The Gift

<p>A poor orphan girl named Maria<br/>Was walking to market one day<br/>She stopped for a rest by the roadside<br/>Where a bird with a broken wing lay<br/>A few moments passed till she saw it<br/>For it&#x27;s feathers were covered with sand<br/>But soon clean and wrapped it was traveling<br/>In the warmth of Maria&#x27;s small hand<br/><br/>She happily gave her last peso<br/>On a cage made of rushes and twine<br/>She fed it loose corn from the market<br/>And watched it grow stronger with time<br/><br/>Now the Christmas Eve service was coming<br/>And the church shone with tinsel and light<br/>And all of the townsfolk brought presents<br/>To lay by the manger that night<br/>There were diamonds and incense and perfumes<br/>In packages fit for a king<br/>But for one ragged bird in a small cage<br/>Maria had nothing to bring<br/>She waited till just before midnight<br/>So no one could see her go in<br/>And crying she knelt by the manger<br/>For her gift was unworthy of Him<br/><br/>Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness<br/>Maria, what brings you to me<br/>If the bird in the cage is your offering<br/>Open the door, let me see<br/>Though she trembled, she did as he asked her<br/>And out of the cage the bird flew<br/>Soaring into the rafters<br/>On a wing that had healed good as new<br/><br/>Just then the midnight bells rang out<br/>And the little bird started to sing<br/>A song that no words could recapture<br/>Whose beauty was fit for a king<br/><br/>Now Maria felt blessed just to listen<br/>To that cascade of notes sweet and long<br/>As her offering was lifted to heaven<br/>By the very first nightingale&#x27;s song