Music Welcome to Snewscast, the podcast designed to help you fall asleep. Find us at snoozecast.com and if you enjoy our show, please share us with a friend. This episode is brought to you by two little moons. Tonight we'll read the second half of the story of the herons from a collection titled Moon Shine in Clover written by Lawrence Houseman and published in 1922. The first half aired in the last episode. In the previous episode, a princess was cursed to fall in love at first sight to whatever creature she saw. She was kept safely away, blind to the world, except for occasional walks in the forest with a blindfold on. A wicked fairy takes her blindfold off, and she falls in love with a heron that happens to be fishing in front of her. The loving parents of the princess choose to allow the princess to be turned into a heron to be with her mate. The good fairy explains that if the heron falls in love with her on a level deeper than a heron typically could, like on a human level, they could both be transformed into humans instead of birds. Soon after, it is learned that the heron princess has laid two eggs in her nest.

Let's get cozy. Close your eyes. Relax your body into the softness of your bed. Now take a few deep breaths. among the reeds, the heron said in bird language to his wife. Go and stretch your wings for a little while over the water. It is weary work to wait here so long in the reeds. The heron princess looked at him with her bird's eyes, And all the human love in her heart strove, Like a fountain that could not get free, To make itself known through them. Also, her tongue was full of the longing to utter sweet words, but she kept them back, knowing they were beyond the heron's power to understand. So she answered merely in heron's language, Come with me and I will go. They rose, wing-beating beside wing, And the reflection of their gray breasts Slid out under them over the face of the water. Higher they went and higher, passing over the treetops and keeping time together as they flew. All at once the wings of the grey hair and flagged then took a deep beat. He cried to the Heron Princess, Turn and come home, Yonder there is danger flying to meet us. Before them hung a brown plot in the air that winged and grew large. The two herons turned and flew back. Rise, cried the grey heron, we must rise. And the princess knew what was behind and struggled with the whole strength of her wings for escape. The Grey heron was bearing ahead on stronger wing, with me, with me, he cried, if it gets above us one of us is gone. But the Falcon had fixed his eye on the princess for his quarry, and flew she fast, or flew she slow. There was little chance for her now. Up and up she strained, but still she was behind her mate, and still the Falcon gained. The herons swung back to her side. She saw the anguish and fear of his downward glance as his head ranged past hers. By her, the Falcon went, towering for the final swoop. The princess cried in Heron's language, farewell dear mate, and farewell two little moons among the reeds. But the grey heron only kept closer to her side. Overhead the falcon closed in its wings and fell like a dead weight out of the clouds. Stop! Cry the grey heron to his mate. At his word she dropped, but he stayed stretching up his wings and passing between the descending falcon and its prey, caught in his body, the death blow from its beak. Drops of his blood fell upon the heron princess. He stricken in body, she in soul, together they fell down to the margin of the pool. The falcon still clung, flushing its beak in the neck of its prey. The hair in princess threw back her head, and, darting furiously, struck her own sharp bill deep into the Falcon's breast. The bird of prey threw out its wings with a horse cry and fell back dead, with a little tought of the grey Heron's feathers still upon its beak. The Heron princess crouched down and covered with her wings the dying form of her mate. In her sorrow she spoke to him in her own tongue, forgetting her bird's language. The grey heron lifted his head, and gazing tenderly, answered her with a human voice. Dear wife, he said, at last I have the happiness so long denied to me of giving utterance in the speech that is your own to the love that you have put into my heart. Often I have heard you speak and have not understood. Now something has touched my heart and changed it so that I can both speak and understand. Oh, beloved, she laid her head down by his.

The ends of the world belong to us now. Light down and I gently by my side, and I will die with you, breaking my heart with happiness. No, said the Grey Heron.

Do not die yet.

Remember. with happiness. No, said the Grey Heron, do not die yet. Remember the two little moons that lie in the hollow among the reeds. Then he laid his head down by hers, being too weak to say more. They folded their wings over each other and closed their eyes. Nor did they know that the fairy was standing by them till she stroked them both softly with her wand,

saying to each of them the same words.

Human heart and human form come out of the grey heron.

And out of the grey heron. And out of the Grey Heron's skins came two human forms. The one was the princess restored again to her own shape. But the other was a beautiful youth with a bird-like look about the eyes and long slender limbs. The princess, as she gazed on him, found hardly any change for love remained the same, ending him close to her heart. And Grey Heron, or beautiful youth, he was all one to her now. Then came the queen, weeping for joy, and embracing them both. And after them, the fairy. Oh, how good an ending, she cried. Let it never be remembered or mentioned between us more. And she began to lead the way back to the palace. But the youth, to whom the fairy gave the name of Prince Heron, turned and took up the two Heron skins, which he and his wife had let fall and followed, carrying them upon his arm. And as they came past the bed of reeds, the princess went aside, and, stooping down in a certain place, drew out from then scaring something she softly wrapped in the folds of her gown. With what rejoicing the princess and her husband were welcomed by the king and the court need not to be told. For a whole month, the festivities continued, and whenever she showed herself, there was the princess sitting with two eggs in her lap, and her hands over them to keep them warm. The king was impatient. Why cannot you send them down to the poultry

yard to be hatched?" He said. But the princess replied smiling, My moons are my own and I will keep them to myself.

Do you hear? She said one day. My moons are my own, and I will keep them to myself.

Do you hear? She said one day, at last, and everybody who listened could hear something going tap, tap inside the shells. Presently, the eggs cracked and and out of each, at the same moment, came a little gray heron. When she saw that they were herons, the queen rung her hands. Oh, fairy, she cried. What a disappointment is this. I had hoped two beautiful babies would come out of those shells. But the fairy said, it is no matter, half of their hearts are human already. Birds' hearts do not beat so. If you wish it, I can change them.

So she stroked them softly with her wand, saying to each, human heart and human form come out of the grey heron. Yet she had to stroke them three times before they would turn. And she said to the princess, My dear, you were too satisfied with your lot when you laid your moon children. I doubt if more than a quarter of them is human. I was very satisfied," said the princess, and she left across to her husband. At last, however, on the third stroke of the wand, the heron's skins dropped, and they changed into a pair of very small babies, a boy and a girl. But the difference between them and other children was that Instead of hair, their heads were covered with a fluff of downy grey feathers. Also, they had round, bird-like eyes, and were able to sleep standing. Now, after this, the happiness of the princess was great, but the fairy said to her, Do not let your husband see the heron's skins again for some while, lest with the memory, a longing for his old life, should return to him and take him away from you. Only by exchange with another can he ever get back his human form again if he surrenders it of his own will. And who is there so poor that he would willingly give up this human form to become a bird. So the princess took the four coats of feathers, her own and her husbands and her two children's And hit them away, in a closet of which she alone kept the key. It was a little gold key, and to make it safe, she hung it about her neck, and wore it night and day. The prince said to her, What is that little key that you wear always hung around your neck? She answered him, It is the key to your happiness and mine. Do not ask more than that. that. There was a look in his face that made her say, You are happy, are you not? He kissed her saying, Happy indeed. Have I not you to make me so?" Yet though, indeed, he told no untruth and was happy whenever she was with him, there were times when a restlessness and a long gang for wings took hold of him. For, as yet, the life of a man was new and have strange to him, and attained of his old life still mixed itself with his blood. But to her, he was ashamed to say what might seem a complaint against his great fortune. So, when she said happiness, he thought, is it just the turning of that key that I want before my happiness can be perfect?

Therefore, one night when the early season of spring made his longing strong in him, he took the key from the princess while she slept, and open the little closet in which hung the four feather coats. And when he saw his own, all at once he remembered the great pools of water, and how they lay in the shine and shadow of the moonlight, while the fish rose in rings upon their surface. And at that, so great a longing came into him to revisit his old haunts, that he reached out his hand and took down the heron skin from its nail and put it over himself, so that immediately his old life took hold of him and he flew out of the window in the form of a grey heron. In the morning, the princess found the key gone from her neck and her husband's place empty. She went in haste to the closet and there stood the door wide with the key in it and There only three heronskins hanging were four had used to be. Then she came crying to the family fairy. My husband has taken his heronskin and gone. Tell me what I can do. The fairy pitted her with all her heart, but could do nothing. Only by exchange, Sachi, can he get back his human shape? And who is there so poor that he would willingly lose his own form to become a bird? Only your children, who are but half human, can put their hair in skins on and off as they like and when they like. The princess went to look for her husband down by the pools in the wood. But now his shame and sorrow at having deceived her were so great that as soon as he heard her voice, he hid himself among the reads. For he knew now that, having put on his hair and skin again, he could not take it off unless someone gave him a human form in exchange. At last, however, so pitiful was the cry of the princess for him that he could bear to hear it no more, but rising up from the reeds came trailing to her sadly over the water. "'Aww, dear love,' she said when he was come to her. If I had not distrusted you, he would not have deceived me, thus for my fault we are punished.' So she saw Red and he answered her, Nay dear love, for if I had not deceived you, you would not have distrusted me. I thought I was not happy, yet I feared to tell it to you. Thus they sorrowed together, both laying on themselves the blame and the burden. Then she said to him, Be here for me tonight, for now I must go, but then I shall return."

She went back to the palace and told her mother of all that had happened. And now she said, You who know where my happiness lies will not forbid me from following it.

For my heart is again with the grey heron. So that night the princess went and kissed her children as they slept standing up in their beds with their feathered heads to one side, and then she took down her skin of feathers

and put it on and became changed once more into a grey heron. And again she went up to the two in their cots and kissed their birdish heads saying,

they who can change at will, being but half human, they will come and visit us in the great pool by the wood and bring back word of us here. In the morning, the was gone, and the two children, when they woke, looked at each other and said, did we dream last night? They both answered each other. Yes, first we dreamed that our mother came and kissed us, and we liked that. Then we dreamed that a grey heron came and kissed us, and we liked that better still. They waved their arms up and down. Why have we not wings?" They kept asking. All day long, they did this, playing that they were birds. If a window were opened, it was with the greatest difficulty that they were kept from trying to fly through. In the court they were known as the bird brains, nothing could they be taught at all. When they were repugued they would stand on one leg and sigh with their heads on one side. that no one ever saw tears come out of their birdish eyes. Now, at night, they would dream that two grey herons came and stood by their bed-sides, kissing them. And where in the world they said when they woke are our wings. One day wandering about in the palace, they came upon the closet in which hung the two little feather coats. Oh, they cried and opened hard bright eyes at each other, nodding for now they knew what they would do. If we told they would be taken from us, they said. And they waited till it was night.

Then they crept back and took the two little coats from their pegs, and putting them on were turned into two young herons. the window they flew away down to the great fish pond in the wood. Their father and mother saw them coming and clapped their wings for joy. See, they said, our children come to visit us and our hearts are left to us to love with.

What further happiness can we want? But when they were not looking at each other, they sighed. Long night long, the two young herons stayed with their parents.

They bathed and fished and flew till they were weary. Then the princess showed them the nest among the reeds and told them all the story of their lives. But it is much nicer to be herons than to be real people, said the young ones, sadly, and became sorrowful when dawn drew on, and their mother told them to go back to the palace and hang up the feather coats again, and be as they had been the day before. Long, long the day now seemed to them, they hardly waited till it was night before they took down their feather skins, and putting them on, flew out and away to the fish pond in the wood. So every night they went when all in the palace were asleep, and in the morning came back before anyone was a stir, and were found by their nurses, lying dimly between the sheets, just as they had been left the night before. One day, the queen when she went to see her daughter, said to her, �My child, your two children are growing less like human beings, and more like birds every day. Nothing will they learn or do, but stand all day, flapping their arms up and down, and

saying, where are our wings? Where are our wings?" The idea of one of them ever coming to the throne makes your father's hair stand on and under his crown.

One day the two children said to each other,

...