And the beeches shot up aloft and threw their shade over the oak till he died.
But there were others besides the oak that made their complaints to the Prince of Summer. Every day and every hour of the day there was one that threw up the sponge and shrieked for help.
There was the grass, which cried because the stag ate it.
“I made your number as the sand of the sea,” said the Prince of Summer. “I gave you hardiness and a quick growth; I gave you the wind to carry your seed across the meadows. For you I have done enough.”
And there was the stag, who bellowed because the best grass was gone. To him the Prince of Summer said:
“I gave you swift legs, so that you could bound where the grass is greenest in the forest. If your legs are tired, then lay you down to die; and the hind’s fawns shall walk in your footsteps.”
There were the fish in the river, who ate one another’s eggs and young and then blamed Summer.
“What would you have me do?” asked Summer. “I gave you power to lay a thousand eggs and a thousand more and a thousand besides. However many may die, there will always be fish in the river.”
And there were the flowers that sighed because there were not bees enough to carry off their pollen. But the Prince of Summer said:
“I presented you with honey to give to the bees for a messenger’s fee and taught you to hide it so that they must take your pollen into the bargain. I gave you delicious perfumes and beautiful colours wherewith to entice the bees. You call them and they come; and the one that promises most and keeps its promise best is the one they obey most quickly.”