Beginning VI-2-2
It was not far to walk. I followed the windings of the stream through small dells where ancient oaks loomed over the path, their unusually large leaves still seeming to glow with the light of the fading day.
Rounding one bend in the river-course I encountered a great heron wading near the bank that turned to peer at me.
Presently I came upon the company that the fisherman had spoken of. A group of seven or eight peasant folk sat around a large woodfire in a clearing to the left of the path, a little away from the stream. In another time I might have described them as gypsies. They were talking and laughing amongst themselves, and seemed to be finishing up the last of a good meal.