第31章 The Hawthorn Hedge

The spring came on the hundred-and-thirty-eighth day, and it came with the rain, and it came with the vapour, and it came with the first green at the hedge, and the hedge was hawthorn, and the hawthorn was white, and the white went up the lane, and the lane was the lane, and the mud was going away. Kessin stood at the yard gate at six, and she looked at the hedge, and the hedge was hawthorn, and the hawthorn was white, and the rain was going down, and the sun came through, and the sun was warm, and the yard was wet, and the grass was coming up. Peth came in with his case and his boots, and his boots were wet, and he stood at the foot of the wheel, and he said, "The hedge is white." "The hedge is white," said Kessin. "The hawthorn is white," said Peth. "The hawthorn is white," said Kessin. "The hedge is at the lane," said Peth. "The hedge is at the lane," said Kessin. "I walked the lane," said Peth. "The chalk is still on the stones." "The chalk is still on the stones," said Kessin. "Then the stones are kept," said Peth. "Then the stones are kept," said Kessin. Brin came in through the gate with the cart, and the cart had come from Gillanwick, and the cart had two baskets of hawthorn on it, and the hawthorn was white, and the hawthorn was wet, and the hawthorn was from the market, and Brin set the baskets on the yard wall, and he took his hat off, and he put it on the wheel, and he said, "The hedge is white." "The hedge is white," said Kessin. "The market has hawthorn," said Brin. "The market has hawthorn," said Kessin. "Then the market is the market," said Brin. "Then the market is the market," said Kessin. "Then the hall has hawthorn," said Brin. "Then the hall has hawthorn," said Kessin. Turrel came out from the kitchen with the lamp and the cloth, and she took the basket from the yard wall, and she took the hawthorn, and she set the hawthorn on the table, and she did not say anything, and she took the coffee pot, and she put the coffee on, and Kessin sat at the table, and Peth sat across from her, and the boy ate the bread, and the boy drank the coffee, and the boy did not speak, and Kessin did not speak, and the donkey came through the hall door and stood at the foot of the stove. "She will come," said Peth. "She will come," said Kessin. "She will come at seven," said Peth. "The woman at the crossing." "The woman at the crossing," said Kessin. "I have not met her." "You have not met her," said Peth. "But she will come, because the hawthorn is the hawthorn, and the hawthorn is at the lane, and the lane is at the crossing, and the crossing is at the woman." "The crossing is at the woman," said Kessin. "She has the basket," said Peth. "The basket is hers." "The basket is hers," said Kessin. "And the basket is empty," said Peth. "The basket is empty," said Kessin. "Then the basket will be full," said Peth. "Then the basket will be full," said Kessin. The woman came at seven, and she came up the lane with her basket on her arm, and she came to the yard gate, and she was a woman of fifty, with a coat mended at the elbow, and a hat with the brim turned down, and she stood at the gate, and she said, "I have a basket." "I have a hall," said Kessin. "I have a basket," said the woman. "And the basket is empty." "The basket is empty," said Kessin. "The basket is empty," said the woman. "And the hawthorn is at the lane." "The hawthorn is at the lane," said Kessin. "Then the basket will be full," said the woman. "Then the basket will be full," said Kessin. She set the basket on the wheel, and she took the hawthorn from the table, and she put the hawthorn in the basket, and the hawthorn was white, and the basket was full, and she took the basket, and she said, "I am Yel Aubert." "Yel Aubert," said Kessin. "I am at the crossing," said Yel Aubert. "At the crossing," said Kessin. "I have the crossing," said Yel Aubert. "And the crossing is the fourth corner." "The crossing is the fourth corner," said Kessin. "And the fourth corner is the stone," said Yel Aubert. "The fourth corner is the stone," said Kessin. "And the stone is the chalk," said Yel Aubert. "The stone is the chalk," said Kessin. "And the chalk is the boy," said Yel Aubert. "The chalk is the boy," said Kessin. Peth stood at the foot of the wheel with his case, and he looked at Yel Aubert, and Yel Aubert looked at the boy, and she said, "You are the boy." "I am the boy," said Peth. "You are the chalk," said Yel Aubert. "I am the chalk," said Peth. "And the chalk is at the stone," said Yel Aubert. "The chalk is at the stone," said Peth. "And the stone is at the crossing," said Yel Aubert. "The stone is at the crossing," said Peth. "And the crossing is at the lane," said Yel Aubert. "The crossing is at the lane," said Peth. "And the lane is at the hall," said Yel Aubert. "The lane is at the hall," said Peth. "And the hall is at the board," said Yel Aubert. "The hall is at the board," said Peth. "And the board is at the card," said Yel Aubert. "The board is at the card," said Peth. "And the card is the seventh card." "The card is the seventh card," said Kessin. "Then the seventh name is Yel Aubert," said Peth. "The seventh name is Yel Aubert," said Kessin. "No," said Yel Aubert. "I am not the seventh name." "You are not the seventh name," said Kessin. "I am the crossing," said Yel Aubert. "And the crossing is the crossing." "The crossing is the crossing," said Kessin. She took the basket from the wheel and she put her hat on and she went out through the gate, and the gate opened and closed behind her, and the sound of it went out into the lane, and the hawthorn was white, and the hedge was green, and the lane was the lane, and the hall had the basket, and the hall had the hawthorn, and the hall had the spring. "She did not ask for work," said Turrel. "She asked for hawthorn." "She asked for hawthorn," said Kessin. "You said the seventh name would come when someone asked for bread and not work," said Kessin. "You said the seventh name would come when someone asked for bread and not work," said Turrel. "She asked for hawthorn," said Kessin. "She asked for hawthorn," said Turrel. "And the hawthorn is bread, because the hawthorn is the lane, and the lane is the hall, and the hall is the bread." "The hall is the bread," said Kessin. "Then the seventh name is coming," said Kessin. "Then the seventh name is coming," said Turrel. ---