Summary

A family of three cranes is flying south in its annual course and roosts in Colorado in October when the father is hit by gunshot. The other cranes in the group cry and scatter as the fledgling baby seeks his mother. For two days the flock of cranes circles and hollers waiting for the dead crane to appear but he does not. When the mother and baby reach the Platte River with the rest of the flock, yards from where Mark's accident occurred, the mother again looks for her mate but he is not here. The mother crane grows jittery recalling that something bad happened in this place last year. The baby senses his mother's distress and launches into a type of dance but there is no joy.

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