are you saying, what are you saying little bird?”

“What am I saying? Can you give me two mattresses? If you do, I'll tell you what I've said.”

The mattress maker immediately prepared two mattresses and brought them out to the bird. Then the little bird sang:

“Peep, peep, peep!

My stepmother, she has murdered me.

My father he has eaten me.

My sister refused to touch me.

She's gathered my bones for all to see.”

No sooner did the bird finish singing than it took the mattresses in its beak (which was enchanted) and carried them away. I won't tell you how surprised the mattress maker was! He couldn’t believe that the little bird would succeed in carrying the mattresses in its beak and yelled, “Catch it! Catch the bird!”

However, who could possibly hope to catch the bird even if that person had been able to see it fly! Therefore, the little bird returned to his sister and sang the same song. His sister opened her window, and the bird threw the mattresses to her so that she could set them aside for her dowry.

The next day the little bird went to the chair maker and sang the same song, and the carpenter responded, “What are you saying, what are you saying, little bird?”

Then the bird responded, “If I tell you, you must set out twelve chairs for me.”

Therefore, the carpenter prepared twelve chairs for the bird, and the little bird sang the same song. No sooner had the bird finished than it grabbed the chairs in its beak, and flew away.

The carpenter remained standing and watched it fly away badly disappointed. Meanwhile, the little bird went to his sister and left the chairs there.

“Hold on, and set these chairs aside for your dowry.”

Then the bird flew to the silversmith and sang the same song, convincing the silversmith to prepare a diamond ring. As soon as the ring was finished and ready, the little bird sang, then grabbed the ring, and brought it through the air to his sister. In short, the little bird brought a dowry for his little sister, one piece at a time, including the nightgowns, combs, and shoes.

In the meantime, the stepmother, who had seen all these beautiful things arrive, became jealous. Consequently, she turned to the bird and said, “Little bird, little bird, haven't you brought me anything?”

“Indeed,” the little bird replied, “tomorrow I'll bring you something beautiful.”

And what did he do? The little bird flew to a woman who sold nails and had her give him a sack, and as usual, he sang the same song:

“Peep, peep, peep!

My stepmother, she has murdered me.

My father he has eaten me.

My sister refused to touch me.

She’s gathered my bones for all to see.”

Then the little bird flew with the sack of nails to the stepmother and sang his song:

“Peep, peep, peep!

My stepmother, she has murdered me.

My father he has eaten me.

My sister refused to touch me.

She’s gathered my bones for all to see.”

No sooner did the stepmother see the bird arrive, she said, “Little bird, what have you brought me?”

“Lie down flat on your back showing me your stomach, and I'll give you what I've brought you.”

The stepmother laid down flat on her back showing her stomach, and pow! The bird threw the little sack of nails straight down on her stomach. Then the stepmother breathed her last breath and died.

His sister was frightened and began to weep when she thought about her father. However, the little bird turned neither green nor yellow, and said, “It doesn't matter. Don’t be afraid. When your father comes, you're to give him the little piece of paper that I threw at you so that he will understand who it was who killed his wife.”

Then the bird disappeared.

When the father returned home, he was troubled by the disaster. His daughter was crying and told him everything, by her father wouldn't believe her because he was convinced that it was she who killed his wife. When his daughter saw that her father was so obstinate, she took the little letter and gave it to him. And what was written in this letter? Everything that the stepmother had done to the little boy recorded in exhaustive detail. Then the little girl told him about the entire dowry that the little bird had brought to her, and her father finally realized that the wicked person was really his wife.

They remained happy and content,

While we sit here without a cent.

Source:

Giuseppe, Pitrè. “The Little Bird.” Catarina the Wise and Other Wondrous Sicilian Folk & Fairy Tales, translated by Jack Zipes, 2017, pp. 214-218.