The grandmother took to feeding sparrows in the city as she used to feed dogs in the village. Hundreds of little birds collected round her. Some of them perched on her head and legs. Feeding the sparrows was ‘the happiest half-hour of the day for her’. The sparrows and the old lady developed an intimate companionship. When the grandmother died the sparrows expressed their sorrow in a unique and moving manner.

The grandmother lay dead wrapped in the red shroud. Thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping. They felt sorry for the birds. The narrator’s mother fetched some bread for them. She broke the bread into little crumbs. She threw the crumbs to the sparrows as the grandmother used to do. The sparrows took no notice of the bread. When they carried the grandmother’s corpse off they flew away quietly. Next morning the sweeper swept the bread crumbs into the dustbin.

The sparrows paid their silent tribute to the grand old lady. They mourned her death. They didn’t even touch the bread crumbs thrown to them.