Far back in the days of ancient Greece, when Priam was King of Troy, and the beauty of Helen was rousing the nation to war, Juno, the jealous goddess, is said to have changed a sister of the king into a white stork because she boasted of her beauty, but, knowing that she was as lovely mentally as physically, allowed her to retain all her amiable qualities. Whether this is the reason of the stork's virtues or not we can not tell, but in all the countries of the Old World it is regarded with an affection bordering on veneration. Even in the language of the ancient Hebrews we find the word used for stork signifying "pious" or "blessed."
Early in the spring of 1880 a pair of newly wedded storks flew over the town of Löwenberg, Germany, to find a suitable home for their summer housekeeping. Those who saw them used every art to attract them to their houses, but in vain. Even the Mayor, or Burgomaster, failed to entice them to settle on his handsome house, where the chimney seemed to have been built on purpose for a stork's nest. The stork husband saw this at a glance, and, ambitious to begin life under the most favorable circumstances, he said to his wife, in tones quite positive,
"We will build here, my dear; there is no place like it in the whole town."
But the stork wife replied even more positively: "By no means, my dear. Too public, by far. Imagine our dainty children annoyed from day to day by the rattling of carts over the stones, the shouts of noisy boys on their way to school, and on Sundays the ringing of church bells. No, no, it would never do. I have found a most delightful spot, shaded from the hot sun by the broad-leafed linden-tree, and far removed from noise and confusion. There we can rear our little family in seclusion, and send out into the world storks that will be an honor to it. Where is it? On the top of the barn at the cross-roads; not another such place for a stork's nest in the whole region."
"Just as you say, my dear," said his storkship. "I'll bring the sticks directly."
Slowly the nest went up. Stick by stick, selected by the stork husband with great care, and brought from hedge and forest and orchard, until the nest was completed, the last stick having been properly laid, and Mrs. Stork settled herself with a satisfied air and began housekeeping. In a few days eggs were to be seen in the nest; beautiful eggs all mottled with yellow. Now Mrs. Stork took no more long flights—not even to see what her friends were doing—but she busied herself at home sitting upon the eggs to keep them warm. Three weeks passed by in patience, and then one morning the good creature was delighted by the sound of young storklings under her wings, chattering with their little beaks or mandibles, and the stork papa and stork mamma did nothing but wait upon them.
Summer days' drew near before the storklings could fly. The air was parched and heated, and the barn had become as dry as tinder; if there could only be a shower they would have strength to try their wings.
"Oh, how glad I am to see that cloud!" said the stork mamma, as a little: shadow floated above the western horizon; "all my fledglings need is a shower, and then they will fly to-morrow."