Cranes at Dawn: Reading a Story with Purpose

Cranes at Dawn

1The alarm buzzed in the dark, and Mateo groaned. Then he remembered why he had set it. Today Aunt Lena was taking him to see the sandhill cranes. Every spring, thousands of the big gray birds stop at the river near her town to rest and eat before they fly farther north.

2Aunt Lena handed him a bottle of warm cocoa and a pair of binoculars. "Dress warmly," she said. "And once we are inside the viewing blind, we must whisper. If the cranes hear us, they may fly off before we see them up close."

3The blind was a small wooden hut with long, narrow windows that faced the water. Mateo pressed the binoculars to his eyes, but all he could see was a dark, lumpy shape stretched across the river. "Where are the birds?" he whispered. "You are looking at them," Aunt Lena whispered back. "They sleep standing in the shallow water. Wait for the sun."

4Slowly the sky turned pink. The lumpy shape broke apart into thousands of tall birds, each one standing on long, thin legs. Mateo could see a red patch on the top of each head. Then the noise began. It was a loud, rattling call that rolled across the water like a thousand wooden toys shaking at once.

5Near the bank, two cranes faced each other. One bowed its head low. The other leaped into the air with its wings spread wide and landed with a little hop. "Are they fighting?" Mateo asked. "No, they are dancing," Aunt Lena said softly. "Cranes often jump, bow and flap their wings with their partners."

6All at once, a group of cranes lifted off the river, then another group and another. Their calls filled the sky as they flew toward the fields to eat leftover corn. Mateo forgot about his cold toes and the early alarm. "Can we come back tomorrow?" he whispered. Aunt Lena smiled. "I already set my alarm."