Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/217

 river and her husband on a constellation on the other side. "Now," said he, "on the 7th night of the 7th month you may meet—if you are able." This date occurs during the summer-time, in July, at a time of the year when the Milky Way and these stars are well placed for observation, and, on a clear night anyone with a keen eye and an open mind may witness a remarkable thing happen. Every magpie in sight flies upward, higher than it ever flew before, up to the very fields of heaven where the Milky River wends its way. Ranging themselves side by side, the birds make a bridge of their bodies and wings which spans the celestial river and solves the problem of how the lovers shall meet. On this happy night, the stars of Lyra and Aquila burn with five different colors. If, however, the weather is stormy and rain falls, the river rises and flows over the plains and all the magpies in China, Korea and Japan cannot reach across it. The children of Korea stone every magpie they see loitering around its usual haunts, to remind it of its duty.

Lafcadio Hearn, who wrote the Japanese version of this story