Part I: Chapter 6, The Sweet Spring Summary and Analysis

The small hills behind the villa hold the most interest for Gerald. Gerald and Roger explore and study the affect of spring on the insects and animals around them. One day while lying in wait for a swallow-tail butterfly, Gerald discovers a turtle leaving its underground hibernation habitat to bask in the new spring sun. A succession of turtles follow suit. Soon the hills are swarming with tortoises. They are so plentiful one day Gerald captures and releases thirty-five specimens. Gerald begins to track a very large female he calls Madame Cyclops due to her missing eye. One day Gerald watches curiously as she digs a hole. To Gerald's delight, once her feat is completed, Madame Cyclops commences to lay nine eggs in her ditch. She then covers them with soil...