Have you ever wondered how flamingos got such long legs? Well, that’s how it could have happened, although you don’t need to believe the story unless you want to. If you think you don’t have to believe it, you might think of it like you would in a fairy tale –
Good enough to be true, though. There was a time, when flamingos had regular sized legs, and it was all so good they thought they had to learn to dance. But Professor Toukan, who tried to teach them to play the violin for them at the same time, said there was no point in expecting them to make dancers unless they could get longer legs.
How should they manage it? A big ball was planned by the Heron, and Mrs. Stork had to judge which birds should get prizes for the best dance. Of course, for being long-legged, the prize would go to a long-legged bird.
Fanny Flamingo was wondering how her family could get such a prize one day while she was walking in a field. And suddenly she came across Mr. Rattlesnak, gulping and writhing, with a big frog stuck in his throat. Now Fanny was kind-hearted, and in order to save Mr. Rattlesnake from choking to death, she grabbed the frog by the leg that was sticking out and swallowed it herself.
Well, Mr. Rattlesnake was so grateful that he said he would show the flamingos how to make their legs grow.
“I have a friend who will help me,” he said. “He’ll grab your head while I grab your feet; then we’ll wrap ourselves around the trees and he’ll pull in one direction while I pull the other. We’ll do this for an hour every day. See?”
This stretched their necks as well as their legs, but Mr. Rattlesnak said that would only balance things out, so they didn’t mind.
How surprised the other birds were when the night of the Great Ball came and the Flamingos darted into the middle of it. floor. Because they spread their legs very elegantly and point their toes like this
so gracefully, and wrapped their legs over their heads with such ease that everyone was enchanted. Professor Toukan was almost blissfully wild, and so was Mr. Rattlesnak.
Of course they win the prize, and you couldn’t find four happier birds that night than Fanny, Florence, Flossie, and Flo the Flamingo. Henry Altmus Company.