Lapland's summer is the most comfortable and pleasant season in this icy country—the sludgy coldness of spring and the depressing chill of autumn pale in comparison to the refreshing summer, and given that those two seasons are often occupied with agriculture, the relaxed enjoyment of summer becomes even more precious. As for winter, all that remains in the world for the farmers of Lapland is an endless white expanse of cold, chilling them to their bones and filling them with resignation.
Like all other inhabitants of Lapland, Roland too has a fondness for the warm and, at times, endless summer days. He loves the autumn, a time of abundant harvest and rejoices at the melting ice of spring. But at present, he has no capacity to express his fondness for the mottled golden glory of sunlight that pours over him.