A poor orphan girl named Maria   Was walking to market one day   She stopped for a rest by the roadside   Where a bird with a broken wing lay   A few moments passed till she saw it   For it's feathers were covered with sand    But soon clean and wrapped it was travelling   In the warmth of Maria's small hand       She happily gave her last peso   On a cage made of rushes and twine   She fed it loose corn from the market   And watched it grow stronger with time       Now the Christmas Eve service was coming   And the church shone with tinsel and light   And all of the townfolks brought presents   To lay by the manger that night   There were diamonds and incense   And perfumes   In packages fit for a king   But for one ragged bird in a small cage   Maria had nothing to bring       She waited till just before midnight   So no one would see her go in   And crying she knelt by the manger   For her gift was unworthy of Him       Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness   Maria, what brings you to me   If the bird in the cage is your offering   Open the door and let me see   Though she trembled, she did as He asked her   And out of the cage the bird flew   Soaring up into the rafters   On a wing that had healed good as new       Just then the midnight bells rang out   And the little bird started to sing   A song that no words could recapture   Whose beauty was fit for a king       Now Maria felt blessed just to listen   To that cascade of notes sweet and long   As her offerings was lifted to heaven   By the very first nightingale's song