Y )   F E B U A R Y , 1 9 4 5   -   T H E   G I F T   O F   T H E   B I R D S ,   I N D I G I R K A   R I V E R   D E T L A

(continued): The following day finds Peter hard at work fashioning a diminutive wing from a motley collection of raw materials: the ribs of a perch, the skin of a frog, fibrous strands of sedge grass, a primitive glue made by boiling guano and moth tripes in an inverted tortoise shell. Unwavering in his concentration, Peter brings the wing to completion shortly before sunset. Using strips of oil cloth, he binds the chewink King’s bad wing to its body and ties on the new one, under the watchful eyes of the bird-crowd; when he is done, the feathered Emperor climbs on the back of a large osprey who promptly flies high up into the sky and tips the chewink King into the air. Peter feels his throat constrict as the small bird starts to hurtle towards the lake at an alarming velocity before finally slowing down and attaining a corkscrewing sort of descent that resembles the falling of a leaf. Before it tumbles into the murky lake, a large pelican catches the chewink in its mouth, flies back to the island-raft, and regurgitates the befuddled Bird Kaiser, wing intact, on to the floor in front of the bird crowd. Animated warbles emanate from the patinaed beak of the Avian Mikado; all listen attentively. The Spoonbill speaks:
“Stranger, the King is greatly pleased with the wings! (Amen, Hallejulah) Now we will repay you for your service. Your life has no story, you have lost yourself in the telling of a circular tale. We shall return your story to you, that which was lost shall be found, and you shall become myth. The winds shall blow and the sky will darken and roar; follow any bird you see and it shall lead you to your destiny. Stranger, we shall give you spirit-wings so that you might fly with the Gods!”