Leaf by Niggle - By J.R.R. Tolkien | Full audiobook (Fantasy)

Leaf by Niggle J R R Tolkien there once was a little man called niggle who  had a long journey to make he did not want to go indeed the whole idea was distasteful to him  but he could not get out of it he knew he would have to start some time but he did not hurry with  his preparations [ __ ] was a painter not a very successful one partly because he had many other  things to do most of these things he thought were a nuisance but he did them fairly well when he  could not get out of them which in

his opinion was far too often the laws in his country were  rather strict there were other hindrances too for one thing he was sometimes just idle and did  nothing at all for another he was kind-hearted in a way you know the sort of kind-hearted it made  him uncomfortable more often than it made him do anything and even when he did anything it did  not prevent him from grumbling losing his temper and swearing mostly to himself all the same it did  land him in a good many odd jobs for his neighb

or Mr Parish a man with a lame leg occasionally  he even helped other people from further off if they came and asked him to also now and again  he remembered his journey and began to pack a few things in an ineffectual way at such times he did  not paint very much he had a number of pictures on hand most of them were too large and ambitious  for his skill he was the sort of painter who can paint leaves better than trees he used to spend  a long time on a single leaf trying to catch its shape and

its Sheen and the glistening of dewdrops  on his edges yet he wanted to paint a whole tree with all of its leaves in the same style and  all of them different there was one picture in particular which bothered him he had begun  with a leaf caught in the wind and it became a tree and the tree grew sending out innumerable  branches and thrusting out the most fantastic Roots Strange Birds came and settled on the twigs  and had to be attended to then all around the tree and behind it through the ga

ps in the leaves and  Bows a country began to open out and there were glimpses of a forest marching over the land and of  mountains tipped with snow [ __ ] lost interest in his other pictures or else he took them and tacked  them into the edges of his great picture soon the canvas became so large they used to get a ladder  and he ran up and down it putting in a touch here and rubbing out a patch there when people came to  call he seemed polite enough though he fiddled a little with the pencils o

n his desk he listened to  what they said but underneath he was thinking all the time about his big canvas in the tool shed  that had been built for it out in his garden on the plot where once he had grown potatoes he could  not get rid of his kind heart I wish I was more strong-minded he sometimes said to himself meaning  that he wished other people's troubles did not make him feel uncomfortable but for a long time  he was not seriously perturbed at any rate I shall get this one picture done my

real picture before  I have to go on that wretched Journey he used to say yet he was beginning to see that he could  not put off his star indefinitely the picture would have to stop just growing and get finished  one day niggles did a little way off from his picture and considered it of an unusual attention  and Detachment he could not make up his mind what he thought about it and wished he had some friend  who would tell him what to think actually it seems to him wholly unsatisfactory and yet

very lovely  the only really beautiful picture in the world was he would have liked at the moment would have  been to see himself walking and slap him on the back and say with obvious sincerity absolutely  magnificent I see exactly what you get yeah do get on with it and don't bother about anything  else we will arrange for a public pension so that you need not however there was no public pension  and one thing he could see it would need some concentration some work hard uninterrupted work  hard

uninterrupted work to finish the picture even at its present size he rolled up his sleeves  and began to concentrate he tried for several days not to bother about other things but there came a  tremendous crop of interruptions things went wrong in his house he had to go and serve on a jury in  the town a distant friend fell ill Mr Parish was laid up with Lombardo and visitors kept on coming  it was Springtime they wanted a free tea in the country niggle lived in a pleasant Little House  miles a

way from the town he cursed them in his heart but he could not deny that he had invited  them himself away back in the winter when he had not thought it an interruption to visit the shops  and have two of acquaintances in the town he tried to harden his heart but it was not successful  there were many things that he had not the face to say no to whether he thought them duties or  not and there are some things he was compelled to do whatever he thought some of his visitors  hinted that his garden

was rather neglected and he might get a visit from an inspector very few  of them knew about his picture of course but if they had known it would have not made much of  a difference I doubt if they would have thought that it mattered much I dare say it was not really  a very good picture though it may have had some good passages the tree at any rate was curious  quite unique in its way so was niggle but he was a very ordinary and rather silly little man at  length niggle's time became really pr

ecious his acquaintances in a distant Town began to remember  that the little man had to go make a Troublesome journey and some began to calculate how long and  the latest he could put off starting they wondered who would take his house and if the garden would  be better kept the awesome came very wet and windy the little painter was in his shed he was up  on the ladder trying to catch The Gleam of the westering sun on the peak of a Snow Mountain which  had glimpsed just to the left of the leafy

tip of one of the tree's branches he knew that he would  have to be leaving soon perhaps early next year he could only just get the picture finished and  only so so at that there are some Corners where he would not have time now to do more than a hint of  what he wanted there was a knock at the door come in he said sharply and climbed down the ladder he  stood on the floor twiddling his brush it was his neighbor Parish his only real neighbor all other  folk lived a long way off still he did not

like the man very much partly because he was so often  in trouble and in need of help and also because he did not care about painting but was very critical  about gardening when Parish looked at Nichol's Garden which was often he saw mostly weeds and  when he looked at Nichol's pictures which was seldom he saw only green and gray patches and  black lines which seemed to him nonsensical he did not mind mentioning the weeds and neighborly  duty but he refrained from giving any opinion of the pict

ures he thought this was very kind and he  did not realize that even if it was kind it was not kind enough help with the weeds and perhaps  praise for the pictures would have been better well Parish what is it said niggle I ought to  interrupt you I know said Parish with a glance at the picture you are very busy I'm sure niggle  had meant to say something like that himself but he had missed his chance and all he said was yes  but I have no one else to turn to said Parish quite so said [ __ ] wit

h a sigh one of those  sides that are a private comment but which are not made quite inaudible what can I do for you my  wife has been ill for some days and I'm getting worried said parish and the wind has blown half  the tiles off my roof and water is pouring into the bedroom I think I ought to get the doctor and  the builders too only they take so long to come I was wondering if you had any wooden canvas you  could spare just to patch me up and see me through for a day or two now he did look a

t the picture  dear dear said niggle you are unlucky I hope it is no more than a cold that your wife has got  I'll come around presently and help you move the patient downstairs thank you very much said Parish  rather coolly but it is not a cold it's a fever I should not have bothered you for a cold and my  wife is in bed downstairs already I can't get up and down with trays not with my leg but I see you  are busy sorry to have troubled you I'd rather hoped you might have been able to spare the

time  to go for the doctor seeing how I'm placed and the Builder too if you really have no canvas you  can spare of course said niggle though other words are in his heart which at the moment was merely  soft without feeling at all kind I'll go if you're really worried I am worried very worried I wish I  was not lame said Parish so [ __ ] went you see it was awkward Parish was his neighbor and everyone  else was a long way off niggle had a bicycle and Parish had not and could not ride one Parish

had  a lame leg genuine lame leg which gave him a good deal of pain that had to be remembered as well as  his sour expression and whining voice of course niggle had a picture and barely time to finish it  but it seemed that this was a thing that Parish had to reckon with and not niggle Parish however  did not reckon with pictures a [ __ ] could not alter that curses he said to himself as he got out  his bicycle it was wet and windy and daylight was waning no more work for me today thought niggle

  and all the time he was riding he was either swearing to himself or imagining The Strokes of  his brush on the mountain and on the spray of leaves beside it they had first imagined in the  spring his fingers twitched on the handlebars now he was out of the shed he saw exactly the way  in which to treat that shining spray which framed the distant vision of the mountain but he had a  sinking feeling in his heart a sort of fear that he would never now get a chance to try it out  Niggle found the

doctor he had left a note at the builders the office was shut and the Builder  had gone home to his Fireside niggle got soaked to the skin and called to chill himself the doctor  did not set houses promptly as Niggle had done he arrived next day which was quite convenient  for him as by that time there were two patients to deal with in neighboring houses [ __ ]  was in bed with a high temperature and The Marvelous patterns of leaves and involved  branches forming in his head and on the ceiling i

t did not comfort him to lend the Mrs  Parish had only had a cold and was getting up he turned his face to the wall and buried himself  in leaves he remained a bed sometime the wind went on blowing it took away a good many more  of parish's tiles and some of niggles as well his own roof began to leak the Builder did not  come Niggle did not care not for a day or two then he crawled out to look for some food niggle  had no wife Parish did not come around the rain had got onto his leg and made an

ache and his wife  was busy mopping up water and wondering if that Mr Noodle had forgotten to call it the builders had  she seen any chance of borrowing anything useful she would have sent Parish round leg or no leg  but she did not so Niggle was left to himself at the end of the week or so niggle totted out to  his shed again he tried to climb the ladder but it made his head giddy he sat and looked at the  picture but there were no patterns of leaves or visions of mountains in his mind that day

he could  have painted a far off view of a sandy desert but he had not the energy next day he felt a good deal  better he climbed the ladder and began to paint he'd just begun to get into it again when there  came a knock on the door damn said niggle but he might just as well and said come in politely  pull the door opened all the same this time a very tall man came in a total stranger this is  a private Studio said [ __ ] I am busy go away I am an inspector of houses said the man holding  up h

is appointment card [ __ ] on his ladder could see it oh he said your neighbor's house is not  satisfactory at all said the inspector I know said niggle I took a note to the builders a long time  ago but they never come then I have been ill I see said the inspector but you are not ill now but  I'm not a builder parachute to make a complaint to the Town Council and get help from the emergency  service they are busy with worse damage than any up here said the inspector there's been a flood  in the

valley and many families are homeless you should have helped your neighbor to make temporary  repairs and prevent damage from getting more costly to men than necessary that is the law there  is plenty of material here canvas wood waterproof paint where ask niggle indignantly there said  the inspector pointing to the picture by picture exclaimed niggle exclaimed niggle I dare say it  is said the inspector but houses come first that is the law but I can't Niggle said no more from  that moment ano

ther man came in very much like the inspector he was almost his double tall dressed  in black come along he said I am the driver his fever seemed to have come on again and his  head was swimming he felt cold all over driver he chatted driver of what you and your Carriage  said the man the carriage was ordered long ago it has come at last it's waiting you start today on  your journey you know there now said the inspector you'll have to go but it's a bad way to start on  your journey leaving your

jobs undone still we can at least make some use of this canvas now oh  dear said poor niggle beginning to weep and it's not not even finished not finished said the driver  well it's finished with as far as you're concerned at any rate come along [ __ ] went quite quietly  the driver gave him no time to pack saying that he ought to have that saying that he ought to have  done that before and they would miss the train so all niggle could do was grab a little bag in  the hall he found that it conta

ined only a paint box and a small book of his own sketches neither  food nor clothes they caught the train all right Niggle was feeling very tired and sleepy he  was hardly aware of what was going on when they bundled him into his compartment he did not  care much he'd forgotten where he was supposed to be going or what he was going for the train ran  almost at once into a dark tunnel [ __ ] woke up in a very large dim way already station a porter  went along the platform shouting but he was not

shouting the name of the place he was shouting  niggle niggle got out in a hurry and found that he'd left his little bag behind he turned back  but the train had gone away ah there you are said the porter this way what no luggage you will  have to go to the workhouse niggle felt very ill and fainted on the platform they put him  in an ambulance and took him to the workhouse infirmary he did not like the treatment at all the  medicine they gave him was bitter the officials and attendants were un

friendly silent and strict  and he never saw anyone else except a very severe Doctor Who visited him occasionally it was more  like being in a prison than in a hospital he had to work hard at stated hours at digging carpentry  and painting bare boards all in one plain color he was never allowed outside and the windows all  looked inwards they kept him in the dark for hours as a stretch to do some thinking they said he lost  count of time he did not even begin to feel better not if that could be

judged by whether he felt  any pleasure in doing anything he did not not even in getting into bed at first during the first  century or so I'm merely giving his Impressions he used to worry aimlessly about the past one thing  he kept on repeating to himself as he lay in the dark I wish I had called and Parish the first  morning after the high winds began I meant to the first Louis Stars would have been easy to  fix then Mrs Parish might never have caught cold then I should not have caught cold e

ither  then I should have had a week longer but in time he forgot what it was that he had wanted a week  long before if he had worried at all after that it was about his jobs in the hospital he planned  them out thinking how quickly he could stop that board creaking or re-hang their door or mend that  table leg probably he really became rather useful though no one ever told him so but that of course  cannot have been the reason why they kept the poor little man so long they could have been waiti

ng  for him to get better and judging better by some odd medical standard of their own at any rate poor  [ __ ] got no pleasure out of life not what he had been used to call Pleasure he was certainly not  amused but it could not be denied that he began to have a feeling of well satisfaction bred rather  than Jam he could take up a task the moment one bill rang and lay it aside promptly the moment  the next one went all tidy ready to be continued at the right time he got through quite a lot in  a

day now he'd finished small things off neatly he had no time of his own except alone in his bed  sale and yet he was becoming master of his time he began to know just what he could do with it there  was no sense of Rush he was quiet here inside now and at resting time he could really rest then  suddenly they changed all his hours they hardly let him go to bed at all they took him off  carpentry altogether and kept him at plane digging day after day he took it fairly well  it was a long while be

fore he even began to grope in the back of his mind full of curses they  had practically forgotten he went on digging till his back seemed broken his hands were raw and he  felt that he could not manage another spadeful nobody thanked him but the doctor came and looked  at him knock off he said complete rest in the dark [ __ ] was lying in the dark resting completely so  that as he had not been even feeling or thinking at all he might have been lying there for hours  or for years as far as he co

uld tell but now he heard voices not voices that he'd ever heard  before there seemed to be a medical board or perhaps a court of inquiry going on close at  hand in an adjoining room with the door open possibly though he could not see any light now  the niggle case of said a voice a severe voice more severe than the doctors what was the matter  with him said a second voice a voice that you might have called gentle though it was not soft  it was a voice of authority and sounded at once hopeful an

d sad what was the matter with niggle  his heart was in the right place yes but it did not function properly said the first voice  and his head was not screwed on tight enough he hardly ever thought it all look at the time he  wasted not even amusing himself he never got ready for his journey it was moderately well off and  yet he arrived here almost destitute he had to be put in the Pulpit swing a bad case I'm afraid I  think he should stay some time yet it would not do him any harm perhaps sai

d the second voice but of  course he is only a little man he was never meant to be anything very much and he was never very  strong let's look at the records yes there are some favorable points you know perhaps said the  first voice but very few that will really bear examination well said the second voice there are  those he was a painter by nature in a minor way of course still a leaf by niggle has a charm of  its own he took a great deal of pains with leaves just for their own sake they never

thought that  that made him important there is no note in the records of his pretending even to himself that  it excuses neglect of things ordered by the law then he should not have neglected so many said  the first voice all the same he did not answer a good many calls a small percentage mostly of the  easier sword and he called those interruptions the records are full of the word together with a  lot of complaints and silly imprecations true but they look like interruptions to him of course po

or  little man and there is this he never expected a new return and so many of his sort call it there  is the parish case the one that came in later he was Nichol's neighbor never did a stroke  for him and seldom showed any gratitude at all but there is no note in the records  that niggle expected parish's gratitude it does not seem to have thought about it yes that  is a point said the first voice but rather small I think you will find niggle often merely forgot  things he had to do for power s

he put out of his mind as a nuisance he had done with still there  is his last report said the second voice that wet bicycle ride I rather lay stress on that it seems  plain that this was a genuine sacrifice niggle guessed that he was throwing away his last chance  of his picture and he guessed too that Parish was worrying unnecessarily I think you put it too  strongly said the first voice but you have the last word it is your task of course to put the  best interpretation on the facts sometimes

they will bear it what do you propose I think it's a  case for a little gentle treatment now said the second voice [ __ ] thought Lee had never heard  anything so generous as that voice it made gentle treatments are like a load of Rich gifts and the  summons to a king's Feast then suddenly niggle felt ashamed to hear that he was considered  the case for gentle treatment overwhelmed him and made him blush in the dark it was like being  publicly praised when you and all the audience knew that the

prose was not deserved niggle hid  his blushes in the rough blanket there was a silence then the first voice spoke to niggle quite  close you have been listening it said yes said [ __ ] well what have you to say could you tell me  about Parish said niggle I should like to see him again I hope he's not very ill can you cure his  leg he used to give him a wretched time and please don't worry about him and me he was a very good  neighbor and let me have excellent potatoes very cheap which saved me

a lot of time did he said the  first voice I'm glad to hear it there was another silence Niggle heard the voices receding well I  agree he heard the first voice say in the distance let him go on to the next stage tomorrow if you  like [ __ ] woke up to find that his blinds were drawn and his little cell was full of sunshine  he got up and found that some comfortable clothes had been put out for him not a hospital uniform  after breakfast the doctor treated his sore hands putting some Salve on t

hem that healed them at  once he gave niggle some good advice and a bottle of tonic in case he needed it in the middle of the  morning they gave [ __ ] a biscuit and a glass of wine and then they gave him a ticket you can go  to the railway station now said the doctor the porter will look after you goodbye Niggle slipped  out of the main door and blinked a little the sun was very bright also he had expected to walk out  onto a large town to match the size of the station but he did not he was on

the top of a hill green  bear swept by a keen invigorating wind nobody else was about a way down under the hill he could  see the roof of the station shining he walked downhill to the station briskly but without hurry  the porter spotted him at once this way he said and led Niggle to a bay in which there was a very  pleasant little local train standing one coach and a small engine both very bright clean and newly  painted it looked as if this was their first run even the track that lay in front

of the engine  looked new the rails shun the chairs were painted green and the sleepers gave off a delicious smell  of fresh tar in the warm sunshine the coach was empty where does this train go Porter asked niggle  I don't think they have fixed its name yet said the porter but you'll find it alright he shut the  door the train moved off at once niggle laid back in his seat The Little Engine passed along in a  deep cutting with high Green Banks roofed with blue sky it did not seem very long befo

re the  engine gave a whistle the brakes were put on and the train stopped and the train stopped there  was no station and no signboard only a flight of steps up the green embankment at the top of the  steps there was a wicket gate in a trim hedge by the gate stood his bicycle at least it looked like  his and there was a yellow label tied to the bars with niggle written on it in large black letters  niggle pushed open the gate jumped on the bicycle and went bowling downhill in the spring Sunshin

e  before long he found that the path of which he had started had disappeared and the bicycles Rolling  Along over a marvelous Turf it was green and close and yet he could see every blade distinctly he  seemed to remember having seen or dreamed of that sweep of grass somewhere or other the curves of  the land were familiar somehow yes the ground was becoming level as it should and now of course it  was beginning to rise again a great green Shadow come between him and the sun Niggle looked up and

  fell off his bicycle before him stood the tree history finished if you could say that of a tree  that was alive its leaves opening its branch is growing bending In The Wind that nigwat so often  felt or guessed and so often failed to catch he gazed at the tree and slowly he lifted his arms  and opened them wide it's a gift he said he was referring to his art and also to the result  but he was using the word quite literally he went on looking at the tree all the leaves he'd  ever labored out we

re there as he had imagined them rather than as he had made them and there  were others they had only budded in his mind and many that might have budded if only he had  time nothing was written on them they were just Exquisite leaves yeah they were dated as clear  as a calendar some of the most beautiful and the most characteristic the most perfect example of  the Niggle style was seen to have been produced in collaboration with Mr Parish there was no other  way of putting it the birds were buil

ding in the tree astonishing Birds how they sang they were  mating hatching growing wings and flying away singing into the forest even while he looks at  them for now he saw that the forest was there too opening out on the either side marching away  into the distance the mountains were glimmering far away after a Time niggle turned towards the  forest not because he was tired of the tree but he seemed to have got it all clear in his mind  now and was aware of it and of its growth even when he wa

s not looking at it as he walked away  he discovered an odd thing The Forest of course was a distant Forest yes he could approach it  even enter it without its losing that particular charm he'd never before been able to walk into the  distance without turning it into mere surroundings it really added a considerable attraction to  walking in the country because as he walked new distances opened up opened out so that you know  had doubled treble and quadruple distances doubly trebley and quadrupli

ng enchanting you could go  on and on and have a whole country in a garden or in a picture if you prefer to call it that you  could go on and on but not perhaps forever there were the mountains in the background that did get  nearer very slowly they did not seem to belong to the picture or only as a link to something else a  glimpse through the trees or something different a further stage another picture [ __ ] walked about  but he was not merely pottering he was looking around carefully the tre

e was finished though not  finished with just the other way about to what it used to be thought but in the forest there was a  number of inconclusive regions that still needed work and thought nothing needed altering any  longer nothing was wrong as far as it had gone but it needed continuing up to a definitive Point  niggle saw the point precisely in each case he sat down under a very beautiful distant tree A  variation of the gray tree but quite individual or it would be of a little more atten

tion that  he considered Where to Begin work and where to end it and how much time was required he could  not quite work out his scheme of course he said what I need is Parish there are a lot of things  about Earth plants and trees that he knows that I don't this place cannot be left just at  my private park I need help and advice I ought to have got it sooner he got up and walked  to the place where he had decided to Begin work he took off his coat then down in a little sheltered  Hollow hidden

from a further view he saw a man looking around rather bewildered he was leaning on  a spade but plainly did not know what to do niggle hailed him perish he called Paris shouldered his  spade and came up to him he still limped a little they did not speak just nodded as they used to  do passing in the lane but now they walked about together arm in arm without talking niggle and  Parish agreed exactly where to make the small house and garden which seemed to be required as  they worked together it

became plain that [ __ ] was now the better of the two at ordering his time  and getting things done oddly enough it was niggle who became most absorbed in building and gardening  while Parish often wondered about looking at trees and especially at the tree one day Nick was busy  planting a quick set hedge and Parish was lying on the grass nearby looking attentively at  a beautiful and shapely little yellow flower growing in the Green Turf [ __ ] had put a lot of  them along among the roots of

his tree long ago suddenly Parish looked up his face was glistening  in the Sun he was smiling ah this is Grand he said I ought to be here really thank you for putting  in a word for me nonsense said niggle I don't remember what I said but anyway it was not nearly  enough oh yes it was said Parish it got me out a lot sooner that second voice you know he'd sent  me here he said you had asked to see me I owe it to you no you owe it to the second voice said  [ __ ] we both do they went on living an

d working together I do not know how long it is no use to  knowing that at first they occasionally disagreed especially when they got tired for at first they  did sometimes get tired they found that they had both been provided with tonics each bottle had  the same label a few drops to be taken in water from the spring before resting they found the  spring in the heart of the forest only once long ago had niggle imagined it but he had never  drawn it now he perceived that it was the source of the

lake that glimmered far away and the  nourishment of all that grew in the country the few drops made the water astringent rather  bitter by invigorating and it cleared the head after drinking they rested alone then they got  up again and things went on merrily at such times [ __ ] would think of wonderful new flowers and  plants and Parish always knew exactly how to set them and where they would do best long before the  tonics were finished they'd ceased to knead them Parish lost his limp as th

eir work Drew to an  inn they allow themselves more and more time for walking about looking at the tree and the flowers  and the lights and shapes and the LIE of the land sometimes they sang together but Niggle found  that he was now beginning to turn his eyes more and more often towards the mountains the time  came when the house in the hollow the garden the grass the forest the lake and all the country  was nearly complete in its own proper fashion the great tree was in full blossom we shall f

inish  this evening said Parish one day after that we will go for a really long walk they set out next  day and they walked until they came right through the distance to the edge it was not visible  of course there was no line or fence or wall but they knew that they had come to the margin  of their country they saw a man he looked like a Shepherd he was walking towards them down the  grass slopes that led up into the mountains do you want a guide he asked do you want to go on for  a moment a sh

adow fell between Niggle and Parish for Niggle knew that he did not now want to go  on and in a sense ought to go on but Parish did not want to go on and was not yet ready to go I  must wait for my wife said Parish to niggle she'd be lonely I'd rather gathered that they would  send her after me sometime or other when she was ready and when I had got things ready for her the  house is finished now as well as we can make it but I should like to show it to her she'll be  able to make it better I ex

pect more homely I hope she'll like this country too he turned to  the shepherd are you a guide he asked could you tell me the name of this country don't you know  said the man it is niggles country it is niggle's picture or most of it a little of this is now  parish's Garden niggle's picture said parish and astonishment did you think of all this niggle I  never knew you were so clever why didn't you tell me he tried to tell you long ago said the man but  you would not look he'd only got canvas

and paint in those days and you wanted to mend your roof of  them this is what you and your wife used to call niggles nonsense or or that doubting but it did  not look like this then not real said Parish no it was only a glimpse then said the man but you might  have caught the Glimpse if you'd ever fought it worthwhile to try I did not give you much chance  said niggle I never tried to explain I used to call you old Earth grabber but what does it matter  we have lived and worked together now thi

ngs might have been different but they could not have  been better all the same I'm afraid I scale have to be going on we shall meet again I expect  there must be many more things we can do together goodbye he should perish his hand warmly a good  firm honest hand it seemed he turned and looked back for a moment the Blossom on the great tree  was shining like flame all the birds were flying in the air and singing then he smiled and nodded  to parish and went off with the shepherd He was going to

learn about sheep and the high passages  and look at a wider sky and walk even further and further towards the mountains always uphill  beyond that I cannot guess what become of him even Little Niggle and his old home could Glimpse  the mountains far away and they got into the borders of his picture but what they are really  like and what lies Beyond them only those can say who have climbed them I think he was a silly  little man said counselor Tompkins worthless in fact no use to Society at al

l oh I don't  know said Atkins who has nobody of importance just a Schoolmaster I'm not so sure it depends on  what you mean by use no practical or economic use except Tompkins I dare say he could have been made  into a serviceable cog of some sort if you School Masters know your business but you don't and  so we get useless people of his swords if I ran this country I should put him and his like to some  job they're fit for washing dishes in a communal kitchen or something and I should see that

they  did it properly or I would put them away I should have put him away long ago put him away you mean  you'd have made him start on a journey before his time yes if you must use that meaningless old  expression push him through the tunnel until the great rubbish Heap and that's what I mean  then you don't think painting is worth anything not worth preserving or improving or even making  use on of course painting has uses said Tomkins but you couldn't make use of his painting there's  plenty

of scope for bold young men not afraid of new ideas and new methods nonetheless  old-fashioned stuff private daydreaming he could not have designed a telling poster to save  his life always fiddling with leaves and flowers I asked him why once he said they thought  they were pretty can you believe it he said pretty what Digestive and genital organs  of plants I said to him and he had nothing to answer silly footler fuller side Atkins yes poor  little man he never finished anything ah well his ca

nvases have been put to better uses since  he wins but I am not sure Tompkins you remember that larger one the one they used to patch  the damaged house next door to his after the gaels and floods I found a corner of it Tom off  lying in the field it was damaged but legible a mountain peak can spray of leaves I can't get it  out of my mind out of your what said Tomkins who are you two talking about said Perkins intervening  in the case of Peace Atkins had flushed her over red the names not worth

repeating said Tompkins  I don't know why we're talking about him at all he did not live in town no said Atkins but you  had your eye on his house all the same that is why I used to go and call and snare at him while  drinking his tea well you've got his house now as well as the one in town so you need not Grudge him  his name we were talking about niggle if you want to know Perkins oh poor little niggle said Perkins  never knew he painted that was probably the last time nickel's name ever came

up in conversation  however Atkins preserved the odd Corner most of it crumbled but one beautiful Leaf remained intact  Atkins had it framed later he left it to the town Museum and for a long while Leaf by niggle hung  there in a recess and was noticed by a few eyes but eventually the museum was burnt down and the  leaf and niggle were entirely forgotten in his old country it is proving very useful indeed said  the second voice as a holiday and a refreshment it is Splendid for convalescence and

not only  for that for many it is the best introduction to the mountains it works wonders in some cases  I'm sending more and more there they seldom have to come back no that is so said the first voice  I think we shall have to give the region a name what do you propose the porter settled that some  time ago said the second voice train for niggles Parish in the bay he had shouted that for a long  while now niggles Parish I sent a message to both of them to tell them what did they say they  both

laughed laughed the mountains rang with it