SOME SNOW FROM CHIMBORAZO 157 
come to dwell amongst us? What an exquisite 
white! Surely he has been to the top of Chimbo- 
razo and brought down some of its snow upon him. 
How pure and how lovely!” Yes, they could look 
at him now, and they thought him more beautiful 
than when they were blinded and dazzled. That is 
how that Humming-bird got his snow-white patches. 
He had no colours now with which to. outrival 
the other Humming-birds, but he could put up 
with that, for the white snow was lovelier than 
them all. 
And then there is the Humming-bird that the 
Indians call the Jewel-flower-sunrise-and-sunset-Hum- 
ming-bird (only they have one word for it, which 
makes it sound better). I have forgotten what his 
English name is—I am not quite sure if he has 
one. This Humming-bird was very beautiful to 
begin with, so beautiful, indeed, that the flowers, 
as he hovered over them, fell in love with him and 
wished to give him their colours to wear, for 
their sakes. But the Humming-bird did not 
want their colours, for he thought his own were 
much more beautiful. “If you sparkled like 
jewels,” he said, ‘as well as being soft and bright, 
then it would be different. But your beauty is 
too homely. You are not sufficiently refulgent.” 
(That was a word he was fond of, for he had heard 
