The guineas were clucking, the turkey
gobbler strutting, the hens calling, the chickens cheeping, the light
streamed down straight overhead and the bees began to hum. The air
stirred strongly, and away in an unseen field a reaper clacked and
rattled through ripening wheat while the driver whistled. An uneasy
mare whickered to her colt, the colt answered, and the light began to
decline. Miles away a rooster crowed for twilight, and dusk was coming
down. Then a catbird and a brown thrush sang against a grosbeak and a
hermit thrush. The air was tremulous with heavenly notes, the lights
went out in the hall, dusk swept across the stage, a cricket sang and
a katydid answered, and a wood pewee wrung the heart with its lonesome
cry. Then a night hawk screamed, a whip-poor-will complained, a belated
killdeer swept the sky, and the night wind sang a louder song. A little
screech owl tuned up in the distance, a barn owl replied, and a great
horned owl drowned both their voices. The moon shone and the scene was
warm with mellow light. The bird voices died and soft exquisite melody
began to swell and roll. In the centre of the stage, piece by piece
the grasses, mosses and leaves dropped from an embankment, the foliage
softly blew away, while plainer and plainer came the outlines of a
lovely girl figure draped in soft clinging green. In her shower of
bright hair a few green leaves and white blossoms clung, and they fell
over her robe down to her feet.
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