Andabien

And so it happened, in a place far away, in a time long ago, that the rhea was out on the pampas all by itself, and it felt so lonely that it decided to have a party and invite all the other birds. Since tango was all the rage at the time, it decided to have a milonga. The rhea couldn't fly, but it asked the condor to deliver all the invitations by airmail.

All the birds had mating rituals, so they already knew how to dance. On the day of the milonga they were all excited and they gathered in the treetops and chattered about it. So, even to this day, when you see birds chattering in the treetops, you can guess they are going to a milonga that evening. When the night came they all put on their finest plumage and went to the dance. The penguins wore their tuxedos. The crows, ravens, blackbirds, starlings, crackles and cowbirds wore all-black. So, even to this day, you see many people wearing black when they go to the milongas. The peacocks sat on a raised platform so all the other birds could see them, and so they could see all the chicks. Even the beautiful and magical Quetzal was invited to come.

When the music started all the birds began to dance. They all did different dances, but they were on their best behavior and they stayed in the line of dance and they didn't kick one another. However, the sparrows were not considerate and they went every direction on the floor. They went backwards and bumped other couples, and they went sidewards and crosswise and interfered with other couples. They let their feet fly out and swing around, and they kicked other couples.

The other birds were on their best behavior and they tried to tolerate the sparrows, but it was too much, so they went to the Quetzal and asked for help. The Quetzal knew what was happening and asked what they wanted to him do. The parrots said, "Make them go in the line of dance". But the Quetzal said, "No one can make a bird brain go in the right direction". Then the flamingos said, "Can't you at least make them keep their feet together, so they won't kick us anymore?". Then the Quetzal said, "Said and done. Dicho y hecho", and with a great beat of it's wings, it made the sparrow's feet stay together.

But, no one knew what was going to happen. The sparrow's feet had become stuck together and they couldn't move either foot without the other, so they couldn't even walk anymore. The sparrows had to hop off the floor, and even to this day, you will see the sparrows hopping wherever they go, because they were not considerate of other dancers on the dance floor.