“What would the world do to him? But he couldn't be gloomy. The otter had escaped and he'd seen Old Blackie again. Sure, the kid would change but childhood was a separate lifetime anyways. It wasn't the just the stifling of the pastoral instinct that dulled the vision. You couldn't endure that intensity day after day. You'd see everything too clearly, and all the mediocrity and stupidity would drive you nuts.”