ye, he
added, "We cannot believe something when the weight of scientific
evidence is against it."

"But when the physical evidence is clearly before you," said
the traveler, "how can you not believe, even if your theories cannot
explain it?"

"Because such an event would be a miracle, and science has
nothing to do with miracles."

"Then perhaps science is the poorer for it," said the
traveler, sitting down to watch his television, which just then
happened to be showing a dove flying silently across the sky.

A Fish Story

The bright sun and the gentle wind had made the little fish
almost bold that summer day, enough so that they were swimming all
over the pond, from their home in the reeds at one end to the rocky
beach at the other. Or at least they swam very near to the rocky
beach--as near as they dared--for all the older fish constantly
warned them to stay away. Some of the dangers were clear enough,
such as the wading birds who stepped into the shallow water, hoping
to pluck out a little fish and swallow him right down, and the
foxes, whose gigantic teeth were too awful even to think about. But
there were other evils that were not so distinct. Hideous and
unimaginable these were, with tales of fish swimming into the area
and never to be heard from again, vague reports of sudden
disappearances, and some hysterical tales, impossible to make sense
of, of leaping shadows, wild splashings, worms flying through the
water, and such like.

The dangers of the rocky beach could not quite be isolated in
the minds of the little fish, so that they felt a general sense of
impending doom whenever they swam more than a few feet from home.
That is why, one day when three little fish met each other suddenly
among the reeds, they were all momentarily startled. But soon they
began talking and relaxed a little. "This is a wonderful pond,"
said one. "It's so big. But I've never been this far away from
home before."

"Me either," said another. "I just hope we're safe here
in these reeds."

"I do too," agreed the third. "You never know where an enemy
may come from."

"And you can't be too careful," added the first.

"By the way," said one, "my name is Swimmy Fish. What's yours?"

"Finny Fish," said another.

"I'm Chirpy Bird," said the third.

Swimmy Fish and Finny Fish gave a start, looked at each other
with surprise and terror, and then swam off in opposite directions
as fast as they could. "Wait!"