I awoke from my slumber well before sunrise from a strange noise I could not identify. Having wandered so far it was, however, not very surprising to hear sounds that I had not heard before. Nevertheless it startled me somewhat. And then again I heard it -- zzzzerp zzeerp zeeerrrrp. I looked from side to side and then up and down, but it was so dark that I could barely make out anything.
The moon was half lit and the world was somewhat shrouded in its light. The lake looked so beautiful in this setting that I was completely immersed by it. For a moment, my mind was completely still and silent, just watching, observing this beauty of it all. The flowers of the water lilies even somehow seemed to glow in this faint light, swimming on a sea of blues and violets and the occasional green. The water was completely undisturbed, even the insects which had been hopping on its surface last night must have gone to sleep.
It's strange when the mind becomes quiet. The chattering stops and there is simply silence. No thoughts. It seems that only in these moments one is truly at peace. And then again, zzzerp zeeeeerrrrrrp zzerp! I looked around again, only to be confronted with blackness, yet my eyes could make out more detail than before.
Now there were also some rustling leaves which I heard on my right side. But somehow this did not seem threatening or strange. For I was the stranger in these lands and the animals here surely were its natural inhabitants. And so I just looked and waited.
At last I saw something emerge from the undergrowth. It walked on four legs and seemed to have some fur. Some moonlight was caught in it and briefly revealed its outline. It seemed to be a small mammal; quite harmless indeed! It made its way towards the waters and upon arrival smelled it and gradually entered it. Only its small tail was visible before it finally receded into the cooling depths.
