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Speaker 1: The Sad Shepherd by Henry van Dyke. One darkness, out

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of the valley of Gardens, where a film of newfall

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and snow lay smooth as feathers on the breast of

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a dove. The ancient pools of Solomon looked up into

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

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reflecting the crisp stars and the small round moon. The

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full springs, overflowing on the hill side, melted their way

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through the field of white in winding channels, and along

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their course the grass was green even in the dead

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of winter. But the Sad Shepherd walked far above the

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friendly valley, in a region where ridges of gray rock

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welted and scarred the back of the earth, like wounds

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of half forgotten strife and battles long ago. The solitude

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was forbidding and disquieting. The keen air that searched the

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wanderer had no pity in it, and the myriad glances

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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

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low heads, nodding from side to side, as if they

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had traveled far and found little pasture. The black, lop

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eared goats leaped upon the rocks, restless and ravenous, tearing

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down the tender branches and leaves of the dwarf oaks

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and wild olives. They reared up against the twisted trunks

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and crawled and scrambled along the boughs. It was like

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a company of gray, downcast friends and a troop of merry,

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

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looking on the ground, paying small heed to them now

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and again. When the sound of pattering feet and panting breath,

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and the rustling and rending among the copses fell too

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far behind, he drew out his shepherd's pipe, and blue

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

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through the hollow night. He waited while the little troops

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of gray and black scuffled and bounded and trotted near

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to him. Then he dropped the pipe into its place again,

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and strode forward, looking on the ground. The fitful, shivery

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wind that rasped the hill top fluttered the rags of

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his long mantle of Tyrian blue, torn by thorns and

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stained by travel, The rich tunic of striped silk beneath

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it was worn thin, and the girdle about his loins

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had lost all its ornaments of silver and jewels. His

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curling hair hung down, disheveled under a turban of fine

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linen in which the gilt threads were frayed and tarnished,

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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

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were still marked in white skin. He carried not the

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long staff nor the heavy nail studded of the shepherd,

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but a slender stick of carved cedar, battered and scratched

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by hard usage, and the handle, which must once have

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been of precious metal, was missing. He was a strange

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figure for that lonely place and that humble occupation, A

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branch of faded beauty from some royal garden, tossed by

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rude winds into the wilderness, a pleasure craft adrift, buffeted

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and broken on rough seas. But he seemed to have

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passed beyond caring. His young face was frayed and threadbare

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as his garments. The splendor of the moonlight flooding the

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wild world meant as little to him as the hardness

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of the rugged track which he followed. He wrapped his

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tattered mantle closer around him and strode ahead, looking on

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the ground. As the path dropped from the summit of

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the ridge to the valley of mills and passed among

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huge broken rocks, three men sprang at him from the shadows.

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He lifted his stick, but let it fall again, and

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a strange ghost of a smile twisted his face as

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they gripped him and threw him down. You are rough beggars,

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he said. Say what you want. You are welcome to it.

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Your money dog of a courtier, they muttered fiercely, Give

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us your golden collar, Herod's hound, quick or you die.

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The quicker the better, he answered, closing his eyes. The

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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.

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This is a stray dog, said one, He has lost

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his collar. There is not even the price of a

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mouthful of wine on him. Shall we kill him and

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leave him for the vultures? What have the vultures done

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for us? Said another, that we should feed them. Let

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us take his cloak and drive off his flock and

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leave him to die in his own time. With a

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

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eyes and lay quiet for a moment with his twisted smile,

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watching the stars. You creep like snails, he said, I

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thought you had marked my time to night, but not

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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,

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he heard the rustling and bleating of his frightened flock

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as the robbers, running and shouting, tried to drive them

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over the hills. Then he stood up and took the

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

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of his tunic. He blew again, that plaintive, piercing air,

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sounding it out over the ridges and distant thickets. It

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seemed to have neither beginning nor end, a melancholy, pleading

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tune that searched forever after something lost while he played,

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the sheep and the goat slipping away from their captors

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by roundabout ways, hiding behind the laurel bushes. Following the

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dark gullies leaping down the broken cliffs came circling back

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to him, one after another, and as they came. He

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

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When they were nearly all assembled, he went down swiftly

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toward the lower valley, and they followed him. Panting. At

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the last crook of the path on the steep hill side,

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a straggler came after him along the cliff. He looked

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up and sought outlined against the sky. Then he sought

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leap and slip and fall beyond the path into a

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deep cleft. Little fool, he said, fortune is kind to you.

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You have escaped for the big trap of life. What

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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

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I am a fool too. But why I must do it,

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I know no more than you know. He lowered himself

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quickly and perilously into the cleft and found the creature

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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

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it in, but he took off his turban and unrolled

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it and bound it around the trembling animal. Then he

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climbed back to the path and strode on at the

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head of his flock, carrying the little black kid in

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his arms. There were houses in the valley of the mills,

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and in some of them lights were burning, and the

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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.

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As the women heard the pattering and bleating of the flock,

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they wondered who was passing so late. One of them,

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in a house where there was no mill but many lights,

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

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and bosom bare. But the sad shepherd did not stay.

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His long sh shadow, and the confused mass of lesser

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shadows behind him drifted down the white moonlight, past the

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yellow bars of lamp light that gleamed from the doorways.

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It seemed as if he were bound to go somewhere

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and would not delay. Yet, with all his haste to

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be gone, it was plain that he thought little of

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where he was going, For when he came to the

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foot of the valley where the paths divided, he stood

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between them, staring vacantly, without a desire to turn this way,

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or that the imperative of choice halted him like a barrier.

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The balance of his mind hung even because both scales

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

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strength was untouched, but he could not choose, for his

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will was broken within him. The path to the left

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went up toward the little town of Bethlehem, with huddled

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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

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sad shepherd looked at it with indifferent eyes. There was

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nothing there to draw him. The path to the right

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round through rock strewn valleys toward the dead Sea, but

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rising out of that crumpled wilderness a mile or two away,

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the smooth, white ribbon of a chariot road lay upon

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the flank of a cone shaped mountain and curled in

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

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squarely off, and the leveled summit was capped by a

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palace of marble, with round towers at the corners and

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flaring beacons along the walls, and the glow of an

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immense fire hidden in the central courtyard painted a false

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dawn on the eastern sky. All down the clean cut

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mountain slopes, on terraces and blind arches, the lights flashed

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from lesser pavilions and pleasure houses. It was the secret

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orchard of Herod and his friends, their trysting place with

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the spirits of mirth and madness. They called it the

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mountain of the Little Paradise. Rich gardens were there, and

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the cool water from the pools of Solomon flashed in

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the fountains, and trees of the knowledge of good and

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evil fruited blood red and ivory white above them, and smooth, curving,

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glistening shapes whispering softly of pleasure, lay among the flowers

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and glided behind the trees. All this was now hidden

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in the dark. Only the strange bulk of the mountain,

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a sharp black pyramid, girded and crowned with fire, loomed

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across the night, a mountain once seen, never to be forgotten.

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The sad shepherd remembered it well. He looked at it

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with the eyes of a child who has been in hell.

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It burned him from afar. Turning neither to the right

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

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out upon the plain of Bethlehem, still whitened in the hollows,

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and on the sheltered side of its rounded hillocks by

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the veil of snow. He faced a wide and empty

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

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in flaring Herodium. The life of man was infinitely far

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away from him. Even the stars seemed to withdraw themselves

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against the blue black of the sky. They diminished and

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receded till they were like pin holes in the vault

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above him. The moon in mid heaven shrank into a

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bit of burnished silver, hard and glittering, immeasurably remote. The

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ragged inhospitable ridges of Toccoa lay stretched in mortal slumber

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along the horizon, and between them he caught a glimpse

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of the sunken Lake of Death, darkly gleaming in its

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deep bed. There was no movement, no sound on the

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plain where he walked, except the soft padding feet of

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

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cold to his heart, against which he held the limp

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body of the wounded kid, wondering the while, with a

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half contempt for his own foolishness, why he took such

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trouble to save a tiny scrap of the worthless tissue

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which is called life. Even when a man does not

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know or care where he is going. If he steps onward,

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he will get there in an hour or more. Of

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walking over the plain, the sad shepherd came to a

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sheep fold of gray stones, with a rude tower beside it.

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The fold was full of sheep, and at the foot

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of the tower a little fire of thorns was burning,

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around which four shepherds were crouching, wrapped in their thick

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woolen coats. As the stranger approached, they looked up, and

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one of them rose quickly to his feet, grasping his

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knotted club. But when they saw the flock that followed

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the sad shepherd, they stared at each other and said,

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it is one of us, a keeper of sheep. But

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how comes he here in this rain? It is what

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men wear in king's houses. No, said the one who

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was standing. It is what they wear when they have

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been thrown out of them. Look at the rags. He

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may be a thief and a robber with his stolen flock.

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Salute him when he comes near, said the oldest shepherd.

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Are we not four to one? We have nothing to

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fear from a ragged traveler. Speak him fair. It is

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the will of God, and it costs nothing peace be

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with you, brother, cried the youngest shepherd. May your mother

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and father be blessed. May your heart be enlarged, the

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stranger answered, and may all your families be more blest

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

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the old shepherd has either been robbed by his fellows

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or punished by God. I do not know which it was,

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answered the stranger. The end is the same as you

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see by your speech. You come from Galilee. Where are

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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,

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and my feet turned to your fire. Come then, if

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you are a peaceable man, and warm your feet with us.

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Heat is a good gift, Divide it, and it is

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

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

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your unworthy guest, but my flock. Let your flock shelter

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by the south wall of the fold. There is good

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picking there and no wind. Come you and sit with us.

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So they all sat down by the fire, and the

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sad shepherd ate of their bread but sparingly, like a

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man to whom hunger brings a need, but no joy

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in the satisfying of it, and the others were silent

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for a proper time out of courtesy. Then the oldest

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shepherd spoke, My name is Zadok, the son of Eliezer

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of Bethlehem. I am the chief shepherd of the flocks

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of the temple, which are before you in the fold.

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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

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

241
00:15:26,159 --> 00:15:29,799
the son of Jocanin, of the city of Bessidah by

242
00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,879
the Sea of Galilee, And I am a fatherless man.

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It is better to be childless than fatherless, said Zadok.

244
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Yet it is the will of God that children should

245
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bury their fathers. When did the blessed Jocanin die? I

246
00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:48,519
know not whether he be dead or alive. It is

247
00:15:48,559 --> 00:15:50,879
three years since I looked upon his face or had

248
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word of him. You are in exile, then has he

249
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,799
cast you off? It was the other way, said Amle,

250
00:16:00,399 --> 00:16:05,200
looking on the ground. At this, the shepherd Shama, who

251
00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,559
had listened with doubt in his face, started up in anger.

252
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Pig of a Galilean. He cried, despiser of parents, breaker

253
00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,360
of the law. When I saw you coming, I knew

254
00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,360
you for something vile. Why do you darken the night

255
00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,559
for us with your presence? You have reviled him who

256
00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:29,000
begot you away, or we stone you? And Myles did

257
00:16:29,039 --> 00:16:33,120
not answer or move. A twisted smile passed over his

258
00:16:33,279 --> 00:16:36,360
bowed face again, as he waited to know the Shepherd's

259
00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,320
will with him, even as he had waited for the robbers.

260
00:16:39,919 --> 00:16:46,000
But Zadok lifted his hand. Not so hasty, Shama ben Elkanah,

261
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,480
you also break the law by judging a man unheard.

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00:16:50,879 --> 00:16:53,120
The Rabbis have told us that there is a tradition

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00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,879
of the elders, a rule as wholly as the law itself,

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00:16:57,440 --> 00:16:59,480
that a man may deny his father in a certain

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00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,240
way without sin. It is a strange rule, and it

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00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,119
must be very holy, or it would not be so strange.

267
00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,920
But this is the teaching of the elders. A son

268
00:17:10,039 --> 00:17:12,799
may say of anything for which his father asks him,

269
00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:16,119
a sheep, or a measure of corn, or a field,

270
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:20,039
or a purse of silver, it is corban a gift

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00:17:20,039 --> 00:17:22,799
that I have vowed unto the Lord. And so his

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00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,599
father shall have no more claim upon him. Have you, said,

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00:17:26,759 --> 00:17:31,240
Corban to your father, Amle ben Jocanin, have you made

274
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a vow unto the lord? I have said, Korban, answered

275
00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,039
a Myle, lifting his face still shadowed by that strange smile.

276
00:17:41,039 --> 00:17:43,079
But it was not the lord who heard my vow.

277
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Tell us what you have done, said the old man sternly,

278
00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:51,319
For we will neither judge you nor shelter you unless

279
00:17:51,319 --> 00:17:55,839
we hear your story. There is nothing in it, replied

280
00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,640
Amle indifferently. It is an old story. But if you

281
00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,200
are Cureurius, you shall hear it. Afterward you shall deal

282
00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:07,440
with me as you will. So the shepherds, wrapped in

283
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,039
their warm cloaks, sat listening with grave faces and watchful,

284
00:18:11,319 --> 00:18:16,920
unsearchable eyes, while a mile in his tattered silk, sat

285
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:19,839
by the sinking fire of thorns and told his tale

286
00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,920
with a voice that had no room for hope or fear,

287
00:18:23,799 --> 00:18:27,599
a cool, dead voice that spoke only of things. Ended

288
00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:36,400
two night fire in my father's house. I was the

289
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:40,759
second son. My brother was honored and trusted in all things.

290
00:18:41,319 --> 00:18:44,160
He was a prudent man, and profitable to the household.

291
00:18:45,039 --> 00:18:48,160
All that he counseled was done all that he wished

292
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:52,079
he had. My place was a narrow one. There was

293
00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:55,039
neither honor nor joy in it, for it was filled

294
00:18:55,079 --> 00:18:59,200
with daily tasks and rebukes. No one cared for me.

295
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,039
My mother sometimes wept when I was rebuked. Perhaps she

296
00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:07,039
was disappointed in me, but she had no power to

297
00:19:07,079 --> 00:19:10,319
make things better. I felt that I was a beast

298
00:19:10,319 --> 00:19:13,720
of burden, fed only in order that I might be useful.

299
00:19:14,319 --> 00:19:18,160
And the dull life irked me like an ill fitting harness.

300
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,440
There was nothing in it. I went to my father

301
00:19:21,559 --> 00:19:25,119
and claimed my share of the inheritance. He was rich,

302
00:19:25,799 --> 00:19:28,960
he gave it to me. It did not impoverish him,

303
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,839
and it made me free. I said to him, Corbaan,

304
00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:37,319
and shook the dust of Bethsida from my feet. I

305
00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:40,079
went out to look for mirth and love and joy,

306
00:19:40,279 --> 00:19:42,440
and all that is pleasant to the eyes and sweet

307
00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,839
to the taste. If a god made me, thought I,

308
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,240
he made me to live. And the pride of life

309
00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:52,839
was strong in my heart and in my flesh. My

310
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,519
vow was offered to that well known God. I served

311
00:19:56,559 --> 00:20:01,480
him in Jerusalem, in Alexandria, in Rome. For his altars

312
00:20:01,519 --> 00:20:05,119
are everywhere, and men worship him openly or in secret.

313
00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,680
My money and youth made me welcome to his followers,

314
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,559
and I spent them both freely, as if they could

315
00:20:12,599 --> 00:20:16,400
never come to an end. I clothed myself in purple

316
00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,680
and fine linen, and fared sumptuously. Every day. The wine

317
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,640
of Cyprus and the dishes of Egypt and Syria were

318
00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,759
on my table. My dwelling was crowded with merry guests.

319
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,640
They came for what I gave them. Their faces were hungry,

320
00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,359
and their soft touch was like the clinging of leeches.

321
00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:39,119
To them. I was nothing but money and youth, no

322
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:43,160
longer a beast of burden, a beast of pleasure. There

323
00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:47,240
was nothing in it From the richest fare. My heart

324
00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:51,400
went away empty, and after the wildest banquet, my soul

325
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:57,200
fell drunk and solitary into sleep. Then I thought, power

326
00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:00,920
is better than pleasure. If a man will feast and revel,

327
00:21:01,079 --> 00:21:04,039
let him do it with the great They will favor

328
00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:06,480
him and raise him up for the service that he

329
00:21:06,519 --> 00:21:10,599
renders them. He will obtain place and authority in the world,

330
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,480
and gain many friends. So I joined myself to Herod.

331
00:21:15,519 --> 00:21:18,400
When the sad Shepherd spoke this name, his listeners drew

332
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,079
back from him, as if it were a defilement to

333
00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:25,000
hear it. They spat upon the ground and cursed the Adumian,

334
00:21:25,039 --> 00:21:29,960
who called himself their king a slave. Jotham cried, a

335
00:21:30,039 --> 00:21:34,279
bloody tyrant and a slave from Idam, a fox, a

336
00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,319
vile beast who devours his own children. God burn him

337
00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:42,960
in Gehenna. The old Zadok picked up a stone and

338
00:21:43,079 --> 00:21:47,400
threw it into the darkness, saying, slowly, I cast the

339
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:51,440
stone upon the grave of the Idumian, the blasphemer, the

340
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,599
defiler of the temple. God send us soon, the deliverer,

341
00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:01,000
the promised one, the true King of Israel. And myle

342
00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:05,480
made no sign, but went on with his story. Herod

343
00:22:05,559 --> 00:22:09,480
used me well for his own purpose. He welcomed me

344
00:22:09,559 --> 00:22:12,079
to his palace and his table, and gave me a

345
00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:15,640
place among his favorites. He was so much my friend

346
00:22:15,759 --> 00:22:18,400
that he borrowed my money. There were many of the

347
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:23,960
nobles of Jerusalem with him, sadducees and proselyttes from Rome

348
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:28,519
and Asia, and women from everywhere. The law of Israel

349
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,720
was observed in the open court when the people were watching,

350
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,960
but in the secret feasts there was no law but

351
00:22:35,039 --> 00:22:38,319
the will of Herod. And many deities were served, but

352
00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:42,440
no God was worshiped there. The captains and the princes

353
00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:45,200
of Rome consorted with the High Priest and his sons

354
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,240
by night, and there was much coming and going by

355
00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:53,079
hidden ways. Everybody was a borrower or a lender, a

356
00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,759
buyer or a seller of favors. It was a house

357
00:22:56,759 --> 00:23:00,960
of diligent madness. There was nothing in it. In the

358
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,480
midst of this whirling life, a great need of love

359
00:23:03,559 --> 00:23:06,079
came upon me, and I wished to hold some one

360
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:10,279
in my inmost heart. At a certain place in the city,

361
00:23:10,599 --> 00:23:14,079
within closed doors, I saw a young slave girl dancing.

362
00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:19,039
She was about fifteen years old, thin and supple. She

363
00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:21,759
danced like a reed in the wind. But her eyes

364
00:23:21,799 --> 00:23:24,839
were weary as death, and her white body was marked

365
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,640
with bruises. She stumbled and the men laughed at her.

366
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,559
She fell, and her mistress beat her, crying out that

367
00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:35,319
she would fain be rid of such a heavy footed slave.

368
00:23:36,799 --> 00:23:39,039
I paid the price and took her to my dwelling.

369
00:23:40,599 --> 00:23:44,119
Her name was Tamar. She was a daughter of Lebanon.

370
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,279
I robed her in silk embroidered linen. I nourished her

371
00:23:49,319 --> 00:23:51,839
with tender care, so that beauty came upon her like

372
00:23:51,839 --> 00:23:55,599
the blossoming of an almond tree. She was a garden

373
00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:00,400
enclosed breathing spices. Her eyes were like doves behind her veil,

374
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,960
Her lips were a thread of scarlet, Her neck was

375
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,759
a tower of ivory, and her breasts were as two

376
00:24:06,839 --> 00:24:10,880
fawns which fed among the lilies. She was whiter than milk,

377
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,079
and more rosy than the flower of the peach, and

378
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,400
her dancing was like the flight of a bird among

379
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:20,759
the branches. So I loved her. She lay in my

380
00:24:20,839 --> 00:24:23,640
bosom as a clear stone that one has bought and

381
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:25,960
polished and set in fine gold, at the end of

382
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,759
a golden chain. Never was she glad at my coming

383
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,319
or sorry at my going. Never did she give me

384
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:36,880
anything except what I took from her. There was nothing

385
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,720
in it. Now, whether Herod knew of the jewel that

386
00:24:40,759 --> 00:24:43,960
I kept in my dwelling, I cannot tell. It was

387
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,160
sure that he had his spies in all the city,

388
00:24:46,599 --> 00:24:49,519
and himself walked the streets by night in a disguise.

389
00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,119
On a certain day he sent for me and had

390
00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,640
me into his secret chamber, professing great love toward me,

391
00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,240
and more confidence than in any man that lived. So

392
00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:02,920
I must go to Rome for him, bearing a sealed

393
00:25:03,039 --> 00:25:07,079
letter and a private message to Caesar. All my goods

394
00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:09,240
would be left safely in the hands of the King,

395
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,359
my friend, who would reward me double. There was a

396
00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:16,440
certain place of high authority at Jerusalem, which Caesar would

397
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,119
gladly bestow on a Jew who had done him a service.

398
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,440
This mission would commend me to him. It was a

399
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,960
great occasion suited to my powers. Thus Herod fed me

400
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,960
with fair promises, and I ran his errand there was

401
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,839
nothing in it. I stood before Caesar and gave him

402
00:25:35,839 --> 00:25:39,119
the letter. He read it and laughed, saying that a

403
00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:42,279
prince with an incurable hunger is a servant of value

404
00:25:42,319 --> 00:25:45,400
to an emperor. Then he asked me if there was

405
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,640
nothing sent with the letter. I answered that there was

406
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,359
no gift, but a message for his private ear. He

407
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,799
drew me aside, and I told him that Herod begged

408
00:25:54,799 --> 00:25:58,440
earnestly that his dear son and a Peter might be

409
00:25:58,519 --> 00:26:01,519
sent back in haste from Rome to Palestine, for the

410
00:26:01,599 --> 00:26:05,799
king had great need of him. At this Caesar laughed again,

411
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,599
to bury him, I suppose, said he with his brothers

412
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:15,960
Alexander and Aristobulus. Truly it is better to be Herod's

413
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:20,200
swine than his son. Tell the old fox, he may

414
00:26:20,279 --> 00:26:23,519
catch his own prey with this. He turned from me,

415
00:26:23,799 --> 00:26:27,480
and I withdrew, unrewarded, to make my way back as

416
00:26:27,519 --> 00:26:31,640
best I could with an empty purse. To Palestine. I

417
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,680
had seen the Lord of the world. There was nothing

418
00:26:34,759 --> 00:26:38,839
in it. Selling my rings and bracelets, I got passage

419
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:42,119
on a trading ship for Joppa. There I heard that

420
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:44,519
the king was not in Jerusalem at his palace of

421
00:26:44,559 --> 00:26:47,160
the Upper City, but had gone with his friends to

422
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,519
make Mary for a month on the mountain of the

423
00:26:49,519 --> 00:26:54,240
Little Paradise, On that hilltop over against us, where the

424
00:26:54,279 --> 00:26:57,240
lights are flaring to night, in the banquet hall, where

425
00:26:57,279 --> 00:27:02,079
couches are spread for a hundred guests, I found the

426
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:06,000
listening shepherds spat upon the ground again, and Jotham muttered,

427
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,559
may the worms that devour his flesh never die. But

428
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,400
Zadok whispered, we wait for the Lord's salvation to come

429
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:18,920
out of Zion. At this, the sad shepherd, looking with

430
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,039
fixed eyes at the firelet mountain far away, continued his story.

431
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,480
The king lay on his ivory couch, and the sweat

432
00:27:27,519 --> 00:27:30,079
of his disease was heavy upon him, for he was

433
00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,880
old and his flesh was corrupted, but his hair and

434
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,599
his beard were dyed and perfumed, and there was a

435
00:27:36,599 --> 00:27:40,519
wreath of roses on his head. The hall was full

436
00:27:40,559 --> 00:27:43,319
of nobles and great men. The sons of the high

437
00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:46,440
priest were there, and the servants poured their wine in

438
00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:49,920
cups of gold. There was a sound of soft music,

439
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,519
and all the men were watching a girl who danced

440
00:27:52,559 --> 00:27:54,960
in the middle of the hall, and the eyes of

441
00:27:55,000 --> 00:28:00,960
Herod were fiery, like the eyes of a fox. Was Tamar.

442
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,920
She glistened like the snow on Lebanon, and the redness

443
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,599
of her was ruddier than a pomegranate, and her dancing

444
00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,160
was like the coiling of white serpents. When the dance

445
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,920
was ended, her tendons threw a veil of gauze over her,

446
00:28:16,279 --> 00:28:19,599
and she lay among her cushions, half covered with flowers,

447
00:28:19,839 --> 00:28:23,400
at the feet of the king. Through the sound of

448
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,799
clapping hands and shouting, two slaves led me behind the

449
00:28:26,799 --> 00:28:30,680
couch of Herod. His eyes narrowed as they fell upon me.

450
00:28:32,039 --> 00:28:35,200
I told him the message of Caesar, making it soft,

451
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,359
as if it were a word that suffered him to

452
00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:42,359
catch his prey. He stroked his beard softly, and his

453
00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,480
look fell on Ta mar, I have caught it, he murmured,

454
00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,359
By all the gods, I have always caught it. And

455
00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:54,119
my dear son Auntipeter, is coming home of his own

456
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:59,319
will I have lured him. He is mine. Then a

457
00:28:59,319 --> 00:29:02,119
look of madness crossed his face, and he sprang up

458
00:29:02,279 --> 00:29:06,920
with frothing lips and struck me. What is this? He cried?

459
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:11,240
A spy, a servant of my false son, A traitor

460
00:29:11,279 --> 00:29:16,400
in my banquet hall. Who are you? I knelt before him,

461
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,960
protesting that he must know me, that I was his friend,

462
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,359
his messenger, that I had left all my goods in

463
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,240
his hands, that the girl who had danced for him

464
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,839
was mine. At this his face changed again, and he

465
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:34,799
fell back on his couch, shaken with horrible laughter. Yours,

466
00:29:35,079 --> 00:29:40,599
he cried, When was she yours? What is yours? I

467
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:45,400
know you now, poor madman, you are a mile a

468
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:49,160
crazy shepherd from Galilee, who troubled us some time since.

469
00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,920
Take him away, slaves. He has twenty sheep and twenty

470
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,279
goats among my flocks at the foot of the mountain.

471
00:29:57,079 --> 00:30:00,160
See to it that he gets them, and drive him away.

472
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:04,759
I fought against the slaves with my bare hands, but

473
00:30:04,839 --> 00:30:08,359
they held me. I called to Tamar, begging her to

474
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,519
have pity on me, to speak for me, to come

475
00:30:11,599 --> 00:30:15,240
with me. She looked up with her eyes like doves

476
00:30:15,279 --> 00:30:18,039
behind her veil, but there was no knowledge of me

477
00:30:18,279 --> 00:30:22,000
in them. She laughed lazily, as if it were a

478
00:30:22,039 --> 00:30:26,039
poor comedy, and flung a broken rose branch in my face.

479
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:29,960
Then the silver cord was loosened within me, and my

480
00:30:30,119 --> 00:30:34,319
heart went out, and I struggled no more, there was

481
00:30:34,359 --> 00:30:38,720
nothing in it. Afterward, I found myself on the road

482
00:30:38,799 --> 00:30:42,079
with this flock. I led them past Hebron to the

483
00:30:42,119 --> 00:30:45,640
south country, and so by the veil of Eschkal, and

484
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:49,200
over many hills beyond the pools of Solomon, until my

485
00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:53,480
feet brought me to your fire. Here I rest on

486
00:30:53,559 --> 00:30:57,720
the way to nowhere. He sat silent, and the four

487
00:30:57,759 --> 00:31:02,240
shepherds looked at him with amazement. It is a bitter tale,

488
00:31:02,519 --> 00:31:06,759
said Shama, and you are a great sinner. I should

489
00:31:06,759 --> 00:31:09,759
be a fool not to know that, answered the sad shepherd.

490
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:14,559
But the knowledge does me no good. You must repent,

491
00:31:14,799 --> 00:31:19,640
said Nathan, the youngest shepherd, in a friendly voice. How

492
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:23,119
can a man repent? Answered the sad shepherd unless he

493
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:27,119
has hope. But I am sorry for everything, and most

494
00:31:27,119 --> 00:31:31,039
of all for living. Would you not live to kill

495
00:31:31,039 --> 00:31:35,759
the fox? Herod, asked Jotham fiercely. Why should I let

496
00:31:35,839 --> 00:31:39,119
him out of the trap? Answered the sad shepherd? Is

497
00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,519
he not dying more slowly than I could kill him?

498
00:31:43,119 --> 00:31:47,119
You must have faith in God, said Zadok, earnestly and gravely.

499
00:31:48,759 --> 00:31:52,440
He is too far away. Then you must have love

500
00:31:52,519 --> 00:31:57,880
for your neighbor. He is too near. My confidence in

501
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,240
man was like a pool by the wayside. It was shallow,

502
00:32:01,519 --> 00:32:04,359
but there was water in it, and sometimes a star

503
00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:08,079
shown there. Now the feet of many beasts have trampled

504
00:32:08,119 --> 00:32:11,119
through it, and the jackals have drunken of it, and

505
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,200
there is no more water. It is dry, and the

506
00:32:14,279 --> 00:32:18,440
mire is caked at the bottom. Is there nothing good

507
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:22,240
in the world. There is pleasure, but I am sick

508
00:32:22,279 --> 00:32:26,440
of it. There is power, but I hate it. There

509
00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:30,680
is wisdom, but I mistrust it. Life is a game,

510
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:35,000
and every player is for his own hand. Mine is played.

511
00:32:35,799 --> 00:32:40,319
I have nothing to win or lose. You are young,

512
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:45,519
you have many years to live. I am old, yet

513
00:32:45,519 --> 00:32:49,200
the days before me are too many. But you travel

514
00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:52,960
the road you go forward. Do you hope for nothing?

515
00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,880
I hope for nothing, said the sad shepherd. Yet if

516
00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:01,039
one thing should come to me, it might be the

517
00:33:01,079 --> 00:33:04,559
beginning of hope. If I saw a man or woman

518
00:33:04,599 --> 00:33:07,839
a deed of kindness without a selfish reason, and a

519
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,680
proof of love gladly given for its own sake, only

520
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:15,039
that I might turn my face toward that light till

521
00:33:15,079 --> 00:33:18,240
that comes. How can I have faith in God whom

522
00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:21,599
I have never seen. I have seen the world which

523
00:33:21,599 --> 00:33:24,960
He has made, and it brings me no faith. There

524
00:33:25,039 --> 00:33:29,519
is nothing in it. Amle ben Jochanan, said the old

525
00:33:29,559 --> 00:33:33,599
man sternly. You are a son of Israel, and we

526
00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,319
have had compassion on you according to the law. But

527
00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,720
you are an apostate, an unbeliever, and we can have

528
00:33:40,799 --> 00:33:44,920
no more fellowship with you, lest a curse come upon us.

529
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:49,640
The company of the desperate brings misfortune. Go your way

530
00:33:49,759 --> 00:33:54,160
and depart from us, for our way is not yours.

531
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,240
So the sad shepherd thanked them for their entertainment, and

532
00:33:58,319 --> 00:34:00,880
took the little kid again in his own arms, and

533
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:05,720
went into the night, calling his flock. But the youngest shepherd, Nathan,

534
00:34:05,839 --> 00:34:08,840
followed him a few steps and said, there is a

535
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,400
broken field at the foot of the hill. It is

536
00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:13,960
old and small, but you may find shelter there for

537
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,440
your flock, where the wind will not shake you. Go

538
00:34:17,599 --> 00:34:22,840
your way with God, brother, and see better days. Then

539
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,960
a Mile went a little way down the hill and

540
00:34:25,079 --> 00:34:28,440
sheltered his flock in a corner of the crumbling walls.

541
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:30,760
He lay among the sheep and the goats, with his

542
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:34,159
face upon his folded arms. And whether the time passed

543
00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:38,880
slowly or swiftly, he did not know, for he slept

544
00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:42,159
he waked as Nathan came, running and stumbling across the

545
00:34:42,199 --> 00:34:46,599
scattered stones. We have seen a vision, he cried, A

546
00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:50,079
wonderful vision of angels. Did you not hear them? They

547
00:34:50,119 --> 00:34:53,320
sang loudly, of the Hope of Israel. We are going

548
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:56,079
to Bethlehem to see this thing which has come to pass.

549
00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,159
Come you and keep watch over our sheep while we

550
00:34:59,199 --> 00:35:03,599
are gone. Of angels. I have seen and heard nothing,

551
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:07,119
said a Mile, But I will guard your flock with mine,

552
00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,760
since I am in debt to you for bread and fire.

553
00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:13,719
So he brought the kid in his arms, and the

554
00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:16,920
weary flock straggling after him, to the south wall of

555
00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:19,880
the great Fold again and sat there by the embers

556
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:22,400
at the foot of the tower, while the others were away.

557
00:35:23,599 --> 00:35:25,719
The moon rested like a ball on the edge of

558
00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:29,880
the western hills and rolled behind them. The stars faded

559
00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,199
in the east, and the fires went out. On the

560
00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:36,119
mountain of the little Paradise. Over the hills of Moab,

561
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,760
a great flood of dawn rose slowly, and arrows of

562
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:44,199
red shot far up before the sunrise. The shepherds returned

563
00:35:44,199 --> 00:35:47,639
full of joy and told what they had seen. It

564
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,800
was even as the angel said unto us, said Shama,

565
00:35:51,039 --> 00:35:54,119
and it must be true. The King of Israel has come.

566
00:35:54,559 --> 00:35:59,360
The faithful shall be blessed. Herod shall fall, cried Jotham,

567
00:35:59,639 --> 00:36:03,920
lifting his clenched fist toward the dark peaked mountain burn

568
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:08,039
black Adoumian in the bottomless pit where the fire is

569
00:36:08,079 --> 00:36:13,880
not quenched, Zadok spoke more quietly. We found the new

570
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:16,639
born child of whom the angels told us, wrapped in

571
00:36:16,639 --> 00:36:20,239
swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The ways of

572
00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:24,400
God are wonderful. His salvation comes out of darkness, and

573
00:36:24,519 --> 00:36:28,960
we trust in the promised deliverance. But you a mild

574
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:34,159
ben jochanan, except you believe you shall not see it yet.

575
00:36:34,199 --> 00:36:37,039
Since you have kept our flocks faithfully, and because of

576
00:36:37,079 --> 00:36:39,480
the joy that has come to us, I give you

577
00:36:39,519 --> 00:36:41,960
this piece of silver to help you on your way.

578
00:36:43,079 --> 00:36:45,639
But Nathan came close to the sad Shepherd and touched

579
00:36:45,679 --> 00:36:48,920
him on the shoulder with a friendly hand. Go you

580
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,519
also to Bethlehem, he said, in a low voice, For

581
00:36:52,599 --> 00:36:55,039
tis good to see what we have seen, and we

582
00:36:55,119 --> 00:36:59,360
will keep your flock until you return. I will go,

583
00:36:59,599 --> 00:37:02,840
said a looking into his face, for I think you

584
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:05,760
wish me well. But whether I shall see what you

585
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:11,119
have seen, and whether I shall ever return, I know not. Farewell.

586
00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:20,639
Three dawn, the narrow streets of Bethlehem were waking to

587
00:37:20,679 --> 00:37:23,320
the first stir of life, as the Sad Shepherd came

588
00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:26,039
into the town with the morning and passed through them

589
00:37:26,119 --> 00:37:29,840
like one walking in his sleep. The courtyard of the

590
00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,719
Great Khan and the open rooms around it were crowded

591
00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:36,639
with travelers, rousing them from their night's rest and making

592
00:37:36,679 --> 00:37:40,239
ready for the day's journey. In front of the stables

593
00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:43,239
half hollowed in the rock beside the inn, men were

594
00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:46,360
saddling their horses and their beasts of burden, and there

595
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:50,880
was much noise and confusion. But beyond these, at the

596
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,440
end of the line, there was a deeper grotto in

597
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,360
the rock, which was used only when the nearer stalls

598
00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:59,760
were full. At the entrance of this an ass was

599
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:02,840
to and a man of middle age stood in the doorway.

600
00:38:04,119 --> 00:38:06,760
The sad shepherd saluted him and told him his name.

601
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:12,039
I am Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, replied the man.

602
00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:14,639
Have you also seen the angels of whom your brother

603
00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:19,039
shepherds came to tell us? I have seen no angels,

604
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,840
answered am ile, nor have I any brothers among the shepherds.

605
00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:27,159
But I would fain see what they have seen. It

606
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:30,679
is our first born son, said Joseph, and the Most

607
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,159
High has sent him to us. He is a marvelous child.

608
00:38:34,679 --> 00:38:37,639
Great things are foretold of him. You may go in,

609
00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:41,559
but quietly, for the child and his mother marry our sleep.

610
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:46,760
So the sad shepherd went in quietly. His long shadow

611
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:49,679
entered before him, for the sunrise was flowing into the

612
00:38:49,719 --> 00:38:53,119
door of the grotto. It was made clean and put

613
00:38:53,119 --> 00:38:55,360
in order, and a bed of straw was laid in

614
00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:59,760
a corner on the ground. The child was asleep, but

615
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:02,400
the young mother was waking, for She had taken him

616
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,039
from the manger into her lap, where her maiden veil

617
00:39:05,119 --> 00:39:07,920
of white was spread to receive him, and she was

618
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:10,679
singing very softly as she bent over him in wonder

619
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:15,280
and content. And Myles saluted her and kneeled down to

620
00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:18,800
look at the child. He saw nothing different from other

621
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:22,639
young children. The mother waited for him to speak of angels,

622
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,440
as the other shepherds had done. The sad shepherd did

623
00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:30,400
not speak, but only looked, and as he looked, his

624
00:39:30,519 --> 00:39:36,039
face changed. You have suffered pain and danger and sorrow

625
00:39:36,159 --> 00:39:41,239
for his sake, he said gently. They are past, she answered,

626
00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:45,880
and for his sake I have suffered them gladly. He

627
00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:49,559
is very little and helpless. You must bear many troubles

628
00:39:49,559 --> 00:39:53,400
for his sake. To care for him is my joy,

629
00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:58,360
and to bear him lightens my burden. He does not

630
00:39:58,519 --> 00:40:03,159
know you, he can do nothing for you. But I

631
00:40:03,239 --> 00:40:07,440
know him. I have carried him under my heart. He

632
00:40:07,599 --> 00:40:12,599
is my son and my king. Why do you love him?

633
00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:16,039
The mother looked up at the sad shepherd with a

634
00:40:16,039 --> 00:40:19,880
great reproach in her soft eyes. Then her look grew

635
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:23,880
pitiful as it rested on his face. You are a

636
00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:28,719
sorrowful man, she said, I am a wicked man, he answered.

637
00:40:29,679 --> 00:40:33,079
She shook her head gently. I know nothing of that,

638
00:40:33,519 --> 00:40:36,880
she said, But you must be very sorrowful, since you

639
00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:39,199
are born of a woman, and yet you ask a

640
00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:42,960
mother why she loves her child. I love him for

641
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:47,480
love's sake, because God has given him to me. So

642
00:40:47,559 --> 00:40:50,199
the mother Mary leaned over her little son again and

643
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:52,559
began to croon a song, as if she were alone

644
00:40:52,599 --> 00:40:57,400
with him. But Emile was still there, watching and thinking,

645
00:40:57,679 --> 00:41:01,239
and beginning to remember. It came back to him that

646
00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:03,679
there was a woman in Galilee who had wept when

647
00:41:03,679 --> 00:41:06,840
he was rebuked, whose eyes had followed him when he

648
00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:11,320
was unhappy, as if she longed to do something for him,

649
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:14,719
whose voice had broken and dropped silent while she covered

650
00:41:14,719 --> 00:41:19,119
her tear stained face. When he went away, his thoughts

651
00:41:19,199 --> 00:41:22,760
flowed swiftly and silently toward her and after her, like

652
00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:26,039
rapid waves of light. There was a thought of her

653
00:41:26,079 --> 00:41:29,519
bending over a little child in her lap, singing softly

654
00:41:29,599 --> 00:41:33,639
for pure joy, and the child was himself. There was

655
00:41:33,679 --> 00:41:35,599
a thought of her lifting a little child to the

656
00:41:35,679 --> 00:41:38,320
breast that had borne him as a burden and a pain,

657
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:41,320
to nourish him there as a comfort and a treasure,

658
00:41:42,159 --> 00:41:45,719
and the child was himself. There was a thought of

659
00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:48,679
her watching and tending and guiding a little child from

660
00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:52,239
day to day, from year to year, putting tender arms

661
00:41:52,239 --> 00:41:57,079
around him, bending over his first wavering steps, rejoicing in

662
00:41:57,119 --> 00:42:00,960
his joys, wiping away the tears from his eyes, as

663
00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:03,920
he had never tried to wipe her tears away. And

664
00:42:04,039 --> 00:42:08,800
the child was himself. She had done everything for the

665
00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:12,119
child's sake, but what had the child done for her sake?

666
00:42:13,519 --> 00:42:17,239
And the child was himself. That was what he had

667
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:21,559
come to, after the night fire had burned out, after

668
00:42:21,599 --> 00:42:25,039
the darkness had grown thin and melted in the thoughts

669
00:42:25,079 --> 00:42:29,079
that pulsed through it like rapid waves of light. And

670
00:42:29,159 --> 00:42:33,320
that was where he had come to in the early morning, himself,

671
00:42:34,159 --> 00:42:38,960
a child in his mother's arms. Then he arose and

672
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:42,320
went out of the grotto, softly, making the threefold sign

673
00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:45,440
of reverence, and the eyes of Mary followed him with

674
00:42:45,559 --> 00:42:50,559
kind looks. Joseph of Nazareth was still waiting outside the door.

675
00:42:52,559 --> 00:42:54,760
How was it that you did not see the angels?

676
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:59,920
He asked, were you not with the other shepherds? No, answered, Emma,

677
00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:03,639
I was asleep, but I have seen the mother and

678
00:43:03,679 --> 00:43:09,000
the child. Blessed be the house that holds them. You

679
00:43:09,039 --> 00:43:12,880
are strangely clad for a shepherd, said Joseph. Where do

680
00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:17,199
you come from, from a far country, replied a myle,

681
00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:21,639
from a country that you have never visited. Where are

682
00:43:21,679 --> 00:43:25,920
you going now, asked Joseph. I am going home, answered

683
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:30,880
a Myle, to my mother's and my father's house in Galilee.

684
00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:35,679
Go in peace, friend, said Joseph, And the sad shepherd

685
00:43:35,719 --> 00:43:39,079
took up his battered staff and went on his way, rejoicing.

686
00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:44,679
And of the sad Shepherd, A Christmas story by Henry

687
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:45,280
van Dyke,