India, April 5 -- Dear Reader,

"I wanted to speak at length about / the happiness of my body and the / delight of my mind, for it was / April, a night, a / full moon and - " says Mary Oliver.

And then she stops. She pauses to pay attention, to listen to the frogs.

And so it has been with me, this first week of April.

In Manali, there are cherry blossoms, spring showers, and limpid light. I find myself slowing down, spending the week looking and listening.

I have been thinking about Hans Christian Andersen, born this month, whose fairy tales I first read as a child and have never quite left behind.

These are not the feel-good, redemptive Cinderella, Snow White, or Red Riding Hood fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm - where the good win...