It's too thin. A heavy string is fastened to the leg of a chair. The girl's sister, sitting upon the floor, puts the reed alternately in her mouth and in her hand, pulls the string tighter around the two sides, and winds the stiff cane together. She wraps the heavy string tightly about the pieces of cane, and dips the reed in water, testing its thickness. The girl watches, then looks out the window.
Double highways turn around each other like two pieces of gum pulled flat and cut.
The exchange of cars continues steadily, flashing in the light. The young girl looks again. The great birds descend slowly in between the highways, landing on their hindlegs. Three, four legs. They have small white wings, short brown fur, a pair of hindlegs, and a pair of forelegs.