Språket det skal oversettes til: Engelsk
It is noon. H. e R. are scrambling up a mountain, each of them carrying a knapsack full of kitchen utensils on his back. H. is holding a jackdaw in his hand, whereas R. is holding a crow. The two friends, exhausted, are complaining that the birds took them wandering aimlessly and did not lead them to meet Hoopoe, the King of the Birds. Both want to leave the world of mankind: R., the artist, because he has been disappointed by the decay of Art on earth; H., tired of cold and unfriendly girls, is in search of a warm, tender, and faithful love.
Attracted by their voices, the Wren suddenly appears. After a few moments of reciprocal fright, the two men start joking with the Wren, who finally introduces himself as the Hoopoe’s servant.