There was once a princess who was very lonely. She would spend her time talking to the birds that came to her room, and the birds would sing back, but neither of them understood each other. Still, she thought the birdsong was very pretty. One day, the princess was kidnapped for ransom. She was locked up in a tower. A bird flew near her window, one that she thought she recognized. She wrote a message on a piece of paper. “Please, little bird,” she whispered to the bird, “won’t you take this message to my parents?” The bird sang back. The bird took the message into its claws, flew outside, and dropped it to the ground.