Chapter IV

Again they flew. It was all so nice. Above, the sky so blue; beneath, the water still bluer. They flew over a steep rocky shore.

"Will we really fly across the sea?" asked Verotchka.

"Yes. But you must sit still and hold me tight," said Lady Bug.

At first, Verotchka was afraid, but after a while she wasn't. There was nothing but sky and sea. On the sea sailed ships like huge birds with white wings. The little boats looked like flies.

Everything was lovely--so nice. Way yonder was the shore, low, yellow, sandy. It was the mouth of some huge river and near it gleamed a city all white, as if built of sugar. Still beyond, one saw a dead desert, where stood the Pyramids. Lady Bug descended upon the bank of the river. Upon it grew tall Papyrus and among them were Lilies, wonderful, delicate.

"Your home is very lovely," said Verotchka to the Lilies. "Does winter never come here to you?"

"What is winter?" asked the Lilies, wonderingly.

"Winter is the time snow falls," said Verotchka.

"And what is snow?" asked the Lilies.

The Lilies even laughed at Verotchka. They thought the little northern girl was making fun of them. It is true that every fall huge flocks of birds from the North visited them and told them about the winter. But these birds had never really seen winter. They were only repeating what they had heard and Verotchka could not believe that there was no winter, for that meant no need of warm coats or warm shoes.

They flew further. Verotchka wondered no longer at the blue sea, the mountains, the sun-kissed desert and the Hyacinths.

"I'm too warm," complained Verotchka. "You know, Lady Bug, I don't think it's nice to have summer all the time."

"It all depends upon what one is accustomed to," said Lady Bug.

They flew towards high mountains, the tops of which were always white with snow. There it wasn't so warm. Beyond the mountains, stretched deep, dark forests. Under the forest trees, it was dark, for the rays of the sun never penetrated beyond the thick tree tops. Monkeys swung from bough to bough. The woods were full of birds--green, yellow, blue. But the most wonderful of all were the flowers growing directly from the tree trunks. There were flowers like fire, flowers of all colors, flowers that looked like birds and butterflies. The whole forest seemed to blaze with many-colored living fires.

"These are Orchids," explained Lady Bug.

Here it was all a tangle. It was impossible to walk.

They flew further. Beneath them, a huge river spread between green banks. Lady Bug alighted upon a huge white flower that grew in the water. Verotchka had never before seen a flower so large as this.

"This is a holy flower," explained Lady Bug. "It is called 'Lotus.'"