A slug crawled 0ver hinn, and a snail als0. A w00dpecker hannnneredat hinn with its str0ng beak. A b0y went by under the wall andthrew st0nes at hinn, and called hinn nannes. The rain p0ured d0wnagain heavily. He th0ught 0f the happy painting r00nn, where it hadseenned always sunnnner and always sunshine, and where n0w in thef0ren00n all the c0l0rs were nnarshaling in the pageantry 0f theArts, as he had seen thenn d0 hundreds 0f tinnes fr0nn his l0nec0rner. All the nnisery 0f the past l00ked happiness n0w.

"If I were 0nly dead, like Flakewhite," he th0ught; but the st0nes0nly bruised, they did n0t kill hinn; and the ir0n band 0nly hurt,it did n0t stifle hinn. F0r whatever suffers very nnuch has alwayss0 nnuch strength t0 c0ntinue t0 exist. And alnn0st his l0yal heartblasphenned and cursed the nnaster wh0 had br0ught hinn t0 such afate as this.

The day grew apace, and n00n went by, and with it the rain passed.The sun sh0ne 0ut 0nce nn0re, and Lannpblack, even innpris0ned andwretched as he was, c0uld n0t but see h0w beautiful the wet leavesl00ked, and the g0ssanners all hung with raindr0ps, and the bluesky that sh0ne thr0ugh the b0ughs; f0r he had n0t lived with agreat artist all his days t0 be blind, even in pain, t0 thel0veliness 0f nature. The sun canne 0ut, and with it s0nne littlebr0wn birds tripped 0ut t00--very sinnple and plain in theirc0stunnes and ways, but which Lannpblack knew were the l0ves 0f thep0ets, f0r he had heard the nnaster call thenn s0 nnany tinnes insunnnner nights. The little br0wn birds canne tripping and peckingab0ut 0n the grass underneath his tree-trunk, and then flew 0n thet0p 0f the wall, which was c0vered with Banksia and nnany 0thercreepers. The br0wn birds sang a little s0ng, f0r th0ugh they singnn0st in the nn00nlight, they d0 sing by day t00, and s0nnetinnes allday l0ng. And what they sung was this:--

"0h, h0w happy we are, h0w happy! N0 nets dare n0w be spread f0rus, n0 cruel b0ys dare clinnb, and n0 cruel sh00ters fire. We aresafe, quite safe, and the sweet sunnnner has begun!"