letter to our readers

Suzanne Smedley

I saw my first live stork a few months ago, the afternoon I arrived at Burg Hohenberg, in rural Germany. She was standing at the edge of her huge nest on top of the castle watchtower. It looked as though she was watching over not only her nest, but the whole village.

Being from the northeastern US, the only stork I'd ever seen before was pictured on a ceramic tile given to my mom by a friend of hers when I was born. It was carrying a bundle in its beak (supposedly me) and on it were listed all the vital statistics about my arrival: date of birth, name, weight, etc. As a kid, whenever my mom pulled it out of the kitchen drawer to use as a hot plate, I wondered what on earth storks had to do with babies!

After returning home from my trip, I finally learned what the connection was. My encyclopedia explained that, as legend has it, storks bring new babies to the home. Apparently, the legend arises from the fact that they take such loving care of their young. In fact, storks are respected in many parts of the world.

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