Don't know who wrote it, but Garth recorded it:
The Gift (as sung by Garth Brooks, from his album "Beyond the Season")
(done in 3/4 time, with a "south-of-the-border" feel)
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A poor orphan girl named Maria was walking to market one day.
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She stopped for to rest by the roadside where a bird with a broken wing lay.
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A few moments passed till she saw it for its feathers were covered with
sand,
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But soon, cleaned and wrapped, it was traveling in the warmth of Maria's
small hand.
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She happily gave her last peso on a cage made of rushes and twine.
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She fed it loose corn from the market and watched it grow stronger with
time.
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Now, the Christmas Eve service was coming, and the church shone with tinsel
and light.
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And all of the townfolk brought presents to lay by the manger that night.
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There were diamonds and incense and perfume in packages fit for a king.
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But for one ragged bird in a small cage, Maria had nothing to bring.
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She waited till just before midnight, so noone would see her go in.
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And, crying, she knelt by the manger, for her gift was unworthy of Him.
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Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness, "Maria, what brings you to
Me?
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If the bird in the cage is your offering, open the door, let me see."
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Though she trembled, she did as He asked her, and out of the cage the bird
flew.
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Soaring up into the rafters on a wing that had healed good as new.
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Just then the midnight bells rang out, and the little bird started to sing
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A song that no words could recapture, whose beauty was fit for a king.
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Now, Maria felt blessed just to listen to that cascade of notes sweet and
long,
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As her offering was lifted to Heaven by the very first nightingale's song.
Have fun with it,
Charles