Amber, or the Swan (5)

ith a burst of laughter they replied: "Why, man, aren’t you ever going to stop telling lies about our country and our river? We are always on the water, and have worked on the Eridanus since we were children, almost; now and

then we see a few swans in the marshes by the river, and they have a very unmusical and feeble croak; crows or daws are Sirens to them. As for the sweet song you speak of, we never heard it or even dreamed of it, so we wonder how these stories about us got to your people.”