Reading Comprehension.

The girl and the enchanted bird -

There once was a girl who had a bird as her best friend.

He was a bird unlike any other: it was enchanted.

Common birds, once the cage door is left open, go away never to return. But the girl’s bird flew freely and came back when it missed her ... His feathers were also different. Changed color. They were always painted in the colors of distant and strange places where it was flying. Once it turned completely white, huge tail feather fluffy as cotton.

- Girl, I come from the mountains covered with snow and cold, all beautifully white and clean, gleaming in the moonlight, listening to nothing except the wind noise that makes popping the ice that covers the branches of trees. I brought in my feathers a bit of charm that I saw as a gift for you.

And so he began to sing the songs and stories of that world that had never seen the girl. Until she fell asleep and dreamed that flew on the wings of the bird.

Again, on another day, he turned red as fire, golden plume head.

- I come from a land scorched by drought, hot and waterless land, where the big, the small and the animals suffer the sorrow of the sun that is not quenched. My feathers were like that sun, and I bring the sad songs of those who would love to hear the noise of the waterfalls and see the beauty of the green fields.

And again the stories began. The girl loved that bird and could hear him incessantly, day after day. And the bird loved the girl, and it kept coming back.

But then, again it was time of sorrow.

- I gotta go - said.

- Please do not go. I'm so sad. I'll miss you. And cry ... - And the girl was pouting...

- I'll miss you too - said the bird. - I also cry. But I'll tell you a secret: the plants need water, we need air, fish need rivers ... And my spell needs nostalgia. Is that sadness, in hopes of returning, that makes my stay beautiful feathers. If I don’t go, there will be no longing. I fail to be an enchanted bird. And you’ll cease to love me.

So he left. The girl, alone, cries at night of sadness, wondering if the bird would come back again. And it was one of those nights that she had a wicked idea: "If I hold him in a cage, he'll never leave. It will be mine forever. No won’t miss him anymore. And I'll be happy ...”

With these thoughts, she bought a beautiful cage, silver, fit for a bird that one loves very much. And she waited. He finally arrived, wonderful in their new colors, with different stories to tell. Tired of the journey, fell asleep. It was then that the girl carefully, so he would not wake up, trapped him in the cage, so he never abandoned her. And fell asleep happy.

She woke up at dawn, with the wail of a bird…

- Ah! girl ... What did you do?  You broke the spell. My feathers will be ugly and I will forget the stories ... Without nostalgia, love will go away ...

The girl did not believe. He thought that he would eventually get used. But this is not what happened. The time passed, and the bird became different. Plumes start falling. The red, green and blue feathers turned into a sad gray. Then came the silence and He stopped singing.

Also the girl grieved. No, that was not the bird that she loved. And she cried at night, thinking about what she had done to her friend...

Until they couldn’t take anymore.

She opened the cage door.

- You can go bird. Come back when you want...

- Thank you, girl. I have to leave. And I need to leave for the nostalgia that comes and make me want to go back. Far in nostalgia, good things begin to grow within us. Whenever you stay with nostalgia, I'll be more beautiful. Whenever I get homesick, I shall be prettier and spruce, wait for me...

And he left. Flying to distant places. The girl counted the days, and with each passing day the longing grew.

- How nice - she thought - my bird is getting charmed again ...

And she went to the wardrobe, chose the dresses, and combed her hair and put flowers in a pot.

- We never know. He may come back today...

Without she realized, the whole world was getting enchanted, like the bird. Why he should be flying from anywhere and from any side would return. Ah!

Wonderful World, which holds somewhere in the secret enchanted bird that I love...?

And so it was, every night, going to bed, sad longing, but happy with the thought: "Who knows if he'll be back tomorrow ...."

And so she slept and dreamed about the joy of reunion.

Rubem Alves.

In your opinion, what's the text's main topic?

What would you do if you had a bird like that?

Do you think the girl did the right thing?

Do you think there's a limit for somebody's freedom?

What comes to your mind when you think about the word "Freedom" ?