Some stories from the old newspapers are strange because they end in tragedy. Others are strange because they feel almost like little fairy tales printed in black ink.
This one begins on the sandy shore of Long Island Sound, where W.H. Randall of Long Beach noticed a sandpiper standing unnaturally still at the water’s edge. The bird’s head was down, its body motionless, and even as Randall came closer, it did not try to escape.
There was a reason for that. The poor bird had been trapped by a clam.
Its bill was caught tightly in the shell of a skimmer clam, leaving it helpless beside the incoming water. Randall crushed the clam beneath his heel and freed the sandpiper, giving it a chance to rest before it flew away.
Then, almost as if the sea itself had taken notice, a wave came crashing up the beach where the bird had just been standing. When the water pulled back, it left behind an unexpected reward: a five-pound kingfish struggling at Randall’s feet.
For his small act of mercy, Randall went home with supper for the family.
Frees Bird Caught By Clam, Is Rewarded
NEW YORK. — Freeing a fat sandpiper hen which had been ensnared by a clam along the sandy beach of Long Island Sound, and being rewarded by the sea for his kind act, was the strange experience of W.H. Randall, a resident of Long Beach.
While on his way home, Randall’s attention was attracted by the bird standing motionless along the water line, with its head down upon the sand. Seeing that the bird did not change its position upon closer approach, he investigated and found the bird’s bill tightly caught in the shell of a skimmer clam.
Randall crushed the clam beneath his heel and liberated the bird, which flew away after a few moments’ rest. The Good Samaritan was almost immediately rewarded. A huge wave, which would have inundated the bird had it been there, crashed upon the beach and quickly receded.
Struggling at Randall’s feet was a five-pound kingfish, which had been thrown above the water line by the breaker. The fish furnished a good supper for the Randall family.
Source: The Washington Times. Washington, D.C. September 15, 1924.
