Trafika Europe 6 - Arabesque

auricula

by tidal waters on remote sand banks. But after this bewildering winter the ears followed the sun north, continually seen upon and pursued along the coasts by countless migratory birds which, after they had gorged themselves, continued their migration, thereby showing any surviving ears the way. Unaware of the fact, these small flocks, which oftentimes were not so small at that, crossed the Danish border via the underside of bridges spanning the Kongeå. Of those who ventured the farthest south, many were lucky enough to cross into Switzerland where in order to survive in the mountainous regions they had to develop inferior traits. During the summer of 1917, anxiety among the English ears had become so great that a

solution needed. Under cover of the comprehensive military maneuvers taking place on the east coast, the ears converged on the tiniest of ports and, with the wind blowing from landward, they manned by nightfall one or two small dinghies and set out to sea, having memorized where the sun went down. With this terrified traffic the old Viking routes between England and Denmark were once again plied, and that is the reason that most of the ears on Zealand and the other Danish isles, as well as the ears along Sweden’s west coast, are English. The Ju t l and i c ea r s wer e overwhelmingly German and French and were unable to force the straits. Though Denmark is, accordingly, the place of exile for most of Europe’s ears, the groups are

253