“It is a piece of silver!” he thought, but he sat perfectly still until the Magpie had stowed the coin safely in the hollow tree and had hopped away as if upon an unfinished errand.  “Aha! there is more then.  I will watch to see what comes next,” said Whitebird.  And he waited.

Sure enough.  In a little while the Magpie returned, this time bringing something which glowed yellow like sunlight.

“It is a piece of gold!” gasped Whitebird, and his eyes bulged out like those of lobsters, he was so jealous of her luck.  But he silently watched her disappear into her tree-cupboard and then hastily depart as before toward the mountain.  “What comes next?” muttered Whitebird to himself.  “I am dying to peep into that hole.  I cannot wait much longer.”

Then, after a while, a third time came back the Magpie to the dead tree.  And lo, what she carried in her beak twinkled and trembled and shone in many colors, like a drop of dew on a velvet flower-cheek.  When Whitebird saw this sight, he nearly tumbled off his perch with excitement.

“It is a diamond!” he cried aloud; “oh, it is a real diamond!”

At this sudden noise from the rose-bush Mother Magpie’s nerves were so shocked that she dropped the diamond helter-skelter into the hole.  And in a moment she fell in after it, out of sight.  She hoped that no one had seen her, but little Whitebird knew the place.  He hopped after her and, perching on the edge of the hole, peered down into the hollow tree.  And there he saw a great heap of silver and gold and precious stones, which Mother Magpie was trying to cover with her wings.

“Oh, what a treasure!  What a treasure!” he piped greedily.  “Mother Magpie, you must tell me where you found it, that I may go and get some for myself.”

But Mother Magpie refused to tell.

“Oho!” chirped Whitebird, angrily; “we shall see about that!  Then I will call in the fierce birds, Robber Hawk and Fighting Falcon and the bloody Butcher Bird, and they will take your treasure from you, and kill you, too, into the bargain.  What do you think of that, Mother Magpie?”

Then she was afraid, for she knew those bad birds; and she saw that she must trust her secret with Whitebird, since he had already discovered half the truth.

“Well, if you will promise me not to let any one else know, not even King Eagle, I will tell you,” she said.  So Whitebird promised.

“Listen,” said the Magpie.  “You must find the cave which is near the tallest oak on the mountain, under the flat stone.  In a corner there is a tiny hole, just big enough for you or me to pass.  And this is the entrance to a passage which leads down into the cellars of the earth.  And when you have gone down and down, farther than any one except myself ever went before, you will come to the palace of the King of Riches.  It is full of gold and silver and precious stones like these you see here.  Each chamber is more beautiful and