Household Tales · Chapter
The Willow-Wren explained
In a time when sounds had meaning, the birds decide to choose a king by seeing who can fly the highest.
What happens
In a time when sounds had meaning, the birds decide to choose a king by seeing who can fly the highest. A small, nameless bird hides in the eagle's feathers and outflies everyone, then wins a second contest by hiding in a mouse-hole. The other birds, angered by his trickery, imprison him with the owl as guard, but he escapes when the owl falls asleep. Since then, the owl hides by day, and the little bird is mockingly called the 'King of the hedges.'
Themes in this chapter
Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
The little bird's cunning is punished by the other birds' hostility and his need to hide, while the owl's negligence leads to its daytime exile.
Jealousy and Envy
The other birds' anger at the little bird's trickery stems from jealousy that he outsmarted them in the contests.
Characters to notice
- the little bird without a name
The cunning, nameless bird that wins both flying and descending contests through trickery, becoming the self-proclaimed king.
- the eagle
The eagle who flies highest among the birds but is outdone by the little bird hiding in its feathers.
- the owl
The owl placed as sentinel to guard the mouse-hole, but falls asleep and allows the little bird to escape.
- the cock
The cock who calms the hen and explains the birds' plan to choose a king.
- the hen
The hen who is unaware of the gathering and asks what is happening.
Key passages
“In former days every sound still had its meaning and application.”
Long ago, every noise had a specific interpretation.
Sets the mythical tone of the story where sounds convey messages.
“It came into the bird’s mind, however, that they would no longer be without a ruler, and would choose one of themselves to be their King.”
The birds decided they needed a king and would elect one from among them.
Introduces the central conflict of the story.
“The little fellow soon observed that, and slipped away.”
The small bird noticed the owl was asleep and escaped.
Climactic moment where the little bird outwits the guard.