ðɛɹ ɪz ɐ pˌoːɹtʃəɡˈiːz tˈeɪl kəlˈɛktᵻd baɪ fɹænsˈɪskoʊ ædˈɑːlfoʊ sˈiːlhoʊ, "ðə lˈɪɾəl bˈɔɪ ænd ðə mˈuːn," ðæt ʌnfˈoʊldz ɪn ɐ fˈæʃən lˈɑːɹdʒli ɐnˈæləɡəs tuː "ðə lˈæŋɡwɪdʒ ʌvðə bˈɜːdz": ɐ bˈɔɪ tˈɛlz hɪz fˈɑːðɚ ðætðə mˈuːn hɐz tˈoʊld hˌɪm hˌaʊ wˈʌn dˈeɪ wɛn hɪz fˈɑːðɚɹ ˈɔfɚz hˌɪm wˈɔːɾɚ tə wˈɑːʃ hɪz hˈændz, hiː wˈɪl "ʃɹˈɪŋk bˈæk ænd ɹᵻfjˈuːz təbi sˈɜːvd."
There is a Portuguese tale collected by Francisco Adolfo Coelho, "The Little Boy and the Moon," that unfolds in a fashion largely analogous to "The Language of the Birds": A boy tells his father that the moon has told him how one day when his father offers him water to wash his hands, he will "shrink back and refuse to be served."