first
passionate and then sullen. Finding that he would not listen to
anything she could say, she sat down on a rock and left him to
himself. He could not climb up that precipice, and so he rambled
away to some distance, thinking to hide himself from her, because he
thought her unreasonable and unkind not to allow him to see the blue
water once more. But presently he caught sight of a snake lying
motionless on a bed of moss at the foot of a rock, with the sun on it,
lighting up its polished scales so that they shone like gems or
coloured glass. Resting his elbows on the stone and holding his face
between his hands he fell to watching the snake, for though it
seemed fast asleep in the sun its gem-like eyes were wide open.

All at once he felt his mother's hand on his head: "Martin," she said,
"would you like to know what the snake feels when it lies with eyes
open in the bright hot sun? Shall I make you feel just how he feels?"

"Yes," said Martin eagerly, forgetting his quarrel with her; then
taking him up in her strong arms she walked rapidly away, and
brought him to that very spot where he had seen the doe and fawn.

She sat him down, and instantly his ears were filled with the murmur
of the bees; and in a moment she put her hand in the crevice and
pulled out a cluster of white cells, and gave them to Martin.
Breaking one of the cells he saw that it was full of thick honey, of
a violet colour, and tasting it he found it was like very sweet
honey in which a little salt had been mixed. He liked it and he
didn't like it; still, it was not the same in all the cells; in some
it was scarcely salt at all; and he began to suck the honey of cell
after cell, trying to find one that was not salt; and by and by he
dropped the cluster of cells from his hand, and stooping to pick it
up forgot to do so, and laying his head down and stretching himself
out on the mossy ground looked up into his mother's face with drowsy,
happy eyes. How sweet it seemed, lying there in the sun, with the sun
shining right into his eyes, and filling his whole being with its
delicious heat! He wished for nothing now--not even for the sight of
new wonderful things; he forgot the blue water, the strange,
beautiful wild animals, and his only thought, if he had a thought,
was that it was very nice to lie there, not sleeping, but feeling
the sun in him, and seeing it above him; and seeing all things--the
blue sky, the grey rocks and green bushes and moss, a