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The Sad Shepherd by Henry van Dyke. One darkness, out of the valley

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of Gardens, where a film of
newfall and snow lay smooth as feathers on

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the breast of a dove. The
ancient pools of Solomon looked up into the

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night sky with dark, tranquil eyes
wide open and passive, reflecting the crisp

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stars and the small round moon.
The full springs, overflowing on the hill

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side, melted their way through the
field of white in winding channels, and

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along their course the grass was green
even in the dead of winter. But

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the Sad Shepherd walked far above the
friendly valley, in a region where ridges

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of gray rock welted and scarred the
back of the earth, like wounds of

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half forgotten strife and battles long ago. The solitude was forbidding and disquieting.

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The keen air that searched the wanderer
had no pity in it, and the

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myriad glances of the night were curiously
cold. His flock straggled after him.

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The sheep, weather beaten and dejected, followed the path with low heads,

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nodding from side to side, as
if they had traveled far and found little

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pasture. The black, lop eared
goats leaped upon the rocks, restless and

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ravenous, tearing down the tender branches
and leaves of the dwarf oaks and wild

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olives. They reared up against the
twisted trunks and crawled and scrambled along the

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boughs. It was like a company
of gray, downcast friends and a troop

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of merry, little black devils.
Following the sad shepherd afar off. He

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walked, looking on the ground,
paying small heed to them now and again.

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When the sound of pattering feet and
panting breath, and the rustling and

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rending among the copses fell too far
behind, he drew out his shepherd's pipe,

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and blue a strain of music,
shrill and plaintive, quavering and lamenting

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through the hollow night. He waited
while the little troops of gray and black

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scuffled and bounded and trotted near to
him. Then he dropped the pipe into

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its place again, and strode forward, looking on the ground. The fitful,

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shivery wind that rasped the hill top
fluttered the rags of his long mantle

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of Tyrian blue, torn by thorns
and stained by travel, The rich tunic

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of striped silk beneath it was worn
thin, and the girdle about his loins

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had lost all its ornaments of silver
and jewels. His curling hair hung down,

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disheveled under a turban of fine linen
in which the gilt threads were frayed

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and tarnished, and his shoes of
soft leather were broken by the road.

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On his brown fingers, the places
of the vanished rings were still marked in

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white skin. He carried not the
long staff nor the heavy nail studded of

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the shepherd, but a slender stick
of carved cedar, battered and scratched by

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hard usage, and the handle,
which must once have been of precious metal,

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was missing. He was a strange
figure for that lonely place and that

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humble occupation, A branch of faded
beauty from some royal garden, tossed by

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rude winds into the wilderness, a
pleasure craft adrift, buffeted and broken on

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rough seas. But he seemed to
have passed beyond caring. His young face

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was frayed and threadbare as his garments. The splendor of the moonlight flooding the

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wild world meant as little to him
as the hardness of the rugged track which

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he followed. He wrapped his tattered
mantle closer around him and strode ahead,

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looking on the ground. As the
path dropped from the summit of the ridge

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to the valley of mills and passed
among huge broken rocks, three men sprang

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at him from the shadows. He
lifted his stick, but let it fall

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again, and a strange ghost of
a smile twisted his face as they gripped

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him and threw him down. You
are rough beggars, he said. Say

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what you want. You are welcome
to it. Your money dog of a

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courtier, they muttered fiercely, Give
us your golden collar, Herod's hound,

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quick or you die. The quicker
the better, he answered, closing his

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eyes. The bewildered flock of sheep
and goats, gathered in a silent ring,

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stood at gaze while the robbers fumbled
over their master. This is a

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stray dog, said one, He
has lost his collar. There is not

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even the price of a mouthful of
wine on him. Shall we kill him

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and leave him for the vultures?
What have the vultures done for us?

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Said another, that we should feed
them. Let us take his cloak and

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drive off his flock and leave him
to die in his own time. With

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a kick and a curse, they
left him. He opened his eyes and

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lay quiet for a moment with his
twisted smile, watching the stars. You

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creep like snails, he said,
I thought you had marked my time to

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night, but not even that is
given to me for nothing. I must

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pay for all. It seems far
away. Slowly scattering and receding, he

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heard the rustling and bleating of his
frightened flock as the robbers, running and

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shouting, tried to drive them over
the hills. Then he stood up and

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took the shepherd's pipe, a worthless
bit of reed, from the breast of

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his tunic. He blew again,
that plaintive, piercing air, sounding it

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out over the ridges and distant thickets. It seemed to have neither beginning nor

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end, a melancholy, pleading tune
that searched forever after something lost while he

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played, the sheep and the goat
slipping away from their captors by roundabout ways,

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hiding behind the laurel bushes. Following
the dark gullies leaping down the broken

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cliffs came circling back to him,
one after another, and as they came.

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He interrupted his playing now and then
to call them by name. When

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they were nearly all assembled, he
went down swiftly toward the lower valley,

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and they followed him. Panting.
At the last crook of the path on

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the steep hill side, a straggler
came after him along the cliff. He

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looked up and sought outlined against the
sky. Then he sought leap and slip

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and fall beyond the path into a
deep cleft. Little fool, he said,

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fortune is kind to you. You
have escaped for the big trap of

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life. What you are crying for
help? You are still in the trap,

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And I must go down to you, little fool, for I am

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a fool too. But why I
must do it, I know no more

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than you know. He lowered himself
quickly and perilously into the cleft and found

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the creature with its leg broken and
bleeding. It was not a sheep,

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but a young goat. He had
no cloak to wrap it in, but

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he took off his turban and unrolled
it and bound it around the trembling animal.

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Then he climbed back to the path
and strode on at the head of

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his flock, carrying the little black
kid in his arms. There were houses

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in the valley of the mills,
and in some of them lights were burning,

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and the drone of the millstones,
where the women were still grinding,

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came out into the night like the
humming of drowsy bees. As the women

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heard the pattering and bleating of the
flock, they wondered who was passing so

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late. One of them, in
a house where there was no mill but

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many lights, came to the door
and looked out, laughing, her face

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and bosom bare. But the sad
shepherd did not stay. His long sh

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shadow, and the confused mass of
lesser shadows behind him drifted down the white

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moonlight, past the yellow bars of
lamp light that gleamed from the doorways.

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It seemed as if he were bound
to go somewhere and would not delay.

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Yet, with all his haste to
be gone, it was plain that he

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thought little of where he was going, For when he came to the foot

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of the valley where the paths divided, he stood between them, staring vacantly,

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without a desire to turn this way, or that the imperative of choice

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halted him like a barrier. The
balance of his mind hung even because both

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scales were empty. He could act, he could go, for his strength

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was untouched, but he could not
choose, for his will was broken within

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him. The path to the left
went up toward the little town of Bethlehem,

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with huddled roofs and walls in the
silhouette along the double crested hill.

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It was dark and foreboding as a
closed fortress. The sad shepherd looked at

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it with indifferent eyes. There was
nothing there to draw him. The path

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to the right round through rock strewn
valleys toward the dead Sea, but rising

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out of that crumpled wilderness a mile
or two away, the smooth, white

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ribbon of a chariot road lay upon
the flank of a cone shaped mountain and

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curled in loops toward its peak.
There, the great cone was cut squarely

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off, and the leveled summit was
capped by a palace of marble, with

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round towers at the corners and flaring
beacons along the walls, and the glow

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of an immense fire hidden in the
central courtyard painted a false dawn on the

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eastern sky. All down the clean
cut mountain slopes, on terraces and blind

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arches, the lights flashed from lesser
pavilions and pleasure houses. It was the

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secret orchard of Herod and his friends, their trysting place with the spirits of

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mirth and madness. They called it
the mountain of the Little Paradise. Rich

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gardens were there, and the cool
water from the pools of Solomon flashed in

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the fountains, and trees of the
knowledge of good and evil fruited blood red

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and ivory white above them, and
smooth, curving, glistening shapes whispering softly

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of pleasure, lay among the flowers
and glided behind the trees. All this

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was now hidden in the dark.
Only the strange bulk of the mountain,

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a sharp black pyramid, girded and
crowned with fire, loomed across the night,

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a mountain once seen, never to
be forgotten. The sad shepherd remembered

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it well. He looked at it
with the eyes of a child who has

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been in hell. It burned him
from afar. Turning neither to the right

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nor to the left, he walked
without a path, straight out upon the

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plain of Bethlehem, still whitened in
the hollows, and on the sheltered side

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of its rounded hillocks by the veil
of snow. He faced a wide and

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empty world to the west in sleeping
Bethlehem, to the east, in flaring

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Herodium. The life of man was
infinitely far away from him. Even the

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stars seemed to withdraw themselves against the
blue black of the sky. They diminished

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and receded till they were like pin
holes in the vault above him. The

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moon in mid heaven shrank into a
bit of burnished silver, hard and glittering,

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immeasurably remote. The ragged inhospitable ridges
of Toccoa lay stretched in mortal slumber

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along the horizon, and between them
he caught a glimpse of the sunken Lake

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of Death, darkly gleaming in its
deep bed. There was no movement,

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no sound on the plain where he
walked, except the soft padding feet of

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his dumb, obsequious flock. He
felt an endless isolation strike cold to his

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heart, against which he held the
limp body of the wounded kid, wondering

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the while, with a half contempt
for his own foolishness, why he took

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such trouble to save a tiny scrap
of the worthless tissue which is called life.

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Even when a man does not know
or care where he is going.

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If he steps onward, he will
get there in an hour or more.

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Of walking over the plain, the
sad shepherd came to a sheep fold of

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gray stones, with a rude tower
beside it. The fold was full of

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sheep, and at the foot of
the tower a little fire of thorns was

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burning, around which four shepherds were
crouching, wrapped in their thick woolen coats.

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As the stranger approached, they looked
up, and one of them rose

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quickly to his feet, grasping his
knotted club. But when they saw the

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flock that followed the sad shepherd,
they stared at each other and said,

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it is one of us, a
keeper of sheep. But how comes he

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here in this rain? It is
what men wear in king's houses. No,

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said the one who was standing.
It is what they wear when they

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have been thrown out of them.
Look at the rags. He may be

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a thief and a robber with his
stolen flock. Salute him when he comes

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near, said the oldest shepherd.
Are we not four to one? We

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have nothing to fear from a ragged
traveler. Speak him fair. It is

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the will of God, and it
costs nothing peace be with you, brother,

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cried the youngest shepherd. May your
mother and father be blessed. May

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your heart be enlarged, the stranger
answered, and may all your families be

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more blest than mine, For I
have none. A homeless man, said

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the old shepherd has either been robbed
by his fellows or punished by God.

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I do not know which it was, answered the stranger. The end is

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the same as you see by your
speech. You come from Galilee. Where

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are you going? What are you
seeking here? I was going nowhere,

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my masters, But it was cold
on the way there, and my feet

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turned to your fire. Come then, if you are a peaceable man,

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and warm your feet with us.
Heat is a good gift, Divide it,

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and it is not less. But
you shall have bread and salt too,

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if you will. May your hospitality
enrich you. I am your unworthy

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guest, but my flock. Let
your flock shelter by the south wall of

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the fold. There is good picking
there and no wind. Come you and

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sit with us. So they all
sat down by the fire, and the

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sad shepherd ate of their bread but
sparingly, like a man to whom hunger

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brings a need, but no joy
in the satisfying of it, and the

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others were silent for a proper time
out of courtesy. Then the oldest shepherd

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spoke, My name is Zadok,
the son of Eliezer of Bethlehem. I

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am the chief shepherd of the flocks
of the temple, which are before you

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in the fold. These are my
sister's sons, Jotham and Shamma and Nathan.

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Their father, Elkanah, is dead. And but for these I am

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a childless man. My name,
replied the stranger is Amile, the son

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of Jocanin, of the city of
Bessidah by the Sea of Galilee, And

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I am a fatherless man. It
is better to be childless than fatherless,

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said Zadok. Yet it is the
will of God that children should bury their

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fathers. When did the blessed Jocanin
die? I know not whether he be

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dead or alive. It is three
years since I looked upon his face or

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had word of him. You are
in exile, then has he cast you

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off? It was the other way, said Amle, looking on the ground.

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At this, the shepherd Shama,
who had listened with doubt in his

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face, started up in anger.
Pig of a Galilean. He cried,

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despiser of parents, breaker of the
law. When I saw you coming,

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I knew you for something vile.
Why do you darken the night for us

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with your presence? You have reviled
him who begot you away, or we

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stone you? And Myles did not
answer or move. A twisted smile passed

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over his bowed face again, as
he waited to know the Shepherd's will with

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him, even as he had waited
for the robbers. But Zadok lifted his

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hand. Not so hasty, Shama
ben Elkanah, you also break the law

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00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:52,679
by judging a man unheard. The
Rabbis have told us that there is a

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00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:56,519
tradition of the elders, a rule
as wholly as the law itself, that

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00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:00,759
a man may deny his father in
a certain way without sin. It is

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00:17:00,799 --> 00:17:04,000
a strange rule, and it must
be very holy, or it would not

206
00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:08,920
be so strange. But this is
the teaching of the elders. A son

207
00:17:10,039 --> 00:17:14,200
may say of anything for which his
father asks him, a sheep, or

208
00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:17,559
a measure of corn, or a
field, or a purse of silver,

209
00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:22,599
it is corban a gift that I
have vowed unto the Lord. And so

210
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,599
his father shall have no more claim
upon him. Have you, said,

211
00:17:26,759 --> 00:17:30,920
Corban to your father, Amle ben
Jocanin, have you made a vow unto

212
00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:37,119
the lord? I have said,
Korban, answered a Myle, lifting his

213
00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,319
face still shadowed by that strange smile. But it was not the lord who

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00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:47,200
heard my vow. Tell us what
you have done, said the old man

215
00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,960
sternly, For we will neither judge
you nor shelter you unless we hear your

216
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:57,079
story. There is nothing in it, replied Amle indifferently. It is an

217
00:17:57,079 --> 00:18:02,640
old story. But if you are
Cureurius, you shall hear it. Afterward

218
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:07,440
you shall deal with me as you
will. So the shepherds, wrapped in

219
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,359
their warm cloaks, sat listening with
grave faces and watchful, unsearchable eyes,

220
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:18,599
while a mile in his tattered silk, sat by the sinking fire of thorns

221
00:18:18,799 --> 00:18:22,920
and told his tale with a voice
that had no room for hope or fear,

222
00:18:22,799 --> 00:18:30,880
a cool, dead voice that spoke
only of things. Ended two night

223
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:37,799
fire in my father's house. I
was the second son. My brother was

224
00:18:37,839 --> 00:18:42,400
honored and trusted in all things.
He was a prudent man, and profitable

225
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:48,279
to the household. All that he
counseled was done all that he wished he

226
00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:52,480
had. My place was a narrow
one. There was neither honor nor joy

227
00:18:52,519 --> 00:18:57,440
in it, for it was filled
with daily tasks and rebukes. No one

228
00:18:57,519 --> 00:19:03,039
cared for me. My mother sometimes
wept when I was rebuked. Perhaps she

229
00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:07,960
was disappointed in me, but she
had no power to make things better.

230
00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,680
I felt that I was a beast
of burden, fed only in order that

231
00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:17,039
I might be useful. And the
dull life irked me like an ill fitting

232
00:19:17,079 --> 00:19:22,160
harness. There was nothing in it. I went to my father and claimed

233
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,640
my share of the inheritance. He
was rich, he gave it to me.

234
00:19:26,599 --> 00:19:30,799
It did not impoverish him, and
it made me free. I said

235
00:19:30,799 --> 00:19:34,799
to him, Corbaan, and shook
the dust of Bethsida from my feet.

236
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,720
I went out to look for mirth
and love and joy, and all that

237
00:19:40,799 --> 00:19:45,039
is pleasant to the eyes and sweet
to the taste. If a god made

238
00:19:45,079 --> 00:19:48,960
me, thought I, he made
me to live. And the pride of

239
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:52,920
life was strong in my heart and
in my flesh. My vow was offered

240
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,759
to that well known God. I
served him in Jerusalem, in Alexandria,

241
00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:03,480
in Rome. For his altars are
everywhere, and men worship him openly or

242
00:20:03,519 --> 00:20:10,079
in secret. My money and youth
made me welcome to his followers, and

243
00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,640
I spent them both freely, as
if they could never come to an end.

244
00:20:14,839 --> 00:20:18,000
I clothed myself in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously. Every

245
00:20:18,079 --> 00:20:22,720
day. The wine of Cyprus and
the dishes of Egypt and Syria were on

246
00:20:22,839 --> 00:20:27,920
my table. My dwelling was crowded
with merry guests. They came for what

247
00:20:29,079 --> 00:20:33,079
I gave them. Their faces were
hungry, and their soft touch was like

248
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:37,319
the clinging of leeches. To them. I was nothing but money and youth,

249
00:20:38,039 --> 00:20:42,319
no longer a beast of burden,
a beast of pleasure. There was

250
00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:48,039
nothing in it From the richest fare. My heart went away empty, and

251
00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:55,559
after the wildest banquet, my soul
fell drunk and solitary into sleep. Then

252
00:20:55,599 --> 00:21:00,559
I thought, power is better than
pleasure. If a man will feast and

253
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,119
revel, let him do it with
the great They will favor him and raise

254
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:08,440
him up for the service that he
renders them. He will obtain place and

255
00:21:08,519 --> 00:21:14,000
authority in the world, and gain
many friends. So I joined myself to

256
00:21:14,079 --> 00:21:18,839
Herod. When the sad Shepherd spoke
this name, his listeners drew back from

257
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,079
him, as if it were a
defilement to hear it. They spat upon

258
00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:27,240
the ground and cursed the Adumian,
who called himself their king a slave.

259
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:33,759
Jotham cried, a bloody tyrant and
a slave from Idam, a fox,

260
00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:40,079
a vile beast who devours his own
children. God burn him in Gehenna.

261
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:45,240
The old Zadok picked up a stone
and threw it into the darkness, saying,

262
00:21:45,279 --> 00:21:49,079
slowly, I cast the stone upon
the grave of the Idumian, the

263
00:21:49,079 --> 00:21:55,599
blasphemer, the defiler of the temple. God send us soon, the deliverer,

264
00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:00,480
the promised one, the true King
of Israel. And myle made no

265
00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:07,000
sign, but went on with his
story. Herod used me well for his

266
00:22:07,079 --> 00:22:11,880
own purpose. He welcomed me to
his palace and his table, and gave

267
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,000
me a place among his favorites.
He was so much my friend that he

268
00:22:15,039 --> 00:22:19,039
borrowed my money. There were many
of the nobles of Jerusalem with him,

269
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:26,960
sadducees and proselyttes from Rome and Asia, and women from everywhere. The law

270
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:32,519
of Israel was observed in the open
court when the people were watching, but

271
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,480
in the secret feasts there was no
law but the will of Herod. And

272
00:22:36,599 --> 00:22:41,799
many deities were served, but no
God was worshiped there. The captains and

273
00:22:41,839 --> 00:22:45,759
the princes of Rome consorted with the
High Priest and his sons by night,

274
00:22:45,519 --> 00:22:51,559
and there was much coming and going
by hidden ways. Everybody was a borrower

275
00:22:51,799 --> 00:22:56,359
or a lender, a buyer or
a seller of favors. It was a

276
00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,359
house of diligent madness. There was
nothing in it. In the midst of

277
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,839
this whirling life, a great need
of love came upon me, and I

278
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,799
wished to hold some one in my
inmost heart. At a certain place in

279
00:23:08,839 --> 00:23:14,079
the city, within closed doors,
I saw a young slave girl dancing.

280
00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,880
She was about fifteen years old,
thin and supple. She danced like a

281
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:22,640
reed in the wind. But her
eyes were weary as death, and her

282
00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,640
white body was marked with bruises.
She stumbled and the men laughed at her.

283
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,039
She fell, and her mistress beat
her, crying out that she would

284
00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:37,960
fain be rid of such a heavy
footed slave. I paid the price and

285
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:42,400
took her to my dwelling. Her
name was Tamar. She was a daughter

286
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:48,440
of Lebanon. I robed her in
silk embroidered linen. I nourished her with

287
00:23:48,519 --> 00:23:52,240
tender care, so that beauty came
upon her like the blossoming of an almond

288
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:59,559
tree. She was a garden enclosed
breathing spices. Her eyes were like doves

289
00:23:59,559 --> 00:24:03,960
behind her veil, Her lips were
a thread of scarlet, Her neck was

290
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:07,000
a tower of ivory, and her
breasts were as two fawns which fed among

291
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,720
the lilies. She was whiter than
milk, and more rosy than the flower

292
00:24:11,799 --> 00:24:15,400
of the peach, and her dancing
was like the flight of a bird among

293
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:21,759
the branches. So I loved her. She lay in my bosom as a

294
00:24:21,759 --> 00:24:25,519
clear stone that one has bought and
polished and set in fine gold, at

295
00:24:25,519 --> 00:24:30,279
the end of a golden chain.
Never was she glad at my coming or

296
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,640
sorry at my going. Never did
she give me anything except what I took

297
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:40,160
from her. There was nothing in
it. Now, whether Herod knew of

298
00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,960
the jewel that I kept in my
dwelling, I cannot tell. It was

299
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,680
sure that he had his spies in
all the city, and himself walked the

300
00:24:47,759 --> 00:24:52,000
streets by night in a disguise.
On a certain day he sent for me

301
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:56,039
and had me into his secret chamber, professing great love toward me, and

302
00:24:56,119 --> 00:25:00,319
more confidence than in any man that
lived. So I must go to Rome

303
00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:06,680
for him, bearing a sealed letter
and a private message to Caesar. All

304
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,240
my goods would be left safely in
the hands of the King, my friend,

305
00:25:10,559 --> 00:25:14,720
who would reward me double. There
was a certain place of high authority

306
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:18,599
at Jerusalem, which Caesar would gladly
bestow on a Jew who had done him

307
00:25:18,599 --> 00:25:22,680
a service. This mission would commend
me to him. It was a great

308
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:29,480
occasion suited to my powers. Thus
Herod fed me with fair promises, and

309
00:25:29,559 --> 00:25:34,319
I ran his errand there was nothing
in it. I stood before Caesar and

310
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,480
gave him the letter. He read
it and laughed, saying that a prince

311
00:25:38,519 --> 00:25:44,400
with an incurable hunger is a servant
of value to an emperor. Then he

312
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,440
asked me if there was nothing sent
with the letter. I answered that there

313
00:25:48,559 --> 00:25:52,759
was no gift, but a message
for his private ear. He drew me

314
00:25:52,799 --> 00:25:56,079
aside, and I told him that
Herod begged earnestly that his dear son and

315
00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:00,519
a Peter might be sent back in
haste from Rome to Palestine, for the

316
00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:07,240
king had great need of him.
At this Caesar laughed again, to bury

317
00:26:07,319 --> 00:26:14,599
him, I suppose, said he
with his brothers Alexander and Aristobulus. Truly

318
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,759
it is better to be Herod's swine
than his son. Tell the old fox,

319
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,519
he may catch his own prey with
this. He turned from me,

320
00:26:22,799 --> 00:26:27,279
and I withdrew, unrewarded, to
make my way back as best I could

321
00:26:27,319 --> 00:26:32,839
with an empty purse. To Palestine. I had seen the Lord of the

322
00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:37,119
world. There was nothing in it. Selling my rings and bracelets, I

323
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,440
got passage on a trading ship for
Joppa. There I heard that the king

324
00:26:41,519 --> 00:26:45,279
was not in Jerusalem at his palace
of the Upper City, but had gone

325
00:26:45,279 --> 00:26:48,799
with his friends to make Mary for
a month on the mountain of the Little

326
00:26:48,839 --> 00:26:55,160
Paradise, On that hilltop over against
us, where the lights are flaring to

327
00:26:55,279 --> 00:26:59,240
night, in the banquet hall,
where couches are spread for a hundred guests,

328
00:26:59,599 --> 00:27:06,000
I found the listening shepherds spat upon
the ground again, and Jotham muttered,

329
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:11,559
may the worms that devour his flesh
never die. But Zadok whispered,

330
00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:17,079
we wait for the Lord's salvation to
come out of Zion. At this,

331
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:21,480
the sad shepherd, looking with fixed
eyes at the firelet mountain far away,

332
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:26,480
continued his story. The king lay
on his ivory couch, and the sweat

333
00:27:26,519 --> 00:27:30,400
of his disease was heavy upon him, for he was old and his flesh

334
00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:36,160
was corrupted, but his hair and
his beard were dyed and perfumed, and

335
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:40,640
there was a wreath of roses on
his head. The hall was full of

336
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,640
nobles and great men. The sons
of the high priest were there, and

337
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,119
the servants poured their wine in cups
of gold. There was a sound of

338
00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,720
soft music, and all the men
were watching a girl who danced in the

339
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:56,839
middle of the hall, and the
eyes of Herod were fiery, like the

340
00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:03,640
eyes of a fox. Was Tamar. She glistened like the snow on Lebanon,

341
00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:08,599
and the redness of her was ruddier
than a pomegranate, and her dancing

342
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,839
was like the coiling of white serpents. When the dance was ended, her

343
00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:17,920
tendons threw a veil of gauze over
her, and she lay among her cushions,

344
00:28:18,279 --> 00:28:22,039
half covered with flowers, at the
feet of the king. Through the

345
00:28:22,079 --> 00:28:26,240
sound of clapping hands and shouting,
two slaves led me behind the couch of

346
00:28:26,279 --> 00:28:32,759
Herod. His eyes narrowed as they
fell upon me. I told him the

347
00:28:32,759 --> 00:28:37,559
message of Caesar, making it soft, as if it were a word that

348
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,359
suffered him to catch his prey.
He stroked his beard softly, and his

349
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:47,359
look fell on Ta mar, I
have caught it, he murmured, By

350
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:52,319
all the gods, I have always
caught it. And my dear son Auntipeter,

351
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,039
is coming home of his own will
I have lured him. He is

352
00:28:56,160 --> 00:29:02,119
mine. Then a look of madness
crossed his face, and he sprang up

353
00:29:02,279 --> 00:29:07,519
with frothing lips and struck me.
What is this? He cried? A

354
00:29:07,599 --> 00:29:11,279
spy, a servant of my false
son, A traitor in my banquet hall.

355
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:18,119
Who are you? I knelt before
him, protesting that he must know

356
00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:22,599
me, that I was his friend, his messenger, that I had left

357
00:29:22,599 --> 00:29:26,240
all my goods in his hands,
that the girl who had danced for him

358
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,440
was mine. At this his face
changed again, and he fell back on

359
00:29:30,519 --> 00:29:36,680
his couch, shaken with horrible laughter. Yours, he cried, When was

360
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:41,799
she yours? What is yours?
I know you now, poor madman,

361
00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:48,680
you are a mile a crazy shepherd
from Galilee, who troubled us some time

362
00:29:48,839 --> 00:29:53,279
since. Take him away, slaves. He has twenty sheep and twenty goats

363
00:29:53,319 --> 00:29:56,960
among my flocks at the foot of
the mountain. See to it that he

364
00:29:57,039 --> 00:30:03,519
gets them, and drive him away. I fought against the slaves with my

365
00:30:03,599 --> 00:30:07,279
bare hands, but they held me. I called to Tamar, begging her

366
00:30:07,279 --> 00:30:11,920
to have pity on me, to
speak for me, to come with me.

367
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:17,000
She looked up with her eyes like
doves behind her veil, but there

368
00:30:17,079 --> 00:30:21,680
was no knowledge of me in them. She laughed lazily, as if it

369
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:26,039
were a poor comedy, and flung
a broken rose branch in my face.

370
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:30,400
Then the silver cord was loosened within
me, and my heart went out,

371
00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:37,400
and I struggled no more, there
was nothing in it. Afterward, I

372
00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:41,920
found myself on the road with this
flock. I led them past Hebron to

373
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:45,240
the south country, and so by
the veil of Eschkal, and over many

374
00:30:45,359 --> 00:30:49,839
hills beyond the pools of Solomon,
until my feet brought me to your fire.

375
00:30:52,119 --> 00:30:56,359
Here I rest on the way to
nowhere. He sat silent, and

376
00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:02,240
the four shepherds looked at him with
amazement. It is a bitter tale,

377
00:31:02,519 --> 00:31:07,319
said Shama, and you are a
great sinner. I should be a fool

378
00:31:07,359 --> 00:31:11,480
not to know that, answered the
sad shepherd. But the knowledge does me

379
00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:17,119
no good. You must repent,
said Nathan, the youngest shepherd, in

380
00:31:17,119 --> 00:31:22,039
a friendly voice. How can a
man repent? Answered the sad shepherd unless

381
00:31:22,039 --> 00:31:26,480
he has hope. But I am
sorry for everything, and most of all

382
00:31:26,519 --> 00:31:32,440
for living. Would you not live
to kill the fox? Herod, asked

383
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:37,440
Jotham fiercely. Why should I let
him out of the trap? Answered the

384
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:41,519
sad shepherd? Is he not dying
more slowly than I could kill him?

385
00:31:42,119 --> 00:31:48,000
You must have faith in God,
said Zadok, earnestly and gravely. He

386
00:31:48,119 --> 00:31:53,880
is too far away. Then you
must have love for your neighbor. He

387
00:31:55,200 --> 00:32:00,240
is too near. My confidence in
man was like a pool by the wayside.

388
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:04,079
It was shallow, but there was
water in it, and sometimes a

389
00:32:04,119 --> 00:32:07,440
star shown there. Now the feet
of many beasts have trampled through it,

390
00:32:07,839 --> 00:32:12,279
and the jackals have drunken of it, and there is no more water.

391
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,920
It is dry, and the mire
is caked at the bottom. Is there

392
00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:22,359
nothing good in the world. There
is pleasure, but I am sick of

393
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:27,079
it. There is power, but
I hate it. There is wisdom,

394
00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:31,319
but I mistrust it. Life is
a game, and every player is for

395
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:37,759
his own hand. Mine is played. I have nothing to win or lose.

396
00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:44,680
You are young, you have many
years to live. I am old,

397
00:32:45,319 --> 00:32:49,640
yet the days before me are too
many. But you travel the road

398
00:32:50,279 --> 00:32:55,200
you go forward. Do you hope
for nothing? I hope for nothing,

399
00:32:55,519 --> 00:33:00,480
said the sad shepherd. Yet if
one thing should come to me, it

400
00:33:00,599 --> 00:33:04,680
might be the beginning of hope.
If I saw a man or woman a

401
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,480
deed of kindness without a selfish reason, and a proof of love gladly given

402
00:33:08,519 --> 00:33:13,720
for its own sake, only that
I might turn my face toward that light

403
00:33:14,799 --> 00:33:17,759
till that comes. How can I
have faith in God whom I have never

404
00:33:17,799 --> 00:33:22,279
seen. I have seen the world
which He has made, and it brings

405
00:33:22,319 --> 00:33:29,240
me no faith. There is nothing
in it. Amle ben Jochanan, said

406
00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,799
the old man sternly. You are
a son of Israel, and we have

407
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:37,599
had compassion on you according to the
law. But you are an apostate,

408
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:42,880
an unbeliever, and we can have
no more fellowship with you, lest a

409
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:49,359
curse come upon us. The company
of the desperate brings misfortune. Go your

410
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:54,680
way and depart from us, for
our way is not yours. So the

411
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:59,640
sad shepherd thanked them for their entertainment, and took the little kid again in

412
00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:04,160
his own arms, and went into
the night, calling his flock. But

413
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,679
the youngest shepherd, Nathan, followed
him a few steps and said, there

414
00:34:07,719 --> 00:34:10,880
is a broken field at the foot
of the hill. It is old and

415
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:15,199
small, but you may find shelter
there for your flock, where the wind

416
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:19,760
will not shake you. Go your
way with God, brother, and see

417
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:24,519
better days. Then a Mile went
a little way down the hill and sheltered

418
00:34:24,519 --> 00:34:29,880
his flock in a corner of the
crumbling walls. He lay among the sheep

419
00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,599
and the goats, with his face
upon his folded arms. And whether the

420
00:34:32,639 --> 00:34:38,400
time passed slowly or swiftly, he
did not know, for he slept he

421
00:34:38,519 --> 00:34:44,639
waked as Nathan came, running and
stumbling across the scattered stones. We have

422
00:34:44,679 --> 00:34:47,639
seen a vision, he cried,
A wonderful vision of angels. Did you

423
00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:52,920
not hear them? They sang loudly, of the Hope of Israel. We

424
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:57,039
are going to Bethlehem to see this
thing which has come to pass. Come

425
00:34:57,119 --> 00:35:01,199
you and keep watch over our sheep
while we are gone. Of angels.

426
00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:05,960
I have seen and heard nothing,
said a Mile, But I will guard

427
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,360
your flock with mine, since I
am in debt to you for bread and

428
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:14,360
fire. So he brought the kid
in his arms, and the weary flock

429
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,960
straggling after him, to the south
wall of the great Fold again and sat

430
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,039
there by the embers at the foot
of the tower, while the others were

431
00:35:22,079 --> 00:35:25,679
away. The moon rested like a
ball on the edge of the western hills

432
00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:30,480
and rolled behind them. The stars
faded in the east, and the fires

433
00:35:30,519 --> 00:35:35,559
went out. On the mountain of
the little Paradise. Over the hills of

434
00:35:35,639 --> 00:35:39,480
Moab, a great flood of dawn
rose slowly, and arrows of red shot

435
00:35:39,559 --> 00:35:45,599
far up before the sunrise. The
shepherds returned full of joy and told what

436
00:35:45,679 --> 00:35:50,159
they had seen. It was even
as the angel said unto us, said

437
00:35:50,159 --> 00:35:53,119
Shama, and it must be true. The King of Israel has come.

438
00:35:53,559 --> 00:36:00,199
The faithful shall be blessed. Herod
shall fall, cried Jotham, lifting his

439
00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:07,400
clenched fist toward the dark peaked mountain
burn black Adoumian in the bottomless pit where

440
00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:13,880
the fire is not quenched, Zadok
spoke more quietly. We found the new

441
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,039
born child of whom the angels told
us, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying

442
00:36:17,079 --> 00:36:22,320
in a manger. The ways of
God are wonderful. His salvation comes out

443
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:28,960
of darkness, and we trust in
the promised deliverance. But you a mild

444
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:34,519
ben jochanan, except you believe you
shall not see it yet. Since you

445
00:36:34,559 --> 00:36:37,119
have kept our flocks faithfully, and
because of the joy that has come to

446
00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:40,960
us, I give you this piece
of silver to help you on your way.

447
00:36:43,079 --> 00:36:45,400
But Nathan came close to the sad
Shepherd and touched him on the shoulder

448
00:36:45,519 --> 00:36:51,000
with a friendly hand. Go you
also to Bethlehem, he said, in

449
00:36:51,039 --> 00:36:53,880
a low voice, For tis good
to see what we have seen, and

450
00:36:53,960 --> 00:37:00,039
we will keep your flock until you
return. I will go, said a

451
00:37:00,559 --> 00:37:04,840
looking into his face, for I
think you wish me well. But whether

452
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:07,199
I shall see what you have seen, and whether I shall ever return,

453
00:37:07,719 --> 00:37:20,119
I know not. Farewell. Three
dawn, the narrow streets of Bethlehem were

454
00:37:20,159 --> 00:37:22,679
waking to the first stir of life, as the Sad Shepherd came into the

455
00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:28,159
town with the morning and passed through
them like one walking in his sleep.

456
00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:31,800
The courtyard of the Great Khan and
the open rooms around it were crowded with

457
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:37,880
travelers, rousing them from their night's
rest and making ready for the day's journey.

458
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:42,360
In front of the stables half hollowed
in the rock beside the inn,

459
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,760
men were saddling their horses and their
beasts of burden, and there was much

460
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:51,719
noise and confusion. But beyond these, at the end of the line,

461
00:37:52,039 --> 00:37:54,519
there was a deeper grotto in the
rock, which was used only when the

462
00:37:54,599 --> 00:38:00,719
nearer stalls were full. At the
entrance of this an ass was to and

463
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:05,599
a man of middle age stood in
the doorway. The sad shepherd saluted him

464
00:38:05,679 --> 00:38:09,559
and told him his name. I
am Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth,

465
00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:15,199
replied the man. Have you also
seen the angels of whom your brother shepherds

466
00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:20,119
came to tell us? I have
seen no angels, answered am ile,

467
00:38:20,719 --> 00:38:23,719
nor have I any brothers among the
shepherds. But I would fain see what

468
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:30,199
they have seen. It is our
first born son, said Joseph, and

469
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:34,159
the Most High has sent him to
us. He is a marvelous child.

470
00:38:34,679 --> 00:38:38,000
Great things are foretold of him.
You may go in, but quietly,

471
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:44,480
for the child and his mother marry
our sleep. So the sad shepherd went

472
00:38:44,519 --> 00:38:49,360
in quietly. His long shadow entered
before him, for the sunrise was flowing

473
00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:52,599
into the door of the grotto.
It was made clean and put in order,

474
00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:57,360
and a bed of straw was laid
in a corner on the ground.

475
00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:00,920
The child was asleep, but the
young mother was waking, for She had

476
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:05,559
taken him from the manger into her
lap, where her maiden veil of white

477
00:39:05,639 --> 00:39:08,599
was spread to receive him, and
she was singing very softly as she bent

478
00:39:08,639 --> 00:39:15,280
over him in wonder and content.
And Myles saluted her and kneeled down to

479
00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:20,559
look at the child. He saw
nothing different from other young children. The

480
00:39:20,599 --> 00:39:24,159
mother waited for him to speak of
angels, as the other shepherds had done.

481
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:29,559
The sad shepherd did not speak,
but only looked, and as he

482
00:39:29,639 --> 00:39:36,280
looked, his face changed. You
have suffered pain and danger and sorrow for

483
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:40,840
his sake, he said gently.
They are past, she answered, and

484
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:47,000
for his sake I have suffered them
gladly. He is very little and helpless.

485
00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:52,840
You must bear many troubles for his
sake. To care for him is

486
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:58,639
my joy, and to bear him
lightens my burden. He does not know

487
00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:04,800
you, he can do nothing for
you. But I know him. I

488
00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:08,599
have carried him under my heart.
He is my son and my king.

489
00:40:10,639 --> 00:40:15,920
Why do you love him? The
mother looked up at the sad shepherd with

490
00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:21,000
a great reproach in her soft eyes. Then her look grew pitiful as it

491
00:40:21,079 --> 00:40:25,880
rested on his face. You are
a sorrowful man, she said, I

492
00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:31,119
am a wicked man, he answered. She shook her head gently. I

493
00:40:31,199 --> 00:40:36,280
know nothing of that, she said, But you must be very sorrowful,

494
00:40:36,559 --> 00:40:38,800
since you are born of a woman, and yet you ask a mother why

495
00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:44,880
she loves her child. I love
him for love's sake, because God has

496
00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:49,760
given him to me. So the
mother Mary leaned over her little son again

497
00:40:50,079 --> 00:40:52,559
and began to croon a song,
as if she were alone with him.

498
00:40:53,159 --> 00:40:58,920
But Emile was still there, watching
and thinking, and beginning to remember.

499
00:41:00,119 --> 00:41:02,480
It came back to him that there
was a woman in Galilee who had wept

500
00:41:02,519 --> 00:41:07,559
when he was rebuked, whose eyes
had followed him when he was unhappy,

501
00:41:07,119 --> 00:41:12,679
as if she longed to do something
for him, whose voice had broken and

502
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:15,840
dropped silent while she covered her tear
stained face. When he went away,

503
00:41:17,599 --> 00:41:22,679
his thoughts flowed swiftly and silently toward
her and after her, like rapid waves

504
00:41:22,679 --> 00:41:27,559
of light. There was a thought
of her bending over a little child in

505
00:41:27,599 --> 00:41:31,360
her lap, singing softly for pure
joy, and the child was himself.

506
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:36,559
There was a thought of her lifting
a little child to the breast that had

507
00:41:36,559 --> 00:41:39,199
borne him as a burden and a
pain, to nourish him there as a

508
00:41:39,239 --> 00:41:45,599
comfort and a treasure, and the
child was himself. There was a thought

509
00:41:45,639 --> 00:41:49,360
of her watching and tending and guiding
a little child from day to day,

510
00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:53,719
from year to year, putting tender
arms around him, bending over his first

511
00:41:53,760 --> 00:42:00,320
wavering steps, rejoicing in his joys, wiping away the tears from his eyes,

512
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,639
as he had never tried to wipe
her tears away. And the child

513
00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:09,679
was himself. She had done everything
for the child's sake, but what had

514
00:42:09,679 --> 00:42:15,639
the child done for her sake?
And the child was himself. That was

515
00:42:15,719 --> 00:42:21,559
what he had come to, after
the night fire had burned out, after

516
00:42:21,599 --> 00:42:25,519
the darkness had grown thin and melted
in the thoughts that pulsed through it like

517
00:42:25,639 --> 00:42:30,079
rapid waves of light. And that
was where he had come to in the

518
00:42:30,119 --> 00:42:37,840
early morning, himself, a child
in his mother's arms. Then he arose

519
00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:42,960
and went out of the grotto,
softly, making the threefold sign of reverence,

520
00:42:43,599 --> 00:42:49,039
and the eyes of Mary followed him
with kind looks. Joseph of Nazareth

521
00:42:49,119 --> 00:42:52,880
was still waiting outside the door.
How was it that you did not see

522
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:58,960
the angels? He asked, were
you not with the other shepherds? No,

523
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:02,480
answered, Emma, I was asleep, but I have seen the mother

524
00:43:02,559 --> 00:43:08,679
and the child. Blessed be the
house that holds them. You are strangely

525
00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:15,159
clad for a shepherd, said Joseph. Where do you come from, from

526
00:43:15,159 --> 00:43:19,119
a far country, replied a myle, from a country that you have never

527
00:43:19,239 --> 00:43:24,320
visited. Where are you going now, asked Joseph. I am going home,

528
00:43:24,599 --> 00:43:30,880
answered a Myle, to my mother's
and my father's house in Galilee.

529
00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:36,079
Go in peace, friend, said
Joseph, And the sad shepherd took up

530
00:43:36,119 --> 00:43:42,079
his battered staff and went on his
way, rejoicing. And of the sad

531
00:43:42,119 --> 00:43:45,280
Shepherd, A Christmas story by Henry
van Dyke,