FABLE AND FOLKLORE 87 



so long as they arc regarded as descriptive of exceptions 

 and not of a rule of migration. Neither the observers 

 nor die reporters had any motive for deception, and are 

 not likely to deceive themselves in every case — moreover, 

 new witnesses continually arise. For example: Mr. E. 

 Hagland, of Therien, Alberta, wrote to me as follows in 

 a casual way, without any prompting, in April, 1919: 



"One fall a flock of cranes passed over me flying very low, 

 and apart from their squawking I could distinctly hear the 

 twittering of small birds, sparrows of some kind. The chirping 

 grew louder as the cranes drew towards me, and grew fainter 

 as they drew away; and as the cranes were the only birds in 

 sight I concluded that little birds were taking a free ride to the 

 south." 



The manner of flight of sandhill cranes as described 

 by Dr. Elliott Coues 50 suggests why they might well be 

 utilized as common carriers by small birds going their 

 way. "Such ponderous bodies, moving with slowly beat- 

 ing wings, give a great idea of momentum from mere 

 weight . . . for they plod along heavily, seeming to need 

 every inch of their ample wings to sustain themselves." 

 This would make it easy and tempting for a tired little 

 migrant to rest its feet on the crane's broad back — and 

 once settled there, why not stay ? 



The flaw in this whole matter is the unwarranted in- 

 ference made by the Bedouins who talked with Herr 

 Ebling, and by wiser persons, namely, that all the wag- 

 tails and other little birds annually perform their over- 

 seas journeys by aid of stronger-winged friends. That is 

 reasoning from some to all, which is bad logic. It is as 

 if a stranger in town noticed a few schoolboys hopping 

 on the back of a wagon, and immediately noted down that 

 in Pequaket boys in general rode to school on the tail- 



