After they have all taken their places, they begin to look around for the birds.  It is always beautiful weather on this day.  The cranes are good weather prophets, and would not call the animals together if they expected rain.  Although the air is clear, and nothing obstructs the vision, the four-footers see no birds.  This is strange.  The sun stands high in the heavens, and the birds should already be on their way.

But what the animals, on the other hand, observe, is one and another little dark cloud that comes slowly forward over the plain.  And look! one of these clouds comes gradually along the coast of Oeresund, and up toward Kullaberg.  When the cloud has come just over the playground it stops, and, simultaneously, the entire cloud begins to ring and chirp, as if it was made of nothing but tone.  It rises and sinks, rises and sinks, but all the while it rings and chirps.  At last the whole cloud falls down over a knoll—­all at once—­and the next instant the knoll is entirely covered with gray larks, pretty red-white-gray bulfinches, speckled starlings and greenish-yellow titmice.

Soon after that, another cloud comes over the plain.  This stops over every bit of land; over peasant cottage and palace; over towns and cities; over farms and railway stations; over fishing hamlets and sugar refineries.  Every time it stops, it draws to itself a little whirling column of gray dust-grains from the ground.  In this way it grows and grows.  And at last, when it is all gathered up and heads for Kullaberg, it is no longer a cloud but a whole mist, which is so big that it throws a shadow on the ground all the way from Hoeganaes to Moelle.  When it stops over the playground it hides the sun; and for a long while it had to rain gray sparrows on one of the knolls, before those who had been flying in the innermost part of the mist could again catch a glimpse of the daylight.

But still the biggest of these bird-clouds is the one which now appears.  This has been formed of birds who have travelled from every direction to join it.  It is dark bluish-gray, and no sun-ray can penetrate it.  It is full of the ghastliest noises, the most frightful shrieks, the grimmest laughter, and most ill-luck-boding croaking!  All on the playground are glad when it finally resolves itself into a storm of fluttering and croaking:  of crows and jackdaws and rooks and ravens.

Thereupon not only clouds are seen in the heavens, but a variety of stripes and figures.  Then straight, dotted lines appear in the East and Northeast.  These are forest-birds from Goeinge districts:  black grouse and wood grouse who come flying in long lines a couple of metres apart.  Swimming-birds that live around Maklaeppen, just out of Falsterbo, now come floating over Oeresund in many extraordinary figures:  in triangular and long curves; in sharp hooks and semicircles.