It was once upon a time, many, many, many years ago.

 

And it was in the warm lands where the sun shines stronger than here and the rain falls closer and all animals and plants thrive better, because the winter does not stunt¹ their growth.

 

The forest was full of life and noise.

 

The flies buzzed, the sparrow ate the flies and the hawk² ate the sparrow. The bees crept into the flowers in search of honey, the lion roared and the birds sang, the brook³ rippled⁴ and the grass grew. The trees stood and rustled⁵, while their roots sucked sap from the earth. The flowers were radiant and fragrant⁶.

 

All at once, it became strangely still.

 

It was as though everything held its breath and listened and stared. The rustling⁷ of the trees ceased. The violet woke from her dreams and looked up in wonder. The lion raised his head and stood with one paw uplifted. The stag stopped grazing, the eagle rested high in the air on his wings, the little mouse ran out of his hole and pricked⁸ up his ears.

 

 

There came two through the forest who were different from the others and whom no one had ever seen before.

 

They walked erect⁹. Their foreheads were high, their eyes firm and steady. They went hand in hand and looked around them as though they did not know where they were.

 

“Who, in the name of wonder, are these?” asked the lion.

 

“They’re animals,” said the stag. “They can walk. But how oddly they do it! Why don’t they leap on all fours, seeing that they have four legs? Then they would get along much faster.”

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