As the clock struck twelve he heard a noise in the air, and a bird
came flying that was of pure gold; and as it was snapping at one of the
apples with its beak, the gardener’s son jumped up and shot an arrow at
it. But the arrow did the bird no harm; only it dropped a golden feather
from its tail, and then flew away. The golden feather was brought to
the king in the morning, and all the council was called together.
Everyone agreed that it was worth more than all the wealth of the
kingdom: but the king said, ’One feather is of no use to me, I must have
the whole bird.’