Twenty-Seventh Evening"The air was calm," said the Moon; "the water was
transparent as the purest ether through which I was gliding, and
deep below the surface I could see the strange plants that
stretched up their long arms towards me like the gigantic trees of
the forest. The fishes swam to and fro above their tops. High in
the air a flight of wild swans were winging their way, one of which
sank lower and lower, with wearied pinions, his eyes following the
airy caravan, that melted farther and farther into the distance.
With outspread wings he sank slowly, as a soap bubble sinks in the
still air, till he touched the water. At length his head lay back
between his wings, and silently he lay there, like a white lotus
flower upon the quiet lake. And a gentle wind arose, and crispe
