Ever desireless one can see the mystery Ever desiring one can see the
manifestations. These two spring from the same source but appear as
opposites And this seems to us darkness
Darkness within darkness The gateway to all mystery
---Lao Tsu
Chapter 14
The first snows of December fell gently, blanketing the valley in a thin
veil of white and quiet stillness. With most of the larger beasts gone,
and others soon to follow, it was a time for the lesser creatures of the
vales to once again show themselves and become a part of the living
world. For at last the change had come, and the dangers grown less.
The weather was mild and predictable. The cold was not yet piercing.
It was a time when young foxes, weary of caution and hiding, were free
to forage among the brakes and hedges unafraid, leaving behind them tiny
craters in the snow. Northern rabbits, now splotching white through
their seasonal brown, could also be seen moving easily through the
tree-ringed meadows, stuffing themselves to soft roundness in
preparation for the cold and hungry days ahead. Only the sounds of
late-migrating geese disturbed the stillness, passing over but not
touching the thousand microcosms below, alone unto themselves.
It was but a brief respite.
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