APRIL DAYS 



69 



form close at hand. My first acquaintanceship 

 with the adder was similarly brief and unsatis- 

 factory. At the age of six years I was privileged 

 to accompany an elder brother for walks in the 

 fields. One morning we traversed a dense thicket, 

 in which he cut for me an ashen stick with a heavy 



YOUNG SNAKES JUST HATCHED. 



end. While he hastened after a rare butterfly, I 

 slowly wandered beside a sunny wall in search of 

 violets. Suddenly there appeared at my feet the 

 long, light-coloured body of a snake, whose head 

 was concealed beneath a bush. Instinctively the 

 little cudgel was raised to strike, but fear prevented 



