Seven Men in a Boat at Night

There were five men in a boat which was rowed by two sailors. One man lay on his back, looked at the stars and thought; how very slowly we are going. Another man looked at the coast and watched the lights of a car going along the road. The third man looked down into the sea and wondered how deep it was; he put his hand in the water and thought it was no cooler than it had been an hour ago. The fourth man looked at the first man and thought that he was very foolish. The fifth man closed his eyes, yawned, and thought of nothing at all.

The two sailors looked at the five men. One said to the other; “It’s going to be fine tomorrow,” but the other did not answer. He was thinking that his muscles were very tired and that it would be good to get home.