Summary
The Snow Goose
: This story is set in England in 1930.
Philip Rhayader is a hunchback whose physical deformity has isolated him from other people.
He now lives alone in an abandoned lighthouse on the southeast coast of England.
He is an artist who paints the birds that inhabit the desolate marshland by the sea.
He also provides the birds with food and shelter.
One day a girl named Fritha, who lives in the local village, comes to see him, carrying an injured bird.
She is afraid of Philip, but she has heard that he knows how to take care of wild creatures.
He examines the bird and tells Fritha that it is a Canadian snow goose that must have flown off course.
After their first meeting, Fritha often visits the lighthouse to see the bird.
When the bird flies north in the spring, Fritha's visits stop.
Every October when the snow goose returns Fritha comes to the lighthouse, and when the snow goose leaves, Fritha's visits stop.