Orange Trees of Versailles

At last I built me a small summer house close by a grove of orange trees. It was but little more than a bower, made of the branches of trees. I built a strong fence around it. This was made of two rows of tall stakes with brushwood between. There was no gate in this fence, but only a short ladder, just as at my castle. Here I sometimes stayed two or three nights together. I gathered about two hundred clusters of grapes and hung them up to dry. In due time they made the finest of raisins. I took them down and carried them to my castle. Thus little by little I gathered food for winter. The winters there were not cold. But the rain fell every day, and often all the day. I had just finished my bower, and was beginning to enjoy myself when the rainy season, or winter, began. What could I do but hurry back to my castle and its dry, warm cave? For weeks I could not stir out without getting wet. My store of food began to grow small. One day, in spite of the rain, I went out and killed a goat. The next day I found a very large turtle among the rocks ...»