The open gate

Mr Lamb tells Derry a story. There was a man who was afraid of the world, so he locked himself in his room and never went out. One day a picture fell off the wall and killed him. Derry laughs: the point is that hiding from life does not keep you safe.

Mr Lamb tells him that he has two arms, two legs, eyes and ears, a tongue and a brain. He can get on in life as well as anyone; it depends on how he thinks.

He calls Derry a friend, and warns him: if he lets himself hate people, that will harm him more than acid. Acid burned only his face; hatred would burn deeper, inside.

Derry admits that he wants something that is just his own: to see and hear things, to find out about the world. Mr Lamb says he can find it by waiting, watching and listening.

Mr Lamb's gate is always open, and his house has no curtains: anyone can come in. Derry runs off, promising to come back. Left alone, Mr Lamb tells his bees that people say that, but they never do come back. Behind his cheerful words, he too is lonely.