THEMANANDTHEMOUNTAIN
Hewassuchalarge，strongmanthat，whenhefirstsetfootinthelittleparallelogramIcalledmygarden，itseemedtoshrinktohalfitssizeandbecomepreposterous。ButInoticedatthesametimethathewasholdingintheopenpalmofhishugehandtherootsofaviolet，withsuchinfinitetendernessanddelicacythatIwouldhaveengagedhimasmygardeneronthespot。Butthiscouldnotbe，ashewasalreadytheproudproprietorofamarket-
gardenandnurseryontheoutskirtsofthesuburbanCaliforniantownwhereIlived。Hewould，however，comefortwodaysintheweek，stockandlookaftermygarden，andimparttomyurbanintellectsuchhorticulturalhintsaswerenecessary。Hisnamewas\"Rutli，\"whichIpresumedtobeGerman，butwhichmyneighborsrenderedas\"Rootleigh，\"possiblyfromsomevagueconnectionwithhisoccupation。HisownknowledgeofEnglishwasoralandphonetic。IhaveadelightfulrecollectionofabillofhisinwhichIwaschargedfor\"fioletz，\"withthevagueadditionof\"mainecains。\"Subsequentexplanationprovedittobe\"manykinds。\"
Nevertheless，mylittlegardenbourgeonedandblossomedunderhislarge，protectinghand。Ibecameaccustomedtowalkaroundhisfeetrespectfullywhentheyblockedthetinypaths，andtoexpectthetotaleclipseofthatgarden-bedonwhichheworked，byhishugebulk。Forthetiniestandmostreluctantrootletseemedtorespondtohiscaressingpaternaltouch；itwasaprettysighttoseehishugefingerstyingupsomeslenderstalktoitsstickwiththesmallestthread，andhehadareverentwayoflayingabulborseedintheground，andthengentlyshapingandsmoothingasmallmoundoverit，whichmadethelittleinscriptiononthestickabovemorelikeanaffectingepitaphthanever。Muchofthisgentlenessmayhavebeenthatapologyforhisgreatstrength，commonwithlargemen；buthisfacewasdistinctlyamiable，andhisverylightblueeyeswereattimeswistfulanddoglikeintheirkindliness。I
wassoontolearn，however，thatplacabilitywasnotentirelyhisnature。