"Oh!" she cried, "you have saved my life!" And she thanked the Jackdaw till he
grew quite modest and shy.

"What is it for? What can you do with it?" he asked.

"With this," she answered, "I can make anything beautiful come true! I can
give you whatever you ask; you have but to ask, and you shall have."

Then the little Jackdaw, being moon-struck, and not knowing the value of
things, said, "Oh, if I could only sing like a nightingale!"

"You can!" said the fairy, waving her wand but once; and immediately
some-thing like a melodious sneeze flew into his head and set it shaking.

"Chiou! chiou! True-true-true-true! Jug! jug! Oh, beautiful! beautiful!" His
beak went dabbling in the sweet sound, rippling it this way and that, spraying
it abroad out of his blissful heart as a jewel throws out its fires.

The fairy was gone; but the little Jackdaw sprang up into the high elm, and
sang on endlessly through the whole night.

At dawn he stopped, and looking down, there he saw the family getting ready
for breakfast, and wondering what had become of him. Just as they were saying
grace he flew in, his little heart beating with joy over his new-found
treasure. What a jewel of a voice he had: better than all the pieces of glass
and chips of platter lying down there in the nest! As soon as the parent-birds
had finished grace, he lifted his voice and thanked God that the thing he had
wished for had become true.

None of them understood what he said, but they paid him plenty of attention.