“Facts are fine, fer as they go... but they’re like water bugs skittering atop the water. Legends, now — they go deep down and bring up the heart of a story.”
“This was it! This was the exciting smell that had urged them on. With wild snorts of happiness they buried their noses in the long grass. They bit and tore great mouthfuls- frantically, as if they were afraid it might not last. Oh, the salty goodness of it! Not bitter at all, but juicy-sweet with rain.”
“When they could eat no more, they pawed shallow wells with their hooves for drinking water. Then they rolled in the wiry grass, letting out great whinnies of happiness. They seemed unable to believe that the island was all their own. Not a human anywhere. Only grass. And sea. And the wind.”
″‘But this year it’s going to be different.’
‘Why is it?’
‘Because’, Paul replied, gripping the rib bone in his hand, ‘because I’m old enough to go with the roundup men this year. That’s why. And if there is such a filly, I’m going to get her...‘”