"I wonder where I can be?" he mused. "I was saved in the nick of time: I was too exhausted to run farther," and at that moment he heard a beautiful strain of music, played upon a flute:
He raised himself to listen attentively, and soon he saw a man descending from among the rocks behind the temple. Still fearful of new adventures while he was unarmed and worn, Tamino rose and hid himself in the trees. The man's name was Papageno, and he carried a great cage filled with birds upon his back; in both hands he held a pipe, which was like the pipe of Pan, and it was upon this that he was making music. He also sang:
A fowler bold in me you see, A man of mirth and minstrelsy; My name is ever in demand, With old and young thro'out the land-- I set my traps, the birds flock round, I whistle, and they know the sound.]
For wealth my lot I'd not resign, For every bird that flies is mine.
I am a fowler, bold and free, A man of mirth and minstrelsy; My name is ever in demand, With old and young throughout the land. But nets to set for pretty maids: That were the most divine of trades.
I'd keep them safe 'neath lock and key, And all I caught should be for me.
So that exceedingly jolly fellow sang as he passed Tamino. He was about to enter the temple when Tamino, seeing he had nothing to fear, stopped him.
"I ask the same," the fowler answered, staring at Tamino.
"That is easily answered. I am a prince and a wanderer. My father reigns over many lands and tribes."
"Ah, ha! Perhaps in that land of thine I might do a little trade in birds," the fowler said, jovially.
"Is that how you make your living?" Tamino asked him.
"Surely! I catch birds and sell them to the Queen of the Night and her ladies."
"What does the Queen look like?" Tamino asked, somewhat curious.
"How do I know? Pray, who ever saw the Queen of the Night?"
"You say so? Then she must be the great Queen of whom my father has often spoken."
"Well, let me thank you for killing that great serpent. He nearly did for me," Tamino replied, taking it for granted that the man before him had been the one to rescue him, since he had fallen unconscious before he had seen the ladies. The fowler looked about at the dead serpent.
"Perfectly right! A single grasp of mine would kill a bigger monster than that," the fowler boasted, taking to himself the credit for the deed; but by this time the three ladies had again come from the temple and were listening to this boastful gentleman with the birds upon his back.