content: you see from this that the sparrow was a truthful bird , and the old woman ought to have been willing to forgive her at once when she asked her pardon so nicely . but not so . the old woman had never loved the sparrow , and had often quarreled with her husband for keeping what she called a dirty bird about the house , saying that it only made extra work for her . now she was only too delighted to have some cause of complaint against the pet . she scolded and even cursed the poor little bird for her bad behavior , and not content with using these harsh , unfeeling words , in a fit of rage she seized the sparrow - who all this time had spread out her wings and bowed her head before the old woman , to show how sorry she was - and fetched the scissors and cut off the poor little bird 's tongue .
answer: the old woman had never loved the sparrow .
question: why did the woman not forgive the sparrow ?
target: why did the woman not forgive the sparrow ?
references: why did the woman not forgive the sparrow ?