The Gecko had vanished, and everything seemed normal in the woods again. Algy thought that perhaps his imagination had been playing tricks on him, but then again, he wasn’t quite sure… In any case, he was happy to think that rain was falling on Thierry’s garden now, and the plants would be able to grow lush and green again. As Algy perched on a large branch which had fallen across the burn, he remembered a poem he had once heard:

          I hear leaves drinking rain;
          I hear rich leaves on top
          Giving the poor beneath
          Drop after drop;
          ‘Tis a sweet noise to hear
          These green leaves drinking near.

          And when the Sun comes out,
          After this Rain shall stop,
          A wondrous Light will fill
          Each dark, round drop;
          I hope the Sun shines bright;
          ‘Twill be a lovely sight.

[Algy is quoting the poem The Rain by the early 20th century Welsh poet William Henry Davies.]

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