LIFE AND LOVE RETURN 269 



pride of beauty — his wings trailing upon the log, his neck 

 arched more haughtily than ever, his ruff rising above his 

 head, and his handsome fan-hke tail extended higher still. 



"Meanwhile, my son, the hens, too, were strutting up and 

 down, and in and out among their rivals; some, with wings 

 brushing upon the ground; others, with a single wing spread 

 out, against which they frequently kicked the nearest foot as 

 they circled round each other. A continuous hissing was 

 kept up, along with a shaking of heads from side to side, a 

 ceremonious bowing, and a striking of bills upon the ground. 

 Rut — though the cock was doing his best to dazzle them with 

 the display of his charms — the hens appeared unconscious of 

 his presence and indifferent to his advances. 



"There Ojistoh and I were gazing in silent admiration at the 

 scene before us, when — without the shghtest warning, and as 

 though dropped from the sky — another cock landed in the 

 midst of the dancers. Immediately the cock of the dance 

 rushed at the intruder and fiercely attacked him. 



"But the newcomer was ready. My son, you should have 

 seen them. Bills and wings clashed together. In a moment 

 feathers were flying and blood was running. But the hens 

 never paused in their love dance. Again and again the 

 feathered fighters dashed at each other, only to drop apart. 

 Then, facing each other with drooping wings, ruffled plumes, 

 extended necks, lowered heads, and gaping bills, they would 

 gasp for breath. A moment later they would spring into the 

 air and strike viciously at each other with bill and wing, then 

 separate again. The sand was soon strewn with feathers and 

 sprinkled with blood, yet the belhgerents kept renewing the 

 deadly conflict. Unconcernedly, all the while, the stupid hens 

 tripped to and fro in the evolutions of their love dance. 



"Already the intruder's scalp was torn; the left wing of the 

 cock of the dance was broken; and both were bleeding copiously. 

 It was a great fight, my son, and the end was near. At the 



