THE DANCE OF THE SAND-HILL CRANES
One fine day in spring, a great flock of Sand-hill Cranes came from thesouth. They were flying high and quietly because the weather was bright.If it had been stormy, or if they had been flying by night, as theyusually did, they would have stayed nearer the ground, and their leaderwould have trumpeted loudly to let his followers know which way he wasgoing. They would also have trumpeted, but more softly, to tell him thatthey were coming after.
They were a fine company to look upon, orderly, strong, and dignified.Their long necks were stretched out straight ahead, their long legsstraight behind, and they beat the air with slow, regular strokes ofthe strong wings. As they came near the pond, they flew lower and lower,until all swept down to the earth and alighted, tall and stately, by theedge of the water.
They had eaten nothing for several days, and were soon hunting for food,some on land, and some in the water, for they had stopped to feed andrest. Those who hunted in the water, did so very quietly. A Crane wouldstand on one leg, with his head against his breast, so quietly that onemight think him asleep: but as soon as anything eatable came near, hewould bend his body, stretch out his neck, open his long, slender bill,and swallow it at one gulp. Then he would seem to fall asleep again.
While most of the Cranes were still feeding, some of them were stalkingthrough the woods and looking this way and that, flying up to stand on atree, and then flying down to stand on the ground. They were those whothought of staying there for the summer.
When the flock arose to fly on again, eight Cranes stayed behind. Theywatched their friends fly away, and stood on the ground with their necksand bills uplifted and mouths open, while they trumpeted or called out,"Good-bye! Stop for us in the fall!" The flying Cranes trumpeted back,"We will! Don't forget us!"
That night they slept near together, as they had done when with thelarge flock, and one Crane kept awake to watch for danger while theothers tucked their heads under their wings. They were fine looking,even when they slept, and some people never look well unless they areawake. They were brownish-gray, with no bright markings at all, andtheir long legs gave them a very genteel look. The tops of their headswere covered with warty red skin, from which grew short black feathersthat looked more like hairs.
One morning, when the Cranes awakened, a fine young fellow began tostrut up and down before the rest, bowing low, and leaping high into theair, and every now and then whooping as loudly as he could. The Gulls,who had spent the winter by the pond, screamed to each other, "The Cranedance has begun!" Even the Frogs, who are afraid of Cranes, creptquietly near to look on.
It was not long before another young Crane began to skip and hop andcircle around, drooping his wings and whooping as he went. Every Cranedanced, brothers, and sisters, and all, and as they did so, they lookedlovingly at each other, and admired the fine steps and enjoyed thewhooping. This went on until they were so tired they could hardly stand,and had to stop to eat and rest.
When they were eating, the young fellow who had begun the dance,stalked up to the sister of one of his friends, as she stood in the edgeof the pond, gracefully balanced on one leg. She did not turn her headtowards him, although, having such a long and slender neck, she couldhave done so with very little trouble. She stood with her head on herbreast and looked at the water. After a while, he trumpeted softly, asthough he were just trying his voice. Then she gave a pretty littlestart, and said, "Oh, are you here? How you did frighten me!"
"I am sorry," he said. "I did not want to frighten you." And he lookedat her admiringly.
"It was just for a minute," she answered. "Of course I am not frightenednow that I know who it is."
Then they stood and fished for a long time without saying anything. Whenshe flew away, she said, "That is a very pleasant fishing-place." Hestood on the other leg for a while, and thought how sweet her voicesounded as she said it. Then he thought that, if she liked the place sowell, she might come there again the next day. He wondered why he couldnot come too, although everybody knows that a Crane catches more if hefishes alone.
The next morning, when the Cranes danced, he bowed to her oftener thanto any of the rest, and he thought she noticed it. They danced untilthey were almost too tired to move, and indeed he had to rest for awhile before he went to feed. As she stalked off toward the pond, shepassed him, and she said over her shoulder, "I should think you would behungry. I am almost starved." After she had gone, he wondered why shehad said that. If he had been an older Crane, and understood the ways ofthe world a little better, he would have known that she meant, "Aren'tyou coming to that fishing-place? I am going now." Still, although hewas such a young Crane and had never danced until this year, he began tothink that she liked him and enjoyed having him near. So he flew off tothe fishing-place where he had seen her the day before, and he stalkedalong to where she was, and stood close to her while she fished. Once,when he caught something and swallowed it at one gulp, she lookedadmiringly at him and said, "What fine, big mouthfuls you can take!"
"WHAT FINE, BIG MOUTHFULS YOU CAN TAKE!" _Page 19_]
That pleased him, of course, because Cranes think that big mouthfuls arethe best kind, so he tipped his head to one side, and watched his neckas the mouthful slid down to his stomach. He could see it from theoutside, a big bunch slowly moving downward. He often did this while hewas eating. He thought it very interesting. He pitied short-neckedpeople. Then he said, "Pooh! I can take bigger mouthfuls than that. Youought to see what big mouthfuls I can take."
She changed, and stood on her other leg. "I saw you dancing thismorning," she said. Now it was not at all queer that she should haveseen him dancing, for all the eight Cranes had danced together, but hethought it very wonderful.
"Did you notice to whom I bowed?" he asked. He was so excited that hisknees shook, and he had to stand on both legs at once to keep fromfalling. When a Crane is as much excited as that, it is pretty serious.
"To my sister?" she asked carelessly, as she drew one of her longtail-feathers through her beak.
"No," said he. "I bowed to her sister." He thought that was a veryclever thing to say. But she suddenly raised her head, and said, "There!I have forgotten something," and flew off, as she had done the daybefore. He wondered what it was. Long afterward he asked her what shehad forgotten and she said she couldn't remember--that she never couldremember what she had forgotten.
It made him feel very badly to have her leave him so. He wanted a chanceto tell her something, yet, whenever he tried to, it seemed to stick inhis bill. He began to fear that she didn't like him; and the next timethe Cranes danced he didn't bow to her so much, but he strutted andleaped and whooped even more. And she strutted and leaped and whoopedalmost as loudly as he. When they were all tired out and had stoppeddancing, she said to him, "I am so tired! Let us go off into the woodsand rest."
You may be very sure he was glad to go, and as he stalked off with her,he led the way to a charming nesting-place. He didn't know just how totell what he wanted to, but he had seen another Crane bowing to her, andwas afraid she might marry him if he was not quick. Now he pointed withone wing to this nesting-place, and said, "How would you like to build anest there?"
She looked where he had pointed, "I?" she said. "Why, it is a lovelyplace, but I could never have a nest alone."
"Let me help you," he said. "I want to marry and have a home."
"Why," said she, as she preened her feathers, "that is a very good plan.When did you think of it?"
So they were married, and Mrs. Sand-Hill Crane often told her friendsafterward that Mr. Crane was so much in love with her that she just_had_ to marry him. They were very, very happy, and after a while--butthat is another story.