The Governor of the Netherlands had brought gifts: some birds locked in cages. The birdsong Georgiana had heard earlier had come from them.
Though releasing them would have decorated the greenhouse, who knew whether they might suddenly drop "bombs" onto these distinguished guests' expensive clothes? So they were kept in cages for viewing. There were also some flightless birds, including tropical penguins. Another cage was covered with black cloth, which was only lifted after Georgiana and Bonaparte approached.
"What is that?" she asked, looking at the bird inside.
"Take a guess," Bonaparte said, none too happily.
She glanced at him. His expression was calm at the moment, giving no indication of whether he was still angry.
"A mango?" she asked.
Her words made everyone laugh.
It was a bird with brilliant plumage. Its head and neck were black, while the rest of it was yellow. Its shape looked especially like a mango, and a few sparse, filament-like tail feathers grew from its tail, like the last stubborn strands on a bald man's head.
"This is a bird-of-paradise, madam," the Governor of the Netherlands said with a smile. "It has another name as well: the paradise bird."
Georgiana was stunned. She clearly remembered that paradise birds had magnificent, fluffy tail feathers.
This seemed to amuse Bonaparte. Pointing at the tropical penguin beside the "mango," he said, "The world created by the Creator is always full of wonders."
"It is the natural world that is full of wonders, First Consul," someone suddenly said. "There is no Creator in this world."
Everyone else turned to look at him. Some even stepped aside to clear a path for Bonaparte to confront him.
"And neither is there any heaven," the man continued. "Not every place where these birds live is heaven."
Such a tense atmosphere