This book was inspired by the ducks I was raising on my pond in Woodbridge, Connecticut. My Pekin duck, named Hannah, kept having her eggs stolen by the weasel, who lived in the woods behind the stone wall. Meanwhile, my Muscovy duck, named Olga, was shrewd enough to hide her nest, and had ten ducklings. In my story, Hannah manages to convince Olga to let her adopt the tenth duckling ― since she has so many.
The Silver Crane in the title is a mystical figure who Green Head, the Mallard poet, is searching for. It turns out that the one who sees the Silver Crane on the pond is not Green Head, but Hannah's curmudgeon husband, Waka, who is completely changed by his sighting. Rather than trying to chase Olga off his pond, he now glows with pride at his new duckling and "lets things be."
The Song of Green Hood
A wandering poet I,
Writing on the sky
From a whirring, blurring height.
My song is free
As the rest of me,
And so shall it be
Until I go out on my final flight
Into the dark and duckless night!
Into the dark and duckless night!
Until I go out on my final flight.Song of the Forest Animals
Deep in the woods the weasel lies,
And watches us with evil eyes.
Deep in the woods the weasel waits,
One move from him decides our fates.
Breathe softly as he passes by,
Hide quickly to escape his eye.
Beware the weasel, oh beware!
The weasel watches everywhere.The Duckling Song
Hey ding a ding, to ducklings I sing,
Little ducklings all in a row.
With a cheep, cheep, a hop and leap,
Into this world they go.Hey ding a ho, soon you shall know
The lakes and rivers and sea
Soon you shall fly into the sky
And round the world with me.