Roasted Sparrows

Though the trap was simple, it was sometimes remarkably effective, especially when no one had used it before. In just a short hour, Ye Yun and the others caught more than a dozen birds, eleven of them sparrows. Ye Yun had no idea what species the rest were.

The spot Ye Yun had chosen was rather secluded, so no one came to bother them. Looking at the birds strung together with a rope, Li Yun could not help swallowing. He was simply too hungry. Though the birds were still not quite enough, he could no longer hold back. Glancing at Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu, who were intently watching the trap, Ye Yun had an idea and said with a sweet smile, "Brother Xiaofan, Little Yun'er is so hungry. Shall we roast the sparrows? Just sprinkle some salt on them and roast them over the fire. They'll smell delicious and taste really good."

Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu, who had been focused on the trap, froze when they heard Ye Yun's words. They did not quite understand. Weren't these pretty sparrows meant to be kept as pets? Why did Little Yun'er want to roast and eat them? But after Ye Yun said so, they realized they were a little hungry too. Though the birds looked colorful and adorable, they had not eaten meat in a long time. Naturally, they were tempted.

More than ten minutes later, Lin Jingyu came sneaking back with a fire starter and a small packet of salt tucked into his clothes. Less than a minute after his return, Zhang Xiaofan also crept back. He had a small sheathed knife hidden in his robes, meant for cleaning the sparrows later.

Though their spot was secluded enough, it had one drawback: there was no water. Without water, they could not properly wash the birds after cleaning them. After discussing it, the three decided that Lin Jingyu and Ye Yun would go to a small stream nearby to prepare the birds, while Zhang Xiaofan stayed behind to keep watch over the trap.

The small stream was not far from where they had been, only a little over a hundred meters away. It did not carry much water, and even its deepest point barely reached an adult's knees—about Ye Yun's waist. The stream was exceptionally clear, and fish could be seen swimming within it, though unfortunately they had no way to catch them.

Preparing sparrows was not difficult. They only needed to pluck the feathers, remove the heads, feet, and entrails, then wash them clean. Li Yun's task was to pluck all the feathers from the dead sparrows.

At first, the two were unfamiliar with the work and moved slowly. But gradually, their movements became more practiced, and they worked faster and faster. Soon, more than a dozen sparrows had become tender pink pieces of meat.

Carrying the cleaned sparrow meat, Ye Yun hummed some little tune he did not recognize as he followed behind Lin Jingyu. Lin Jingyu picked up dry branches from the ground as he walked back. When they returned to the place where they had been catching sparrows, Ye Yun was delighted to discover that while they had been cleaning the birds, Zhang Xiaofan had caught three more sparrows with the trap.

Now they had meat and firewood. All that remained was to light the fire and start roasting. Since Ye Yun was too young, Zhang Xiaofan and the others took care of everything before he could do anything himself. One started the fire while the other skewered the sparrow meat and rubbed salt over it as Ye Yun instructed. By the time Zhang Xiaofan got the fire going, Lin Jingyu had finished skewering the meat. Of the sixteen birds, Ye Yun had six, while Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu had five each. Ye Yun's were split between two skewers, three on each, and Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu each had two skewers as well.

Ordinarily, charcoal was best for grilling, but Ye Yun was too hungry to wait for the firewood to turn into coals. As soon as the flames rose, he eagerly picked up one skewer of bird meat and began roasting it. Zhang Xiaofan and the others copied him, but they had never roasted meat like this before and did not know how to control the distance between the skewers and the fire. Children were impatient by nature, so they held them too close. The meat at the front quickly changed color and began turning black. Ye Yun hurriedly warned them, but the two still did things their own way.

Two or three minutes later, waves of meat fragrance drifted through the air. Yet Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu could not feel pleased, because they discovered that although their meat was cooked, it was also burnt. Only part of it could still be eaten; the pieces at the front had already turned completely to charcoal.

"I told you not to rush. See? Now the meat's burnt. That's why it can be useful to listen to other people sometimes." As he spoke, Ye Yun showed off by waving his sizzling skewer around a few times. Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu looked at Ye Yun's perfectly unburnt roasted meat with great envy. After taking off and eating the first sparrow, which was already fully cooked, they carefully watched Ye Yun's movements and copied him.

A few minutes later, the sparrows on Ye Yun's wooden skewer had turned golden yellow and were completely cooked. Starving beyond endurance, Ye Yun did not care that it might burn his mouth. After blowing on it a few times, he took a huge bite. With a crunch, half the roasted sparrow disappeared. Though it had only been seasoned with salt, it tasted remarkably good. It was chewy and carried a special fragrant sweetness, making Ye Yun chew even the crisp bones to pieces before swallowing them.

Three sparrows were not much. Ye Yun quickly finished all of his, while Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu were even faster. By the time Ye Yun was eating his second sparrow, they had already finished theirs. When Ye Yun finished his second, they had already put their other skewers over the fire.

Having tasted roasted sparrow, the two became extraordinarily enthusiastic. Even as they grilled, they kept an eye on the distant trap. Ye Yun did the same, of course, but most of his attention remained on the meat. Unlike the two of them, who looked up toward the trap every few seconds, he paid less attention, so their roasted meat turned out a little worse than Ye Yun's—though at least it was not burnt.

After turning the skewer in his hand once more, Ye Yun casually glanced toward the distant trap. Ever since they had started roasting the meat, no sparrows had gone there to eat the rice, so he was not paying much attention. Yet that careless glance made his heart leap. He saw an unbelievable sight: a wild pheasant as large as a domestic chicken, covered in brilliant colors, had lowered its head inside their trap and was greedily devouring the rice. Its huge body was entirely beneath the Bamboo basket, with only a small section of its long tail still sticking out.

Though Ye Yun had no idea why the pheasant had come over, why would they refuse meat delivered right to their doorstep? With lightning speed, he grabbed the rope beside him and yanked hard. The falling Bamboo basket covered the pheasant. The instant it was trapped, Ye Yun had already stuck his sparrow skewer into the ground. By the time Zhang Xiaofan and the others realized the pheasant had fallen into the trap, Ye Yun was already running toward it.

Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu had not expected them to be so lucky. That absurdly simple trap had actually caught a large wild pheasant. But though they were surprised, they were not slow to act. Copying Ye Yun, they stuck their skewers into the ground and raced toward the trap like the wind. They quickly passed Ye Yun, reached it before the Bamboo basket could be knocked over, and pressed it firmly down.