“The Rapids”

“But once he climbed over a mound about ten feet high, Theo saw a delightful rapids cutting diagonally across the landscape. The bed of this stream contained nothing but rocks, so the rushing water could only foam and seethe. It splashed atop a boulder, bent round a middle-sized rock, sped straight over smaller stones, and poured down smooth over a declivity of schist. In the few places where the bigger rocks were absent, the water, clearly thrilled by its newfound freedom, exploded in a frenzy of fuzzy white exuberance. Whereas the olfactory sense had dominated him in the flower-vase valley, now his aural awareness did. The thrilling sound that is fast-rushing water lulled the pilgrim. It possessed an underlying steadiness of “whoosh,” but then played variations over that sound, little high-pitched squeals, occasional excited pants, and even, once in a while, a low guffaw.”