He dived suddenly, and disappeared
under the water's edge. Soon after that, one of the swans let out a
scream, and swam off so quickly that the water foamed. Then he stopped
and began to look majestic once more. But soon, another one shrieked in
the same way as the first one, and then a third.
The little loon wasn't able to stay under water any longer, but appeared
on the water's edge, little and black and venomous. The swans rushed
toward him; but when they saw what a poor little thing it was, they
turned abruptly--as if they considered themselves too good to quarrel
with him. Then the little loon dived again, and pinched their feet. It
certainly must have hurt; and the worst of it was, that they could not
maintain their dignity. At once they took a decided stand. They began to
beat the air with their wings so that it thundered; came forward a
bit--as though they were running on the water--got wind under their
wings, and raised themselves.
When the swans were gone they were greatly missed; and those who had
lately been amused by the little loon's antics scolded him for his
thoughtlessness.
The boy walked toward land again. There he stationed himself to see how
the pool-snipe played. They resembled small storks; like these, they had
little bodies, long legs and necks, and light, swaying movements; only
they were not gray, but brown.
Pages:
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179