The Long Patrol

Начало книги

Melting snowdrifts with grassy knolls poking through made a patchwork of the far east lands as winter surrendered

its icy grip of the earth to oncoming spring. Snowdrop, chickweed, and shepherd’s purse nodded gratefully beneath a

bright mid-morning sun, which beamed through small islands of breeze-chased clouds. Carrying half-melted icicles

along, a tinkling, chuckling stream bounded from rocky cliff ledges, meandering around fir and pine groves toward

broad open plains. Already a few hardy wood ants and honeybees were abroad in the copse fringes. Clamoring and

gaggling, a skein of barnacle geese in wavering formation winged their way overhead toward the coastline. All around,

the land was wakening to springtime, and it promised to be a fair season.

It is often said that a madness takes possession of certain hares in spring, and anybeast watching the performance of

one such creature would have had his worst fears confirmed. Ta-mello De Fformelo Tussock, to give this young hare

Читать дальше →