though the one addressed hardly dared raise his bill to
reply.

But then there was a little loon--a tiny mischievous baggage--who
couldn't stand all this ceremony. 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. They stood in a long row on the shore
where it was washed by waves. As soon as a wave rolled in, the whole row
ran backward; as soon as it receded, they followed it. And they kept
this up for hours.

The showiest of all the birds were the burrow-ducks. They were
undoubtedly related to the ordinary ducks; for, like these, they too had
a thick-set body, broad bill, and webbed feet; but they were much more
elaborately gotten up. The feather dress, itself, was white; around
their necks they wore a broad gold band; the wing-mirror shone in green,
red, and black; and the wing-edges were black, and the head was dark
green and shimmered like satin.

As soon as any of these appeared on the shore, the others said: "Now,
just look at those things! They know how to tog themselves out." "If
they were not so conspicuous, they wouldn't have to dig their nests in
the earth, but could lay above ground, like anyone else," said a brown
ma