Mafil was known in those parts as a master of the hegelung. He had been playing the two-stringed instrument for fifteen years. That day, he delighted us with a cheerful tune, flourished with trills and fanciful rhythms, revealing afterwards that the song was about a bird and her offspring.

We must flee to the mountains, the mother chirped.
And the music ruffled their feathers, swept across the sky, lifting their wings as they flew from home.

Mafil said that he could render anything into song. He added after a brief pause, "In fact, I could make a song about you."