"Oh, yes," he answered, "it belongs to the wheelwright to whom I am
taking you. All the wood around here belongs to him, and he will be glad
to have this pole so handy." So saying, he hurried to get the pole and
helped the coachman fasten it in place. The horses then drew the
carriage slowly over the rocky road, while the coachman walked
alongside.

The family, however, followed the footpath, which led between tall elms
and blooming shrubbery along the edge of a babbling brook.

The silence was broken now and then by the plaintive song of a
nightingale. The Duchess and her two children seated themselves upon the
trunk of a fallen tree and listened to the music till it ceased. A
gentle wind sighed softly through the leaves of the trees, and merrily
flowed the near-by brook. As the nightingale repeated its song, they all
listened intently.

When the song was ended, the Duchess said: "I would give twenty pounds
if I had such a bird in my garden. I have heard many nightingales sing
in the city, but here in the country, in this wooded region and deep
stillness, and at this twilight hour, its song seems doubly enchanting.
Oh, that I might hear it sing in the little bower near my villa."

"Hm," whispered the stable-boy, who stood near her oldest son, Alfred,
"those twenty pounds could be easily earned."

Alfred nodded, and motioned to the boy to be still, for just then the
nightingale began to sing. When the song ceased the Duchess arose to
continue her way. Alfred, however, lagged behind with the stable-boy,