Chapter 4 Dance of the Crane

Early one morning, the wild geese sleeping on the ice floes on the lake were awakened by loud noises from mid-air, "croak, croak, croak", echoing in the air. "The Great Crane Trianut wants us to pay tribute to the Great Goose Aka. Tomorrow, the Crane Dance Performance Conference will be held in Mount Kura, and you are all welcome to come!" The geese were very happy to hear the news. "You are really lucky," they said to the white gander, "you can actually see the Crane Dance performance with your own eyes." "Is it so terrible to watch the cranes dance?" the white gander asked puzzled.

"Oh, it's hard for you to imagine it in your dreams." The wild geese replied. Kura Mountain is not high, its peaks are low and its terrain is long and narrow, and it stretches abruptly far, far into the sea.Since ancient times, various animals have held a recreation meeting here every year.They were all grouped together according to their tribes.None of the animals had to worry about being attacked.During this day, a young mountain rabbit can walk to the hill where the foxes gather without incident and will not have an ear bitten off. The boy looked around, from hill to hill.He saw that on one hill there were horns on the heads of red deer with seven branches and eight prongs, while on another hill the necks of herons were crowded.The hill where the foxes gather is fiery red, and the hill where the seabirds gather is black and white.

The entertainment convention has begun.The red-billed grouse has puffed up its feathers, lowered its wings, and raised its tail, so that everyone can see clearly the snow-white down.Then he closed his eyes and whispered softly: "Hee hee! Hee hee! Hee hee! How beautiful! Hee hee! Hee hee!" Hundreds of grouse let go of their throats and crowed, and the blood began Rush and scald hot. "The cold of winter is over at last!" all the animals cried out in their hearts. "The wild fires of spring are burning all over the land." The black lyrebirds were not to be outdone, they came out and sang in unison.While the contest between the black lyrebird and the red-billed grouse was in full swing, a very extraordinary accident happened.A Fox, taking advantage of the time when all the animals were absorbed in the singing of the lyrebird and grouse, sneaked up to the hill where the geese were gathered.He approached cautiously and on tiptoe, and when he was discovered, he had already walked up the hill where the wild geese gathered.Suddenly a wild goose caught sight of him and called out, "Beware, geese! Beware, geese!" The fox rushed straight at him, and took her by the throat, probably because she would not shut up. reason.The wild geese flew into the sky together when they heard her warning.After the geese flew away, only Fox Smir was standing on the hill with a dead goose in his mouth.

The fox Smir was severely punished for breaking the peace of the funfair, and he had to regret for the rest of his life that he could not restrain his revenge, and thought of attacking Akka and her geese in a sneaky way.He was immediately surrounded by a great pack of foxes, and sentenced according to the old custom.No matter who it is, as long as he destroys the peace of this grand fun fair, he will be exiled from the group.None of the foxes asked for a reprieve of the sentence, for they knew very well that if they dared to make such a demand they would be thrown out of the game.Smeer was banned from staying in Scone, and he had to try his luck in other strange places.In order to let all the foxes in Scone know that Smeer had been banished and deprived of all rights, the oldest fox among them jumped at Smeer and gnawed off the tip of his right ear.As soon as this procedure was completed, the young foxes howled bloodthirstyly, and jumped on Smeer and began to bite.Smir had no other choice but to run for his life.Chased by all the young foxes, he fled Kula Mountain in despair.

All this happened during the wonderful performances of the black lyrebird and the red-billed grouse, but the birds were so engrossed in their song that they didn't hear it, they didn't see it, so they weren't disturbed . Immediately after the grouse show was over, the red deer came into play and performed their gladiatorial fights.There are several pairs of red deer fighting at the same time.They headbutted each other desperately, their antlers crackling together, each trying to force the other back.Frightening growls escaped their throats, and foamy saliva flowed from the corners of their mouths to their front blades.

When these fighting red deer fight together, the spectators on the surrounding hills hold their breath and are silent, and all the animals inspire new enthusiasm.All the animals felt brave and strong, filled with inexhaustible energy, as if the spring of the earth had given them new life, and they were full of spirits and dared to throw themselves into any adventure.Although they didn't hate each other so much that they had to fight to the death, they stretched out their wings, raised their neck feathers, and rubbed their paws. If the red deer continued to fight for a while, then each mountain It was inevitable that there would be scuffles and fights on the hill, because each of them felt a burning desire, and they were eager to show their skills to show that they were still alive.The days of raging winter are over, and they are full of strength now.

At this time, the red deer ended the gladiatorial performance just right.Then a burst of whispers immediately spread from one hill to another: "Now the big crane is here to perform!" Those big birds in the gray twilight clouds were amazingly beautiful, not only with beautiful feathers on their wings, but also with scarlet feathers around their necks.These long-legged, thin-necked, small-headed and big-bodied birds flew down mysteriously from the hills, making everyone dazzled.As they flew forward, they turned their bodies, half soaring, half dancing, like rolling and rolling mist clouds on a desolate marsh, and there was a magic in their dancing that had never been seen before. The animals in Lashan suddenly realized it, no wonder the whole entertainment festival was named after "Crane Dance Performance Conference".There is a rough energy in their dancing, yet the emotion it arouses is one of good and joyful longing.At this moment, no one wants to fight desperately.On the contrary, all animals, winged or not, want to take off from the ground.They all want to abandon the increasingly bulky flesh, free themselves from their bodies, and flee to the illusory kingdom of heaven.

The dreamy quest for the impossible and the desire to explore life's hidden mysteries come only once a year for animals, and that's on the day they watch a grand performance of the Crane Dance.