The Neighboring Families

In the middle of the tulip stood white people; they were of marble and some of plaster, but to a sparrow they all looked the same.

On top of the house stood a metal car, with metal horses, and the Goddess of Victory, also of metal, driving them. This was Thorvaldsen's Museum!

"How it shines! How it shines!" said the sparrow. "This must be 'the beautiful'! Twit! But here it's larger than a peacock!" She still remembered from when she was little what the most beautiful thing was that her mother knew.

Then she flew down into the courtyard, and this was also lovely. There were palms and green foliage painted on the walls, and in the middle of the courtyard stood a big, blooming rose tree that spread its fresh green branches, with their many flowers, over a grave. She flew to it, for she saw several other sparrows there. "Twit!" she said, and scraped three times with her left leg. She had practiced that greeting many times in past days and years, but no one had understood it, for those who are once parted don't meet every day; the greeting had become hardly more than a habit. But today there were two old sparrows and one young one who said, "twit!" in return and scraped with their left legs.

'Ah, good day, good day!" It was a couple of the sparrows from the old nest, and a little one of the family. "That we should meet here!" They said, "This is a very fine place, but there isn't much to eat. It's 'the beautiful.' Twit!"

And then many people came into the courtyard from one of the rooms where the beautiful marble figures stood, and they went to the grave that held the remains of the great master who had created those figures. All stood with their eyes on Thorvaldsen's grave, and some gathered scattered rose petals to save. There were people from faraway places; they had come from mighty England from Germany, and France; and the fairest lady took one of the roses and placed it near her heart.

The sparrows then thought that the roses reigned there, that the whole house had been built for them.