202 OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS 



in the sun. He questioned whether those pull- 

 ing their loads or those sitting in the sun en- 

 joyed the present moment more than those 

 wallowing in the mire. 



He thought to little purpose, and his ques- 

 tionings were in vain, for he could find no solu- 

 tion of the enigma of life. Man's origin and 

 destiny remain shrouded in mystery, and the 

 more serious the attempt to solve the riddle, 

 the greater the confusion of the mind. Wear- 

 ily he decided that life is but a tiny island in 

 the unexplored sea of eternity. He knew T 

 nothing of how he had reached the island at 

 birth and only knew that the relentless waves 

 of death, constantly beating upon it, sooner or 

 later would carry him off into the boundless 

 sea. Vaguely he wondered whether there 

 were other islands somewhere, which he might 

 reach, or whether, with death, would come 

 oblivion, as the agnostic taught. 



Tiring of useless speculation, he threw him- 

 self down in the shade of an apple tree under 

 which grew a milkweed. A monarch butter- 

 fly alighting, caught his attention, and he was 

 soon so much absorbed in her movements that 

 problems of life and death no longer vexed 

 him. The butterfly tarried but a moment, 



