formation from dead earth to living green. At a turn in the road, a low bush suddenly walked away into the wood, a four-footed animal. Everything changed as he looked at it, as if nothing were meant to be merely what it was. The world was beginning!
At the foot of a hill, where the shadows were thick, Peter met the first one to whom he could give his message. The man was twisted and ragged and a beggar, and he peered down in Peter’s face horribly.
“Sir,” said Peter, courteously, “the world is beginning. You must go and help the king.”
“Help the king!” cried the beggar, and his voice was uneven, like a bark or a whine that was turning into words. “I can’t help the king without my supper.”
“Supper is only supper,” said little Peter, who had never in his life been hungry. “One must help the king—that is more.”
The beggar struck the ground with his staff.
“I’m hungry,” he said like a bark. “I want some supper and some dinner and all the way back to breakfast before I help the king, world or no world!”
And suddenly little Peter understood what it
