They hadn’t long to wait before they heard a deep breathing and grunting.  Struggling up the frozen path to the cave came all the animals that God had created.  They advanced in single file, the great and the small mixed up together; the giraffe followed by the hedgehog and the mastodon preceded by the frog.  They came hand-in-hand, forming a chain to pull one another up, treading on each other’s heels, jostling and slipping back on one another.  Those behind kept whispering to those in front to hurry; those in front were too winded to retort.  Their ascent was made more difficult by their generosity, for all save one of them carried presents.  The one who came empty-handed was the stork.  He led the procession looking stately and pompous, as though he were taking the credit for having occasioned the disturbance.  The Man learnt later that that was precisely what he was doing—­taking all the credit.  He had been telling the animals that it was he who had left the strange little creature at the Woman’s side the night before.  Because of this he pretended that it wasn’t necessary for him to bring a present.  There were many who believed him.  There still are.

When they had all climbed safely to the top they gathered in a semi-circle about the Woman, having piled their gifts before her.  In silence they waited; then she parted her hair and showed them the wonder that nestled in her arms.

The Man, standing at her side, addressed them.  “Oh, brothers, I am wise, for I have walked with God; yet have I never seen anything like it.  There was nothing like it in Eden.  I have sent for you that I may ask you what to call it.”

No one answered.  He questioned each in turn, but none of them could advise him.

“We have to find a name for it,” he said crossly; “so let’s sit down and think hard.”

So they sat down in the snow, scratching their heads, and thought hard.  From time to time the Man enquired whether any of them had had an inspiration.  They never had, which was discouraging when you consider what a lot of them were thinking.  In this way at least an hour must have passed.

Things were getting both cold and embarrassing, when the little creature, who was being thought about so hard, showed signs of waking and began to stir in the Woman’s arms.  I ought to have told you that ever since the Man’s home-coming it had been sleeping.  First it kicked out with its bandy legs.  Then it fisted its pudgy hands and yawned.  Then it puckered its wee red face in a manner most alarming and, to the amazement of them all....  The Woman was so amazed that she nearly let it drop.  And yet what it did was perfectly natural; it opened its eyes, like two blue patches of heaven, and blinked at them.  Last of all it emitted a thin, wailing sound that made everybody abominably unhappy.  The crocodile became so emotional that his tears froze in two long icicles.  After a pause the sound was repeated.  All the animals rose on their hind-legs and covered their ears with their paws.