Parnard opened his eyes and stretched his limbs, feeling all weariness gone. He was glad to see the sun had gone down since he rested. To see the final glimmers of feeble daylight fading behind the thin branches; to see the spectral and somber shadows of the vast forest lengthen; to see the tree-tops of the firs sparkle far overhead, their needles wet and glinting silver from rain; to see the winding streams again with tangled growth; to hear voice after voice of the hundred thousand that belong to the woods, was to be reminded of the wildness of the world, a world that had been the only world he had known for many years! It was as he remembered it: the rich smell of the earth, the rustle of leaves whispering in the wind, the mournful north wind rising up in the dark pines. The frogs commenced their creaking music, and the other wild forest creatures hushed, listening. All weather-signs around betokened another wet, unpleasant day ahead.
"A rainy day is not bad! It shows us the forest in a new dress,” Parnard said to no one, because he was alone. The howl of a warg stretched thin and faint through the mist; far away it was, and of no immediate concern. He picked out a piece of lembas from its leaf wrapping and ate it in two crunchy bites. Mighty dry provisions, these. He would catch some river trout, and then they would have a feast! A drizzing rain began to fall.
I remember the first man I saw with an axe on his shoulder. Then the spots in the forest that the sun shone down upon grew bigger and bigger. I heard cowbells in the woods and the bleatings of sheep. Then I saw a log-house, then another, and another, and then the old woods were crowded. I climbed up a hill, and stood looking over the tree-tops, and saw nothing but farms, and houses, and cattle and sheep. Wildness had disappeared from the countryside!
“What would the world be without wet and wildness!” he cried out to the sky.
Belegos did not like the ancient grove filled with its weird green light, and said that he would not set foot in it again. He said that he was familiar with all this wild region, but he had never been to the grove before: if he had, he would not have been so reluctant to approach it. He wondered if Belegos knew of the pool. He doubted it; otherwise Belegos would not have said that the woods were wholly evil.
It was beautiful, the dark water-pond that lay at the feet of the hills, overlooked on one side by them, and skirted on the other by a valley that stretched away to the east. Its waters were calm and still as a mirror, even when it was pouring rain, and so it was hard to tell how deep it was. It was if it had remained from its beginning in a tranquil and peaceful state, and was so ancient that it would always be, and never would its water fail or be corrupted by those that walk on the banks. Long would he sit beside the pool, looking into its black waters, so silent and alone. It was his place.
He saw that the others had walked on ahead and were keeping their eyes fixed on the ground, watching their steps carefully, after he showed them the carcass of the black viper. They had finally learned to be cautious. He warned his companions that the poisonous creatures were in the habit of coming down from the hills to drink from the springs, and sometimes he would kill ten or twelve in a day. The pool was a short distance away from the old elvish fortress of Ost Galadh. Parnard decided to seek it out while the others rested and look upon its tranquil surface, alone. Then he would take Belegos to it, and show him that the woods were not entirely evil, and that there was still great beauty concealed within, if one was brave enough to find it.
