which reaches heights of rancour beyond human levels ; and 

 as all the relatives join in the din becomes louder and louder. 

 But one frog has a shout peculiar to himself. In the middle of 

 the uproar he announces " hip, hip hooray " in long-drawn-out 

 and throaty tones which just give that touch of the ridiculous 

 that brings all the heated arguments crashing. I have never 

 known whether the frog who bursts in in this way is of a different 

 species or is one trained to keep the community at peace. Any- 

 way, I am convinced that my frog chorus is superior to that 

 produced anywhere else on the face of the earth. 



Quite different from the rowdy nights of the frogs are the 

 very calm nights without the whisper of a breeze, when little 

 sounds and tiny rustlings make themselves felt rather than 

 heard. Often these are the nights when a great round moon 

 sails up from behind the mountains and gradually turns the 

 valley to silver. There are queer unaccountable shadows ; 

 the arum flowers along the stream catch the light and become 

 brilliantly white ; and one has the impression of movement 

 everywhere. There is nothing of the " ghoulies and ghosties " 

 about these nights ; everything is friendly and full of fun and 

 intensely beautiful. 



But there are nights when things are not so good, when the 

 winds howl, the wistaria lashes against the roof, rain crashes 

 down in bursts, and mountain torrents rush raving down the 

 valley. Then it is best to turn one's back and go to sleep : when 

 nature's forces are let loose we humans can take no part. In 

 the morning the fury will be over, and we shall be left to pick 

 up the pieces. 



26 



