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diff --git a/old/40656-8.txt b/old/40656-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 97712b2..0000000 --- a/old/40656-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5459 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Johannes, by Frederik van Eeden - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Little Johannes - -Author: Frederik van Eeden - -Translator: Clara Bell - -Release Date: September 4, 2012 [EBook #40656] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE JOHANNES *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by Internet Archive and -Toronto University) - - - - - -LITTLE JOHANNES - - -_Translated from the Dutch of_ - -_FREDERIK VAN EEDEN_ - -_By CLARA BELL_ - - -_With an Introductory Essay_ - -_by ANDREW LANG_ - - -_LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN_ - -_MDCCCXCV_ - - - - -INTRODUCTION - -LITERARY FAIRY TALES - - -The _Märchen_ or child's story, is a form of literature primevally old, -but with infinite capacity of renewing its youth. Old wives' fables, -tales about a lad and a lass, and a cruel step-mother, about three -adventurous brothers, about friendly or enchanted beasts, about magical -weapons and rings, about giants and cannibals, are the most ancient form -of romantic fiction. The civilised peoples have elaborated these -childlike legends into the chief romantic myths, as of the Ship Argo, -and the sagas of Heracles and Odysseus. Uncivilised races, Ojibbeways, -Eskimo, Samoans, retain the old wives' fables in a form far less -cultivated,--probably far nearer the originals. European peasants keep -them in shapes more akin to the savage than to the Greek forms, and, -finally, men of letters have adopted the _genre_ from popular narrative, -as they have also adopted the Fable. - -_Little Johannes_, here translated from the Dutch of Dr. Frederik van -Eeden, is the latest of these essays, in which the man's fancy -consciously plays with the data and the forms of the child's -imagination. It is not my purpose here to criticise _Little Johannes, an -Allegory of a Poet's Soul_, nor to try to forestall the reader's own -conclusions. One prefers rather to glance at the history of the Fairy -Tale in modern literature. - -It might, of course, be said with truth that the Odyssey, and parts of -most of the world's Epics are literary expansions of the _Märchen_. But -these, we may be confident, were not made of set literary purpose. -Neither Homer, nor any poet of the French _Chansons de Geste_, cried, -'Here is a good plot in a child's legend, let me amplify and ennoble -it.' The real process was probably this: adventures that from time -immemorial had been attributed to the vague heroes of _Märchen_ -gradually clustered round some half divine or heroic name, as of -Heracles or Odysseus, won a way into national traditions, and were -finally sung of by some heroic poet. This slow evolution of romance is -all unlike what occurs when a poet chooses some wild-flower of popular -lore, and cultivates it in his garden, when La Fontaine, for example, -selects the Fable; when the anecdote is developed into the _fabliau_ or -the _conte_, when Apuleius makes prize of _Cupid and Psyche_ (a -_Märchen_ of world-wide renown), when Fénelon moralises the fairy tale, -or Madame d'Aulnoy touches it with courtly wit and happy humour, or when -Thackeray burlesques it, with a kindly mockery, or when Dr. Frederik van -Eeden, or Dr. Macdonald, allegorises the nursery narratives. To moralise -the tale in a very ancient fashion: Indian literature was busy to this -end in the Buddhist Jatakas or Birth-stories, and in the _Ocean of the -Stream of Stories_. Mediæval preachers employed old tales as texts and -as illustrations of religious and moral precepts. But the ancient -popular fairy tale, the salt of primitive fancy, the drop of the water -of the Fountain of Youth in modern fiction, began its great invasion of -literature in France, and in the reign of Louis XIV. When the survivors -of the _Précieuses_, when the literary court ladies were some deal weary -of madrigals, maxims, _bouts-rimés_, 'portraits,' and their other -graceful bookish toys, they took to telling each other fairy tales.[1] - -On August 6, 1676, Madame de Sévigné tells her daughter that at -Versailles the ladies _mitonnent,_ or narrate fairy tales, concerning -the Green Isle, and its Princess and her lover, the Prince of Pleasure, -and a flying hall of glass in which the hero and heroine make their -voyages. It is not certain whether these exercises of fancy were based -on memories of the _Pentamerone_, and other semi-literary Italian -collections of Folk-Tales, or whether the witty ladies embroidered on -the data of their own nurses. As early as 1691, Charles Perrault, -inventing a new _genre_ of minor literature, did some Folk-Tales into -verse, and, in 1696, he began to publish his famous _Sleeping Beauty_, -and _Puss in Boots_, in Moetjens's miscellany, printed at the Hague. In -1696 Mlle. L'Héritière put forth a long and highly embroidered fairy -tale, _Les Enchantements de l'Eloquence_, in her _Bizarrures -Ingénieuses_ (Guignard), while Perrault's own collected _Contes de ma -Mère l'Oye_ were given to the world in 1697 (Barbin, Paris). - -The work of Mlle. L'Héritière was thoroughly artificial, while the -immortal stories of Perrault have but a few touches of conscious courtly -wit, and closely adhere to the old nursery versions. Perrault, in fact, -is rather the ancestor of the Grimms and the other scholarly collectors, -than of the literary letters of fairy tales. The Fairy Godmothers of -modern _contes_ play quite a small part in Perrault's works (though a -larger part than in purely popular narrative) compared with their _rôle_ -in Madame d'Aulnoy, and all her successors. Much more truly than la -Comtesse de M---- (Murat), author of _Contes des Fées_(1698), Madame -d'Aulnoy is the true mother of the modern fairy tale, and the true Queen -of the _Cabinet des Fées_.[2] To this witty lady of all work, author of -_Mémoires de la Cour d'Espagne_, and of many novels, a mere hint from -tradition was enough. From such hints she developed her stories, such as -_Le Mouton, Le Nain jaune, Finette Cendron, Le Bon petit Souris_, and -very many others. She invented the modern Court of Fairyland, with its -manners, its fairies--who, once a year, take the forms of animals, its -Queens, its amorous, its cruel, its good, its evil, its odious and its -friendly _fées_; illustrious beings, the counsellors of kings, who are -now treated with religious respect, and now are propitiated with -ribbons, scissors, and sweetmeats. - -The Fairies are as old as the Hathors of Egypt, the Moerae who came to -the birth of Meleager, the Norns of Scandinavian myth. But Madame -d'Aulnoy first developed them into our familiar _fées_ of fairy tale. -Her _contes_ are brilliant little novels, gay, satirical, full of hits -at courts and kings. Yet they have won a way into true popularity: -translated and condensed, they circulate as penny scrap-books, and -furnish themes for pantomime.[3] It is from Madame d'Aulnoy that the -_Rose and the Ring_ of Thackeray derives its illustrious lineage. The -banter is only an exaggeration of her charming manner. It is a pity that -Sainte-Beuve, in his long gallery of portraits, found no space for -Madame d'Aulnoy. The grave Fénelon follows her in his _Rosimond et -Braminte_, by no means the worst effort of the author of _Télémaque_.[4] -From Madame d'Aulnoy, then, descend the many artificial stories of the -_Cabinet des Fées_, and among these the very prolix novel out of which -_Beauty and the Beast_ has been condensed takes a high place. The tales -of the Comte de Caylus have also humour, wit, and a pleasant -invention.[5] - -The artificial fairy tale was in the eighteenth century a regular -literary _genre_, a vehicle, now for satire, now for moralities. The old -courtly method has died out, naturally, but the modern _Märchen_ has -taken a hundred shapes, like its own enchanters. We have Kingsley's -_Water Babies_, a fairy tale much too full of science, and of satire -not very intelligible to children, and not always entertaining to older -people, but rich in tenderness, poetry, and love of nature. We have the -delightful _Rose and the Ring_, full of characters as real to us, -almost, as Captain Costigan, or Becky Sharpe. Angelica is a child's -Blanche Amory; Betsinda is a child's Laura Bell, Bulbo is the Foker of -the nursery, and King Valoroso a potentate never to be thought of -without respectful gratitude. How noble is his blank verse. - - --'He laid his hands on an anointed king, - --Hedzoff! and floored me with a warming pan!' - -Then we have the _Phantastes_ of Dr. Macdonald, which the abundant -mysticism does not spoil, a book of poetic adventure perhaps too -unfamiliar to children. To speak of Andersen is superfluous, of Andersen -so akin in imagination to the primeval popular fancy; so near the -secret of the heart of childhood. The _Tin Soldier,_ the _Ugly Duckling_ -and the rest, are true _Märchen_, and Andersen is the Perrault of the -North, more grave, more tender, if less witty, than the kind Academician -who kept open for children the gardens of the Louvre. Of other modern -_Märchen_, the delightful, inimitable, irresponsible nonsense of _Alice -in Wonderland_ marks it the foremost. There has been, of course, a vast -array of imitative failures: tales where boisterousness does duty for -wit, and cheap sentiment for tenderness, and preaching for that -half-conscious moral motive, which, as Perrault correctly said, does -inform very many of the true primeval _Märchen_. As an inveterate reader -of good fairy tales, I find the annual Christmas harvest of them, in -general, dull, imitative,--_Alice_ is always being imitated,--and, in -brief, impossible. Mere vagaries of absurdity, mere floods of floral -eloquence, do not make a fairy tale. We can never quite recover the old -simplicity, energy, and romance, the qualities which, as Charles Nodier -said, make Hop o' my Thumb, Puss in Boots, and Blue Beard 'the Ulysses, -the Figaro and the Othello of children.' There may possibly be critics -or rather there are certain to be critics, who will deny that the modern -and literary fairy tale is a legitimate _genre_, or a proper theme of -discussion. The Folklorist is not unnaturally jealous of what, in some -degree, looks like Folk-Lore. He apprehends that purely literary stories -may 'win their way,' pruned of their excrescences, 'to the fabulous,' -and may confuse the speculations of later mycologists. There is very -little real danger of this result. I speak, however, not without -sympathy; there was a time when I regarded all _contes_ except _contes -populaires_ as frivolous and vexatious. This, however, is the fanaticism -of pedantry. The French _conteurs_ of the last century, following in -the track of Hop o' my Thumb, made and narrated many pleasing -discoveries, if they also wrote much that was feeble and is faded. To -admit this is but common fairness; literary fairy tales may legitimately -amuse both old and young, though 'it needs heaven-sent moments for this -skill.' The _conteurs_, like every one who does not always stretch the -bow of Apollo till it breaks, had, of course, their severe censors. To -listen to some persons, one might think that gaiety was a crime. You -scribble light verses, and you are solemnly told that this is not high -poetry, told it by worthy creatures whose rhymes could be uncommonly -elevated, if mere owl-like solemnity could make poetry and secure -elevation. You make a fairy tale, and you are told that the incidents -border on the impossible, that analysis of character, and the discussion -of grave social and theological problems are conspicuously absent. The -old _conteurs_ were met by those ponderous objections. Madame d'Aulnoy, -in _Ponce de Léon_, makes one of her characters defend the literary -_Märchen_ in its place. 'I am persuaded that, in spite of serious -critics, there is an art in the simplicity of the stories, and I have -known persons of taste who sometimes found in them an hour's -amusement.... He would be ridiculous who wanted to hear and read nothing -but such legends, and he who should write them in a pompous and inflated -style, would rob them of their proper character, but I am persuaded -that, after some serious occupation, _l'on peut badiner avec_.' 'I -hold,' said Melanie, 'that such stories should be neither trivial nor -bombastic, that they should hold a middle course, rather gay than -serious, not without a shade of moral, above all, they should be offered -as trifles, which the listener alone has a right to put his price upon.' - -This is very just criticism of literary fairy tales, made in an age -when we read of a professional _faiseur des contes des fées vieux et -modernes_. - -_Little Johannes_ is very modern, and, as Juana says in _Ponce de Léon_: - -'Vous y mettrez le prix qu'il vous plaira, mais je ne peux m'empêcher de -dire que celui qui le compose est capable de choses plus importantes, -quand il veut s'en donner la peine.' - -ANDREW LANG. - - -[Footnote 1: Part of what follows I have already stated in a reprint of -_Perrault's Popular Tales_, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1888.] - -[Footnote 2: In forty-one volumes, Paris, 1785-89.] - -[Footnote 3: There are complete English translations of the eighteenth -century. Many of the stories have been retold by Miss M. Wright, in the -_Red_ and _Blue Fairy Books_.] - -[Footnote 4: I am unacquainted with the date of composition of this -story about a Ring more potent than that of Gyges. (It is printed in the -second volume of _Dialogues des Morts_ Paris, 1718).] - -[Footnote 5: From one of these tales by Caylus the author, who but -recently made their acquaintance, finds that he has unconsciously -plagiarised an adventure of Prince Prigio's.] - - - - -I - - -I will tell you something about little Johannes. My tale has much in it -of a fairy story; but it nevertheless all really happened. As soon as -you do not believe it you need read no farther, as it was not written -for you. Also you must never mention the matter to little Johannes if -you should chance to meet him, for that would vex him, and I should get -into trouble for having told you all about it. - -Johannes lived in an old house with a large garden. It was difficult to -find one's way about there, for in the house there were many dark -doorways and staircases, and cupboards, and lumber-lofts, and all about -the garden there were sheds and hen-houses. It was a whole world to -Johannes. He could make long journeys there, and he gave names to all he -discovered. He had named the rooms in the house from the animal world; -the caterpillar-loft, because he kept caterpillars there; the hen-room, -because he had once found a hen there. It had not come in of itself; but -Johannes' mother had set it there to hatch eggs. In the garden he chose -names from plants, preferring those of such products as he thought most -interesting. Thus he had Raspberry Hill, Cherry-tree Wood, and -Strawberry Hollow. Quite at the end of the garden was a place he had -called Paradise, and that, of course, was lovely. There was a large -pool, a lake where white water-lilies floated and the reeds held long -whispered conversations with the wind. On the farther side of it there -were the dunes or sand-hills. Paradise itself was a little grassy meadow -on the bank, shut in by bushes, among which the hemlock grew tall. Here -Johannes would sometimes He in the thick grass, looking between the -swaying reeds at the tops of the sand-hills across the water. On warm -summer evenings he was always to be found there, and would lie for -hours, gazing up, without ever wearying of it. He would think of the -depths of the still, clear water in front of him--how pleasant it must -be there among the water-plants, in that strange twilight; and then -again of the distant, gorgeously coloured clouds which swept across the -sand-downs--what could be behind them? How splendid it would be to be -able to fly over to them! Just as the sun disappeared, the clouds -gathered round an opening so that it looked like the entrance to a -grotto, and in the depths of the cavern gleamed a soft, red glow. That -was what Johannes longed to reach. 'If I could but fly there!' thought -he to himself. 'What can there be beyond? If I could only once, just for -once, get there!' - -But even while he was wishing it the cavern fell asunder in rolling dark -clouds before he could get any nearer. And then it grew cold and damp by -the pool, and he had to go back to his dark little bedroom in the old -house. - -He did not live all alone there; he had his father, who took good care -of him, his dog Presto and the cat Simon. Of course he loved his father -best: but he did not love Presto and Simon so very much less, as a -grown-up man would have done. He told Presto many more secrets than he -ever told his father, and he held Simon in the greatest respect. And no -wonder! Simon was a very big cat with a shining black coat and a bushy -tail. It was easy to see that he was perfectly convinced of his own -importance and wisdom. He was always solemn and dignified, even when he -condescended to play with a rolling cork or to gnaw a stale herring's -head behind a tree. As he watched Presto's flighty behaviour he would -contemptuously blink his green eyes and think: 'Well, well, dogs know no -better!' - -Now you may understand what respect Johannes had for him. But he was on -much more familiar terms with little brown Presto. He was not handsome -nor dignified, but a particularly good-natured and clever little dog, -who never went two yards from Johannes' side, and sat patiently -listening to all his master told him. I need not tell you how dearly -Johannes loved Presto. But he had room in his heart for other things as -well. Do you think it strange that his dark bedroom with the tiny -window-panes filled a large place there? He loved the curtains with the -large-flowered pattern in which he could see faces, and which he had -studied so long when he lay awake in the mornings or when he was sick; -he loved the one picture which hung there, in which stiff figures were -represented in a yet stiffer garden, walking by the side of a tranquil -pond where fountains were spouting as high as the clouds, and white -swans were swimming. But most of all he loved the hanging clock. He -pulled up the weights every day with solemn care, and regarded it as an -indispensable civility to look up at it whenever it struck. This of -course could only be done as long as Johannes remained awake. If by some -neglect the clock ran down Johannes felt quite guilty, and begged its -pardon a dozen times over. You would have laughed, no doubt, if you had -heard him talking to his room. But perhaps you sometimes talk to -yourself; that does not seem to you altogether ridiculous; and Johannes -was perfectly convinced that his hearers had quite understood him, and -he required no answer. Still he secretly thought that he might perhaps -have a reply from the clock or the curtains. - -Johannes had schoolmates, but they were not exactly friends. He played -with them, and plotted tricks with them in school, and robber-games out -of school; still he never felt quite at home but when he was alone with -Presto. Then he never wanted any boys, and was perfectly at his ease and -safe. - -His father was a wise, grave man, who sometimes took Johannes with him -for long walks through the woods and over the sand-hills; but then he -spoke little, and Johannes ran a few steps behind, talking to the -flowers he saw, and the old trees which had always to stay in the same -place, stroking them gently with his little hand on the rough bark. And -the friendly giants rustled their thanks. - -Sometimes his father traced letters in the sand as they went along, one -by one, and Johannes spelt the words they made: and sometimes his father -would stop and tell Johannes the name of some plant or animal. - -And now and then Johannes would ask about what he saw, and heard many -strange things. Indeed, he often asked very silly questions: Why the -world was just as it was, and why the plants and animals must die, and -whether miracles could ever happen. But Johannes' father was a wise man, -and did not tell him all he knew; and this was better for Johannes. - -At night before he went to sleep Johannes always said a long prayer. His -nurse had taught him this. He prayed for his father and for Presto. -Simon did not need it, he thought. He had a long prayer for himself too, -and almost always ended with the wish that just for once a miracle might -happen. And when he had said _Amen_ he would look curiously round the -half-dark room at the figures in the picture, which looked stranger than -ever in the dim twilight, at the door-handle and the clock, wondering -how the miracle would begin. But the clock always ticked in its own old -fashion, and the door-knob did not stir, and it grew darker and darker, -and Johannes fell asleep without any miracle having happened. - -But it would happen some day; of that he was sure. - - - - -II - - -It was a warm evening, and the pool lay perfectly still. The sun, red -and tired with its day's work, seemed to pause for a moment on the edge -of the world, before going down. Its glowing face was reflected, almost -perfect, in the glassy water. The leaves of the beech-tree which -overhung the lake took advantage of the stillness to gaze at themselves -meditatively in the mirror. The solitary heron, standing on one leg -among the broad leaves of the water-lilies, forgot that he had come out -to catch frogs, and looked down his long nose, lost in thought. - -Then Johannes came to the meadow to look into the cloud-cavern. Splash, -dash! the frogs went plump off the bank. The mirror was rippled, the -reflection of the sun was broken up into broad bands, and the -beech-leaves rustled indignantly, for they were not yet tired of looking -at themselves. - -A little old boat lay tied up to the bare roots of the beech-tree. -Johannes was strictly forbidden ever to get into it. Oh! how strong was -the temptation this evening! The clouds were parting into a grand -gateway, through which the sun would sink to rest. Shining ranks of -small clouds gathered on each side like life-guards in golden armour. -The pool glowed back at them, and red rays flashed like arrows between -the water-reeds. - -Johannes very slowly untied the rope that moored the boat to the -beech-root. Oh, to float out there in the midst of that glory! Presto -had already jumped into the boat; and before his master knew what he was -doing, the reeds had pushed it out, and they were drifting away together -towards the setting sun. - -Johannes lay in the bows staring into the heart of the cavern of light. -'Wings!' thought he. 'Oh, for wings now, and I should be there!' - -The sun was gone. The clouds were of fire. The sky in the east was deep -blue. A row of willows grew on the bank. Their tiny silvery leaves -stood motionless in the still air, looking like pale green lace against -the dark background. - -Hark! What was that? A breath flew over the surface of the pool--like a -faint gust of wind making a little groove in the water. It came from the -sand-hills, from the cloud-cavern. When Johannes looked round he saw a -large blue dragon-fly sitting on the edge of the boat. He had never seen -one so large. It settled there, but its wings quivered in a large -circle; it seemed to Johannes that the tips of them made a ring of -light. - -'It must be a glow-worm dragon-fly,' thought he, 'and they are very -seldom seen.' - -But the circle grew wider and wider, and the wings fluttered so fast -that Johannes saw them only as a mist. And by degrees he saw out of the -mist two dark eyes gleaming, and a slender, shining figure in a pale -blue dress sat in the place where the dragon-fly had been. Its fair hair -was crowned with a garland of white convolvulus, and on its shoulders -were gauzy insect-wings glittering like a soap-bubble, with a thousand -colours. - -A shiver of delight tingled through Johannes. Here was a miracle! - -'Will you be my friend?' he whispered. - -It was an odd way of addressing a stranger, but this was not a common -case. And he had a feeling as though he had always known this strange -sky-blue creature. - -'Yes, Johannes!' he heard, and the voice sounded like the rustling of -the sedges in the evening breeze, or the whisper of rain on the leaves -in the wood. - -'What is your name?' asked Johannes. - -'I was born in the bell of a bindweed flower. Call me Windekind.'[1] And -Windekind laughed and looked so kindly into Johannes' eyes that he felt -strangely happy. - -'To-day is my birthday,' Windekind went on, 'I was born close to this -spot. The last rays of the sun and the first beams of the moon are my -father and mother. People in Holland call the sun _she_, but that is not -right. The sun is my father.' - -Johannes made up his mind to call the sun _he_ in school to-morrow. - -'And look! There comes my mother's round shining face. Good-day, -mother! Oh, oh! But she looks very sad!' - -He pointed to the eastern horizon. The moon was rising, broad and bright -in the grey heavens, behind the lace-work of willow-twigs which stood -out black against the silver disc. It really had a melancholy face. - -'Come, come, mother. There is nothing wrong. I can trust him.' - -The fair being fluttered his gauzy wings gleefully, and tapped Johannes -on the cheek with an iris flower he had in his hand. - -'She does not like my having come to talk to you. You are the first, you -see; but I trust you, Johannes. You must never, never mention my name to -any human being, nor speak of me at all. Will you promise me this?' - -'Yes, Windekind,' said Johannes. It was still very strange to him. He -felt happy beyond words, but feared lest his happiness should vanish. -Was he dreaming? By his side, on the seat, lay Presto, sleeping quietly. -His dog's warm breath reassured him. The gnats crept over the surface -of the water and danced in the sultry air, just as usual. Everything -about him was quite clear and real. It must be true. And he felt all the -time that Windekind's trustful look was on him. Then again he heard the -sweet low voice:-- - -'I have often seen you here, Johannes. Do you know where I was? -Sometimes I sat on the sand at the bottom of the pool among the thicket -of water-plants, and looked up at you when you bent over to drink, or to -catch the water-beetles or the efts. But you did not see me. Then again -I would hide near you among the reeds. There I was very comfortable; I -sleep there most times when it is warm, in an empty reed-warbler's nest. -And that is deliciously soft!' - -Windekind rocked himself contentedly on the edge of the boat, hitting at -the gnats with his flower. - -'Now I have come to keep you company. Your life is too dull. We shall be -good friends, and I will tell you a great many things--much better -things than the schoolmaster teaches you. He knows nothing about them. -And if you do not believe me I will let you see and hear for yourself. -I will take you with me.' - -'Oh, Windekind! Dear Windekind! Can you take me with you out there?' -cried Johannes, pointing to the spot where the purple rays of the -vanished sun had streamed out of the golden gate of clouds. The glorious -structure was already fading into grey mist, but the rosy light still -could be seen in the farthest depths. - -Windekind looked at the glow, which tinged his delicate face and fair -hair, and he gently shook his head. - -'Not now, not now. You must not ask too much at once, Johannes. I myself -have never been to my father's home.' - -'I am always at my father's,' said Johannes. 'No; he is not your father. -We are brothers. My father is your father too. But the earth is your -mother and so we are very different. And you were born in a house among -men, and I in a bindweed flower; and that is much better. But we shall -get on very well together nevertheless.' - -Then Windekind sprang lightly into the boat, which did not rock under -his weight, and kissed Johannes on the forehead. - -What a strange change then came over Johannes! Everything about him -seemed different. He saw everything better and more clearly, as he -fancied. He saw the moon look down with a kinder glance, and he saw that -the water-lilies had faces, and gazed at him in pensive amazement. He -now suddenly understood why the gnats danced so merrily up and down, and -round and round each other, touching the water with the tips of their -long legs. He had often wondered and thought about it, but now he -understood it at once. - -He heard too what the reeds whispered to the trees on the bank, softly -complaining that the sun had gone down. - -'Oh! Windekind, thank you, this is glorious. Yes; we shall be very happy -together!' - -'Give me your hand,' said Windekind, spreading his many-coloured wings. -Then he drew Johannes in the boat over the pool through the splashing -leaves which glistened in the moonlight. Here and there a frog was -sitting on a leaf; but he did not now leap into the water when Johannes -came by. He only made a little bow and said, 'Quaak.' Johannes politely -bowed in return; above all, he would not seem ill-bred. - -Then they came to the reeds; they grew so far out into the water that -the whole boat was swallowed up in them without touching the shore. But -Johannes held fast to his leader and they scrambled to land between the -tall stems. It seemed to Johannes that he had grown quite small and -light, but perhaps that was fancy. Still, he could not remember that he -had ever before been able to climb up a sedge. - -'Now, keep your eyes open,' said Windekind, 'and you shall see something -pretty.' - -They walked on among the tall grass and under dark brushwood which here -and there let through a bright narrow streak of moonlight. - -'Did you ever hear the crickets of an evening out on the sand-hills, -Johannes? It is as if they were giving a concert, isn't it? And you can -never find out exactly where the sound comes from. Now they do not sing -for pleasure: the voices come from the crickets' school, where hundreds -of little crickets are learning their lessons. Be quite still, for we -are near them now.' - -Shurr! Shurr! - -The bushes were thinner here, and when Windekind pushed the grass stems -aside with his flower, Johannes saw a beautiful open glade where, among -the fine spiky grass of the down, the crickets were busy reading their -lessons. A great stout cricket was master and teacher. One after another -the pupils skipped up to him with one leap forward and one leap back -again. The cricket who missed his leap had to stand on a toadstool. - -'Now listen, Johannes,' said Windekind; 'you too may perhaps learn -something.' - -Johannes could understand what the little crickets said. But it was not -at all the same as the master at his school taught him. First came -geography: they knew nothing of the quarters of the world. They only -knew twenty-six sand-hills at most, and two ponds. No one could know of -anything beyond, said the master, and what was told of it was mere idle -fancy. - -Then came the botany lesson. They were all very sharp at this, and many -prizes were given, consisting of the youngest and sweetest blades of -grass of various length. But the zoology was what most puzzled Johannes. -The animals were classified as leaping, flying, and creeping. The -crickets could leap and fly, and thus stood at the head of all; next to -them the frogs. Birds were mentioned with every sign of horror, as most -malignant and dangerous creatures. Finally man was spoken of. He was a -huge useless and mischievous being, very low in the scale, as he could -neither leap nor fly; but happily he was very rarely met with. A very -tiny cricket, who had never yet seen a man, had three blows with a reed -for including man among the harmless beasts. - -Johannes had never heard anything like this before. Then the master -called out: 'Silence! Leaping exercise!' And the little crickets -immediately ceased conning their lessons, and began to play leap-frog, -in the cleverest and nimblest way, the big teacher at their head. It was -such a merry sight that Johannes clapped his hands with glee; but at -that sound, the whole school vanished in an instant into the sand-hills, -and the grass plot was as still as death. - -'There, that is your doing, Johannes! You must not behave so roughly. It -is easy enough to see that you were born among men.' - -'I am so sorry! Twill do my best. But it was so funny!' - -'It will be still funnier,' said Windekind. - -They crossed the grass plot and went up the down on the other side. Oof! -it was hard walking in the heavy sand; but as soon as Johannes held on -to the pale-blue robe he flew upwards, lightly and swiftly. Half-way up -there was a rabbit-burrow. The rabbit who lived there was lying with his -head and forepaws over the edge. The wild roses were still in bloom, and -their sweet, delicate fragrance mingled with that of the thyme which -grew on the sand-hill. - -Johannes had often seen rabbits pop into their holes, and had wondered -what the burrows looked like inside, and how they sat there together, -and would they not be stifled? - -So he was very glad when he heard his companion ask the rabbit whether -they might step in. - -'So far as I am concerned, and welcome,' said the rabbit. 'But it most -unfortunately happens that I have this very evening lent my burrow for a -charitable entertainment, and so am not properly master in my own -house.' - -'Dear, dear! Has some disaster occurred?' - -'Oh, yes!' said the rabbit sadly--'a terrible misfortune! It will take -us years to get over it. About a dozen jumps from here, a man's house -has been built, so big, so big! And its men are come to live there with -dogs. Seven members of my family have already perished, and three times -as many holes have been robbed. The mouse family and the mole tribe have -fared no better. Even the toads have suffered. So now we are giving an -entertainment for the benefit of the survivors. Every one does what he -can; I have lent my burrow. One must find something to spare for one's -fellow-creatures.' - -The polite rabbit sighed and passed his long ear over his face with his -right forepaw, as though to wipe a tear from his eye. It was his -pocket-handkerchief. There was a rustling sound in the grass and a fat, -heavy body came shuffling up to the hole. - -'Look,' said Windekind, 'here comes daddy toad too, all humped up. Well, -how are you getting on, old fellow?' - -The toad made no reply. He carefully laid an ear of corn neatly wrapped -in a dry leaf close to the entrance, and nimbly climbed over the -rabbit's back into the hole. - -'May we go in?' said Johannes, who was excessively inquisitive. 'I will -give something.' - -He remembered that he still had a biscuit in his pocket--a little round -biscuit, from Huntley and Palmer's. When he took it out he at once -observed how much smaller he had grown. He could scarcely grasp it with -both hands, and could not understand how his breeches pocket had still -held it. - -'That is most rare and precious!' cried the rabbit. 'That is a princely -donation!' - -And he respectfully made way for them to pass. It was dark in the -burrow, and Johannes let Windekind lead the way. Soon they saw a -pale-green light approaching them. It was a glow-worm, who obligingly -offered to light them. - -'It promises to be a delightful evening,' said the glow-worm as they -went forward. 'There are a great number of guests. You are elves as it -seems to me--are you not?' And the glow-worm glanced doubtfully at -Johannes as he spoke. - -'You may announce us as elves,' replied Windekind. - -'Do you know that your king is of the party?' the glow-worm went on. - -'Is Oberon here? Well, I am pleased indeed,' cried Windekind. 'He is a -personal friend of mine.' - -'Oh!' said the glow-worm. 'I did not know that I had the honour--' and -his light almost went out with alarm. 'Yes, his Majesty prefers the -outer air as a rule, but he is always to be seen at a beneficent -meeting. It will be really a most brilliant affair.' - -And so indeed it was. The chief apartment in the rabbit-burrow was -beautifully decorated; the floor was patted flat and strewn with scented -thyme, and over the entrance a bat hung head downwards. He called out -the names of the guests, and at the same time his wings served as -curtains--a most economical arrangement. The walls were tastefully lined -with dry leaves, cobwebs, and tiny hanging bats. Glowworms innumerable -crept between them and over the ceiling, forming a very pretty and -twinkling illumination. At the end of this hall stood a throne made of -fragments of decayed wood which gave a light of themselves. That was a -very pretty sight. - -There were a great many guests. Johannes felt very shy in this crowd of -strangers, and clung closely to Windekind. He saw wonderful things -there. A mole was talking to a field-mouse of the charming effect of the -lighting and decorations. Two fat toads sat together in a corner, -shaking their heads and lamenting over the persistent drought. A frog -tried to walk round the room arm in arm with a lizard; but this was a -failure, for he was embarrassed and excited, and now and then made too -long a leap, whereby he somewhat damaged the wall decorations. - -On the throne sat Oberon, the Elfin King, surrounded by his little train -of elves who looked down on the rest of the company with some contempt. -The King himself was full of royal condescension, and conversed in the -most friendly way with several of the company. He had just arrived from -a journey in the East, and wore a strange garment of brightly coloured -flower-petals. 'Such flowers do not grow here,' thought Johannes. On his -head he had a dark blue flower-cup which still shed a fresh perfume as -though it had but just been plucked. In his hand he carried the stamen -of a lotus-flower as a sceptre. All the company were struck with silent -admiration of his condescension. He had praised the moonlight over the -downs, and had said that the glow-worms here were as beautiful as the -fire-flies in the East. He had also glanced with approval at the -decorations, and a mole had observed that he had nodded his head very -graciously. - -'Come along,' said Windekind to Johannes. 'I will present you.' And they -made their way to the King's throne. - -Oberon opened his arms with joy when he saw Windekind, and embraced him. -There was a murmur among the guests, and unfriendly glances from the -Elfin court. The two fat toads in the corner muttered something about -'flattery' and 'servility' and 'it would not last'--and nodded -significantly to each other. - -Windekind talked to Oberon for a long time in an unknown language, and -then beckoned to Johannes to come forward. 'Shake hands, Johannes,' said -the King. 'Windekind's friends are my friends. So far as I can, I will -gladly serve you. I will give you a token of our alliance.' - -Oberon took a tiny gold key from the chain he wore about his neck and -gave it to Johannes, who received it with great respect and clasped it -tightly in his hand. - -'That key may bring you luck,' the King went on. 'It opens a golden -casket which contains a priceless treasure. But where that is I cannot -tell you; you must search for it diligently. If you remain good friends -with me, and with Windekind, and are steadfast and true, you may very -likely succeed.' The Elfin King nodded his handsome head with hearty -kindness, and Johannes thanked him, greatly delighted. - -Hereupon three frogs, who sat perched on a little cushion of moist moss, -began to sing the prelude to a slow waltz, and the couples stood up. -Those who did not dance were requested by a green lizard--who acted as -master of the ceremonies and who rushed hither and thither very -busily--to move into the corners; to the great indignation of the two -toads, who complained that they could not see; and then the dancing -began. It was very droll at first. Each one danced after his own fashion -and naturally imagined that he did it better than any one else. The mice -and frogs leaped as high as they could on their hind legs; an old rat -spun round so roughly that all the rest had to keep out of his way; and -even a fat slug ventured to take a turn with a mole, but soon gave it -up, excusing herself by saying that she had a stitch in her side--the -real reason was that she could not do it well. - -However, the dance went on very gravely and ceremoniously. Every one -regarded it as a matter of conscience, and glanced anxiously at the King -to see some token of approval on his countenance. But the King was -afraid of causing jealousies, and looked quite unmoved. His suite -thought it beneath them to dance with the rest. - -Johannes had stood among them quite quietly for a long time; but he saw -a little toad waltzing with a tall lizard who sometimes lifted the -hapless toad so-high above the ground that she described a semicircle -in the air, and his amusement burst out in a hearty laugh. What an -excitement it caused! The music ceased. The King looked angrily about -him. The master of the ceremonies flew in all haste to implore Johannes -to behave less frivolously. - -'Dancing is a very serious thing,' said he, 'and certainly no subject -for laughter. This is a very distinguished party, where people do not -dance for amusement. Every one is doing his best and no one expects to -be laughed at. It is extremely rude. Besides, this is a mourning feast, -on a very melancholy occasion. You must behave suitably, and not as if -you were among men and women.' - -Johannes was quite alarmed. On every side he met disapproving looks; his -intimacy with the King had already made him some enemies. Windekind led -him aside. - -'We shall do better to go, Johannes,' he whispered. 'You have spoilt it -all. Yes, yes; that comes of having been brought up among men.' - -They hastily slipped out under the wings of the porter bat, into the -dark passage. The glow-worm in waiting attended them to the door. - -'Have you been amused?' he asked. 'Did King Oberon speak to you?' - -'Oh, yes; it was a beautiful party,' replied Johannes. 'Must you stay -here in the dark passage all the time?' - -'It is my own free choice,' said the glow-worm in a tone of bitter -melancholy. 'I have given up all such vanities.' - -'Come,' said Windekind; 'you do not mean that.' - -'Indeed I do. Formerly--formerly--there was a time when I too went to -banquets, and danced and cared for such frivolities. But now I am -crushed by suffering--now-' - -And he was so much overcome that his light went out. Fortunately they -were close to the opening, and the rabbit, who heard them coming, stood -a little on one side so that the moonlight shone in. - -As soon as they were outside with the rabbit, Johannes said-- - -'Tell us your history, Glow-worm.' - -'Alas!' sighed the glow-worm,' it is simple and sad. It will not amuse -you.' - -'Tell it, tell it all the same,' they all cried. - -'Well--you all know of course, that we glow-worms are very remarkable -creatures. Yes, I believe that no one will venture to dispute that we -are the most gifted creatures in existence.' - -'Pray why? I do not see that!' said the rabbit. - -'Can you give light?' asked the glow-worm contemptuously. - -'No, certainly not,' the rabbit was forced to admit. - -'Well, _we_ give light! all of us. And we can let it shine or extinguish -it at will. Light is the best of nature's gifts, and to give light is -the highest function to which a living creature can attain. Can any one -now doubt our pre-eminence? Besides, we, the males, have wings and can -fly for miles.' - -'That I cannot do,' the rabbit humbly owned. - -'For the divine gift of light which we possess, all other creatures look -up to us; no bird may attack us. One animal alone, the lowest of them -all, seeks us out and carries us off. That is man--the vilest monster in -creation!' - -At this Johannes looked round at Windekind as though he did not -understand the meaning of it. But Windekind smiled and nodded to him to -say nothing. - -'Once I flew gaily about the world like a bright will-o'-the-wisp among -the dark bushes. And in a lonely damp meadow, on the bank of a stream, -dwelt she whose existence was inseparably bound up with my happiness. -She glittered in exquisite emerald green light as she crept among the -grass stems, and she entirely possessed my youthful heart. I fluttered -round her and did my utmost to attract her attention by changing my -light. I gladly perceived that she noticed my salutation and eclipsed -her own light. Tremulous with devotion, I was about to fold my wings and -drop in ecstasy at the side of my radiant and adored one, when a -tremendous noise filled the air. Dark figures were approaching: they -were men. I fled in terror. They rushed after me and struck at me with -great black tilings, but my wings were swifter than their clumsy -legs.--When I returned--' - -Here the narrator's voice failed him. It was only after a pause of -silent meditation, while his three hearers reverently kept silence, that -he went on: 'You have guessed the rest. My gentle bride, the brightest -and most sparkling of her kind, had disappeared, carried away by cruel -men. The peaceful, moist grass plot was trodden down, and her favourite -place by the stream was dark and desolate. I was alone in the world.' - -Here the tender-hearted rabbit again used his ear to wipe a tear from -his eyes. - -'From that night I am an altered creature. I have a horror of all vain -amusements. I think only of her whom I have lost, and of the time when I -may see her again.' - -'What, have you still a hope?' asked the rabbit in surprise. - -'I have more than hope; I have assurance. Up there I shall see my -beloved once more.' - -'But--' the rabbit put in. - -'Rab,' said the glow-worm solemnly, 'I can understand the doubts of -those who must feel their way in the dark. But to those who can see with -their own eyes!--then all doubt is to me incomprehensible. There!' cried -the glow-worm, looking reverently up at the twinkling, starry sky, 'I -see them there! All my ancestors, all my friends,--and she among -them--they shine up there in still greater radiance than here on earth. -Ah! when shall I be released from this lower life and fly to her who -twinkles at me so tenderly. When, ah! when?' - -The glow-worm turned away with a sigh, and crept back into the dark -again. - -'Poor fellow!' said the rabbit, 'I hope he may be right.' - -'I hope so too,' added Johannes. - -'I have my fears,' said Windekind. 'But it was very interesting.' - -'Dear Windekind,' Johannes began, 'I am very tired and sleepy.' - -'Come close to me, then, and I will cover you with my cloak.' - -Windekind took off his blue mantle and spread it over Johannes and -himself. So they lay down together in the sweet moss on the down, their -arms round each other's necks. - -'Your heads lie rather low,' cried the rabbit. 'Will you rest them -against me?' And so they did. - -'Good-night, mother!' said Windekind to the Moon. - -And Johannes shut his hand tight on the little golden key, laid his head -on the downy fur of the good-natured rabbit, and slept soundly. - - -[Footnote 1: The child of the bindweed.] - - - -III - - -'Well, where is he, Presto? Where is your little master then?' How -alarming to wake in the boat among the reeds--quite alone--the master -vanished entirely! this is something indeed to be frightened at. - -And now run about, hunting on all sides with timid little whinings, poor -Presto! How could you sleep so soundly as not to notice when your master -left the boat? Generally you are wont to wake if only he moves a little. -Here--you can see here where your master landed; but now you are on land -the track is very much confused. All your busy snuffing is in vain! What -a misfortune! The little master gone, quite lost! Seek, Presto, seek him -then! - -'Look! There, against that low mound just before you--Is there not a -little dark figure lying? Look at it closely!' - -For a moment the dog stood motionless, looking eagerly into the -distance. Then he suddenly stretched out his head and flew as fast as -his four slender legs could carry him to the dark object on the mound. -And when he found that it really was the little master he had so sorely -missed, all his powers were too feeble to express his joy and -thankfulness. He wagged his tail, his whole body wriggled with glee, he -leaped, barked, yelped, and laid his cold nose against his re-found -friend, licking and sniffing all over his face. - -'Down, Presto! Go to your basket!' cried Johannes, but half awake. How -stupid of master! There was no basket to be seen, look where he might. - -Slowly, slowly, light began to dawn on the little sleeper's mind. -Presto's sniffing!--he was used to that, every morning. Faint images -still floated before his soul, dream-pictures of elves and moonlight, -like morning mists over a landscape of sand-hills. He feared that the -cold breath of day would waft them away. 'Keep your eyes shut,' said he -to himself, 'or you will see the clock against the wall where it always -hangs!' - -But there was something strange about his bed. He felt that he had no -bed-clothes over him. Gently and warily he opened his eyes, just a -little way. - -Bright daylight. Blue sky. Clouds. - -Then Johannes opened his eyes very wide and said: 'Then it was true?' - -Yes. He was lying among the sand-hills. The cheerful sunshine warmed -him; he breathed the fresh morning air; a filmy mist hung over the woods -beyond. He saw the tall beech-tree by the pool, and the roof of his own -home rising above the shrubbery. Bees and beetles were buzzing around -him, overhead a lark was singing; in the distance he could hear dogs -barking and the hum of the neighbouring town. It was all real, beyond a -doubt. - -What then had he dreamed, and what was true? Where was Windekind? And -the rabbit? He saw nothing of either. Only Presto, who sat as close to -him as possible and looked at him expectantly. - -'Can I have been walking in my sleep?' Johannes murmured softly to -himself. - -By his side there was a rabbit's burrow; but there were so many in the -down. He sat up to see more plainly. What was this in his tightly -clasped fingers? A glow flashed through him from head to foot as he -opened his hand. In it lay a bright little gold key. - -For a few moments he sat silent. - -'Presto,' said he then, and the tears almost came into his eyes, -'Presto. Then it _was_ true!' - -Presto sprang up, and tried by barking to make his master understand -that he was hungry and wanted to go home. - -Home? To be sure. Johannes had not thought of that, and he did not -particularly care to go. However, he presently heard his name called by -loud voices. Then he began to understand that his proceedings would -certainly not be regarded as right and satisfactory, and that far from -kindly words awaited him on his return. - -For a moment he could hardly be sure whether his tears of joy had not, -in vexation, turned to tears of fear and contrition; but then he -remembered Windekind, who was now his friend, his friend and ally; and -the Elfin King's gift; and the splendid, indisputable reality of all -that had happened;--and so he made his way homeward calmly, and prepared -for whatever might betide. - -It fell out as he had anticipated. But he had not imagined that the -distress and alarm of the house-hold could be so serious a matter. He -must solemnly promise never again to be so naughty and heedless. This -quite restored his presence of mind. - -'That I cannot promise,' he said very resolutely. - -They looked at him in amazement. He was questioned, coaxed, threatened. -But he thought of Windekind and was firm. What did he care for -punishment so long as he had Windekind for his friend--and what would he -not endure for Windekind's sake? He clutched the little key tightly to -his breast and shut his mouth firmly, answering every question with a -shrug of his shoulders. - -'I cannot promise,' was all he replied. - -But his father said: 'Leave him in peace; he is quite in earnest about -it. Something strange must have happened to him. He will tell us all -about it some day.' - -Johannes smiled, ate his breakfast in silence, and crept up to his -little room. There he nipped off a bit of the blind-cord, slipped it -through his precious little key and hung it round his neck next to his -breast. Then he very contentedly went to school. - -Things went ill with him at school that day. He knew none of his lessons -and paid no attention at all. His thoughts were constantly wandering to -the pool, and the wonderful things which had happened last evening. He -could scarcely believe that a friend of the fairy king's could be -expected and required to do sums and conjugate verbs. But it had all -been true, and no one there knew anything about it, or would believe it -or understand it; not even the master, however cross he might be, -calling Johannes an idle little boy in a tone of great contempt. He took -the bad marks he had earned with a light heart, and did the task set him -as a punishment for his inattention. - -'You, none of you understand anything about it. You may scold me as much -as you please. I am Windekind's friend, and Windekind is worth more to -me than all of you put together. Ay, with the master into the bargain!' - -This was not respectful of Johannes. But his estimation of his -fellow-creatures had not been raised by all the evil he had heard said -of them the evening before. - -But, as is often the case, he was not yet wise enough to use his wisdom -wisely, or, better still, to keep it to himself. - -When the master went on to say that man alone of all creatures was -endowed by God with speech, and appointed lord over all other animals, -Johannes began to laugh. This cost him a bad mark and serious reproof. -And when his next neighbour read the following sentence out of an -exercise-book: 'The age of my wilful aunt is great, but not so great as -that of the Sun'--parsing 'the Sun' correctly as feminine, Johannes -shouted out loudly, correcting him: 'Masculine, masculine!' - -Every one laughed excepting the master, who was amazed at such utter -stupidity as he thought it, and he desired Johannes to remain in school -and write out a hundred times: 'The age of my wilful aunt is great, but -not so great as that of the Sun (feminine), and greater still is my -arrogant stupidity.' - -His school-fellows had departed, and Johannes sat alone writing, in the -great empty school-room. The sun shone in brightly, making the -dust-motes glitter in its beams, and painting the wall with patches of -light which crept round as time went on. The master, too, was gone, -slamming the door behind him. Johannes had just got to the fifty-second -'wilful aunt' when a tiny, brisk mouse, with black, beady little eyes -and erect ears, came out of the farthest corner of the room and ran -noiselessly along by the wall. Johannes kept as still as death, not to -scare the pretty little thing; but it was not shy and came close to -where he was sitting. It looked sharply about for a minute or two, with -its small, bright eyes; then with one spring leaped on to the bench, and -with a second on to the desk on which Johannes was writing. - -'Well done!' said he half to himself, 'you are a very bold little -mouse.' - -'I ought to know whom I should be afraid of,' said a wee-wee voice, and -the mouse showed his little white teeth as if he were laughing. - -Johannes was by this time quite used to marvels; still, this made him -open his eyes very wide. Here, in school, in the middle of the day--it -was incredible. - -'You need not be afraid of me,' said he, very gently for fear of -frightening the mouse. 'Did Windekind send you?' - -'I am sent to tell you that the master was quite right, and that you -thoroughly deserved your extra task.' - -'But it was Windekind who told me that the sun was masculine. He said he -was his father.' - -'Yes; but no one else need know it. What have men to do with that? You -must never discuss such delicate matters with men; they are too gross to -understand them. Man is an astonishingly perverse and stupid creature -that only cares to catch or kill whatever comes within his reach. Of -that we mice have ample experience.' - -'But why then, little mouse, do you live among men? Why do you not run -away to the woods?' - -'Oh, that we cannot do now. We are too much accustomed to town living. -And so long as we are prudent, and always take care to avoid their traps -and their heavy feet, we get on very well among men. Fortunately we are -very nimble. The worst of it is, that man ekes out his own slowness by -an alliance with the cat; that is a great grievance. But in the woods -there are owls and hawks, and we should all be starved. Now, Johannes, -mind my advice--here comes the master.' - -'Mouse, mouse; do not go away. Ask Windekind what I am to do with my -little key. I have tied it round my neck, next my skin. But on Saturday -I am tubbed, and I am so afraid that it will be found. Tell me, where -can I hide it?' - -'Underground, always underground, that is always safest. Shall I keep it -for you?' - -'No, not here in school.' - -'Then bury it out in the sand-hills. I will tell my cousin the -field-mouse that he must take care of it.' - -'Thank you, little mouse.' - -Tramp, tramp! In came the master. While Johannes was dipping his pen the -mouse had vanished. The master, who wanted to go home, let Johannes off -the other forty-eight lines. - -For two days Johannes lived in constant dread. He was kept strictly -within sight, and had no opportunity of slipping off to the sand-hills. -It was already Friday, and still the precious key was about his neck. -The following evening he would inevitably be stripped; the key would be -discovered and taken from him--his blood turned cold at the thought. He -dared not hide it in the house or garden--no place seemed to him safe -enough. - -Friday afternoon, and dusk was creeping down! Johannes sat at his -bedroom window, gazing with longing at the distance, over the green -shrubs in the garden to the downs beyond. - -'Windekind, Windekind, help me!' he whispered anxiously. - -He heard a soft rustling of wings close at hand, he smelt the scent of -lilies of the valley, and suddenly heard the sweet, well-known voice. -Windekind sat by him on the window-sill, waving the bells of a lily of -the valley on their slender stems. - -'Here you are at last!' cried Johannes; 'I have longed for you so much!' - -'Come with me, Johannes, we will bury your little key.' - -'I cannot,' said Johannes sadly. - -But Windekind took him by the hand and he felt himself wafted through -the still evening air, as light as the wind-blown down of a dandelion. - -'Windekind,' said Johannes, as they floated on, 'I love you so dearly. I -believe I would give all the people in the world for you, and Presto -into the bargain.' - -'And Simon?' - -'Oh, Simon does not care whether I love him or not. I believe he thinks -it too childish. Simon loves no one but the fish-woman, and that only -when he is hungry. Do you think that Simon is a common cat, Windekind?' - -'No, formerly he was a man.' - -Whrrr--bang! There went a fat cockchafer buzzing against Johannes. - -'Can you not look where you are going?' grumbled the cockchafer, 'those -Elves fly abroad as though the whole air were theirs by right. That is -always the way with idlers who go flitting about for pleasure; those -who, like me, are about their business, seeking their food and eating as -hard as they can, are pushed out of their road.' And he flew off, -scolding loudly. - -'Does he think the worse of us because we do not eat?' asked Johannes. - -'Yes, that is the way of cockchafers. According to them, the highest -duty is to eat a great deal. Shall I tell you the history of a young -cockchafer?' - -'Ay, do,' said Johannes. - -'There was a pretty young cockchafer who had just crept out of the -earth. That was a great surprise. For a whole year he had sat waiting in -the dark earth, watching for the first warm summer evening. And when he -put his head out of the clod, all the greenery, and the waving grass, -and the singing-birds quite bewildered him. He had no idea what to be -about. He touched the blades of grass with his feelers, spreading them -out in a fan. Then he observed that he was a male cockchafer, very -handsome in his way, with shining black legs, a large, fat body, and a -breastplate that shone like a mirror. As luck would have it, he at once -saw, not far off, another cockchafer, not indeed so handsome as himself, -but who had come out the day before and who was quite old. Very -modestly, being still so young, he crept towards the other. - -'What do you want, my friend?' said the second cockchafer rather -haughtily, seeing that the other was a youngster, 'do you wish to ask me -the way?' - -'No, I am obliged to you,' said the younger one civilly, 'but I do not -know what I ought to be doing. What is there for cockchafers to do?' - -'Dear me,' said the other, 'do not you know that much? Well, I cannot -blame you, for I was young myself once. Listen, then, and I will tell -you. The principal thing in a cockchafer's life is to eat. Not far from -this is a delicious lime-walk which was placed there for us, and it is -our duty to eat there as diligently as we can.' - -'Who put the lime-walk there?' asked the younger beetle. - -'Well, a great being who means very kindly to us. He comes down the -Avenue every morning, and those who have eaten most he takes away to a -splendid house where a beautiful light shines, and where chafers are all -happy together. Those, on the other hand, who, instead of eating, spend -the night in flying about are caught by the Bat.' - -'What is that?' asked the young one. - -'A fearful monster with sharp teeth who comes flying down on us all on a -sudden and eats us up with a horrible crunch. - -As the chafer spoke they heard a shrill squeak overhead which chilled -them to the very marrow. - -'Hark! There he is!' cried the elder, 'beware of him, my young friend, -and be thankful that I have given you timely warning. You have the whole -night before you. Make good use of your time. The less you eat, the -greater the risk of the bat's seizing you. And none but those who choose -a serious vocation in life ever go to the house where the beautiful -light is. Mark that; a serious vocation.' - -Then the chafer, who was by a whole day the elder, disappeared among the -blades of grass, leaving the other greatly impressed. - -'Do you know what a vocation is, Johannes? No? Well, the young chafer -did not know. It had something to do with eating--he understood that. -But how was he to find the lime-walk? Close at hand stood a slender but -stalwart grass-stem, waving softly in the evening air. This he firmly -clutched with his six crooked legs. It seemed a long journey up to the -top, and very steep. But the cockchafer was determined to reach it. -'This is a vocation!' he thought to himself, and began to climb with -much toil. He went but slowly and often slipped back; but he got on, and -when at last he found himself on the slender tip, and rocked with its -swaying, he felt triumphant and happy. What a view he had from thence! -It seemed to him that he could see the whole world. How blissful it was -to be surrounded by air on all sides! He eagerly breathed his fill. What -a wonderful feeling had come over him! Now he craved to go higher!' - -'In his rapture he raised his wing-cases and quivered his gauzy wings. -Higher! and yet higher I His wings fluttered, his legs released the -grass-stem, and then--oh joy! Whoo-oo I He was flying--freely and -gladly, in the still, warm evening air!' - -'And then?' said Johannes. - -'The end is not happy. I will tell it you some day later.' - -They were hovering over the pool. A pair of white butterflies fluttered -to meet them. - -'Whither are you travelling, elves?' they asked. - -'To the large wild rose-tree which blooms by yonder mound.' - -'We will go with you; we will go too!' - -The rose-bush was already in sight in the distance, with its abundance -of pale-yellow sheeny blossoms. The buds were red and the open flowers -were dashed with red, as if they remembered the time when they were -still buds. - -The wild down-rose bloomed in peaceful solitude, and filled the air with -its wonderfully sweet odours. They are so fine that the down-elves live -on nothing else. The butterflies fluttered about and kissed flower after -flower. - -'We have come to place a treasure in your charge,' cried Windekind. -'Will you keep it safe for us?' - -'Why not--why not?' whispered the rose. 'It is no pain to me to keep -awake--and I have no thought of going away unless I am dragged away. And -I have sharp thorns.' - -Then came the field-mouse--the cousin of the school-mouse--and burrowed -quite under the roots of the rose-tree. And there he buried the little -key. - -'When you want it again you must call me; for you must on no account -hurt the rose.' - -The rose twined its thorny arms thickly over the entrance and took a -solemn oath to guard it faithfully. The butterflies were witnesses. - -Next morning Johannes awoke in his own little bed, with Presto, and the -clock against the wall. The cord with the key was gone from round his -neck. - - - - -IV - - -'Children! children! A summer like this is a terrible infliction!' -sighed one of three large stoves which stood side by side to bewail -their fate in a garret of the old house. 'For weeks I have not seen one -living soul or heard one rational remark. And always that hollow within! -It is fearful!' - -'I am full of spiders' webs,' said the second. 'And that would never -happen in the winter.' - -'And I am so dry and dusty that I shall be quite ashamed when, as winter -comes on, the Black Man appears again, as the poet says.' - -This piece of learning the third stove had of course picked up from -Johannes, who had repeated some verses last winter, standing before the -hearth. - -'You must not speak so disrespectfully of the smith,' said the first -stove, who was the eldest. 'It annoys me.' - -A few shovels and tongs which lay on the floor, wrapped in paper to -preserve them from rust, also expressed their opinion of this frivolous -mode of speech. - -But suddenly they were all silent, for the shutter in the roof was -raised; a beam of light shone in on the gloomy place, and the whole -party lapsed into silence under their dust and confusion. - -It was Johannes who had come to disturb their conversation. This loft -was at all times a delightful spot to him, and now, after the strange -adventures of the last few days, he often came here. Here he found peace -and solitude. There was a window, too, closed by a shutter, which looked -out towards the sand-hills. It was a great delight to open the shutter -suddenly, and, after the mysterious twilight of? the garret, to see all -at once the sunlit landscape shut in by the fair, rolling _dimes_. - -It was three weeks since that Friday evening, and Johannes had seen -nothing of his friend since. The key was gone, and there was nothing now -to assure him that he had not dreamed it all. Often, indeed, he could -not conquer a fear that it was all nothing but fancy. He grew very -silent, and his father was alarmed, for he observed that since that -night out of doors Johannes had certainly had something the matter with -him. But Johannes was only pining for Windekind. - -'Can he be less fond of me than I of him?' he murmured, as he stood at -the garret window and looked out over the green and flowery garden. 'Why -is it that he never comes near me now? If I could--but perhaps he has -other friends, and perhaps he loves them more than me. I have no other -friend, not one. I love no one but him! I love him so much--oh so much!' - -Then, against the deep blue sky he saw a flight of six white doves, who -wheeled, flapping their wings, above the roof over his head. It seemed -as though they were moved by one single impulse, so quickly did they -veer and turn all together, as if to enjoy to the utmost the sea of -sunshine and summer air in which they were flying. - -Suddenly they swept down towards Johannes' window in the roof, and -settled with much flapping and fussing on the water-pipe, where they -pattered to and fro with endless cooings. One of them had a red feather -in his wing. He plucked and pulled at it till he had pulled it out, and -then he flew to Johannes and gave it to him. - -Hardly had Johannes taken it in his hand when he felt that he was as -light and swift as one of the doves. He stretched out his arms, the -doves flew up, and Johannes found himself in their midst, in the -spacious free air and glorious sunshine. There was nothing around him -but the pure blue, and the bright shimmer of fluttering white wings. - -They flew across the great garden, towards the wood, where the thick -tree-tops waved in the distance like the swell of a green sea. Johannes -looked down and saw his father through the open window, sitting in the -house-place,--Simon was lying in the window seat with his crossed -forepaws, basking in the sun. - -'I wonder if they see me!' thought he; but he dared not call out to -them. - -Presto was trotting about the garden walks, sniffing at every shrub and -behind every wall, and scratching against the door of every shed or -greenhouse to find his master. - -'Presto, Presto!' cried Johannes. The dog looked up and began to wag his -tail and yelp most dolefully. - -'I am coming back, Presto! only wait,' cried Johannes, but he was too -far away. - -They soared over the wood, and the rooks flew cawing out of the top -branches where they had built their nests. It was high summer, and the -scent of the blossoming limes came up in steamy gusts from the green -wood. - -In an empty nest, at the top of a tall lime-tree, sat Windekind, with -his wreath of bindweed. He nodded to Johannes. - -'There you are! that is good,' said he. 'I sent for you; now we can -remain together for a long time--if you like.' - -'I like it very much,' said Johannes. - -Then he thanked the friendly doves who had brought him hither, and went -down with Windekind into the woods. There it was cool and shady. The -oriole piped his tune, almost always the same, but still a little -different. - -'Poor bird!' said Windekind. 'He was once a bird of Paradise. That you -still may see by his strange yellow feathers; but he was transformed -and turned out of Paradise. There is a word which can restore him to his -former splendid plumage, and open Paradise to him once more; but he has -forgotten the word; and now, day after day, he tries to find his way -back there. He says something like the word, but it is not quite right.' - -Numberless insects glittered like dancing crystals in the sun's rays -where they pierced between the thick leaves. When they listened sharply -they could hear a humming, like a great concert on one string, filling -the whole wood. This was the song of the sunbeams. - -The ground was covered with deep dark-green moss, and Johannes had again -grown so tiny that it appeared to him like another wood on the ground, -beneath the greater wood. What elegant little stems! and how closely -they grew! It was difficult to make a way between them, and the moss -forest seemed terribly large. - -Presently they crossed an ants' track. Hundreds of ants were hurrying up -and down, some dragging chips of wood or little blades of grass in their -jaws. There was such a bustle that Johannes was almost bewildered. - -It was a long time before one of the ants would spare them a word. They -were all too busy. At last they found an old ant who was set to watch -the plant-lice from which the ants get honeydew. As his herd was a very -quiet one he could very well give a little time to the strangers, and -let them see the great nest. It was situated at the foot of an old -tree-trunk, and was very large, with hundreds of passages and cells. The -plant-louse herd led the way, and conducted the visitors into every part -of it, even into the nurseries where the young larvæ were creeping out -of their cocoons. Johannes was amazed and delighted. - -The old ant told them that every one was very busy by reason of the -campaign which was immediately at hand. Another colony of ants, dwelling -not far off, was to be attacked by a strong force, their nest destroyed -and the larvæ carried off or killed; and as all the strength at their -command must be employed, all the most necessary tasks must be got -through beforehand. - -'What is the campaign about?' said Johannes. 'I do not like fighting.' - -'Nay, nay!' replied the herdsman. 'It is a very grand and praiseworthy -war. You must remember that it is the soldier-ants we are going to -attack; we shall exterminate the race, and that is a very good work.' - -'Then you are not soldier-ants?' - -'Certainly not. What are you thinking about? We are the peace-loving -ants.' - -'What do you mean by that?' - -'Do not you know? Well, I will explain. Once upon a time all ants were -continually fighting, not a day passed without some great battle. Then -there came a good, wise ant, who thought that he should save much sorrow -if he could persuade them all to agree among themselves to fight no -more. But when he said so every one thought him very odd, and for that -reason they proceeded to bite him in pieces. Still, after this, other -ants came who said the same thing, and they too were bitten to pieces. -But at last so many were of this opinion that biting them to pieces was -too hard work for the others. So then they called themselves the -Peaceful Ants, and they did everything which their first teacher had -done, and those who opposed them they, in their turn, bit in pieces. In -this way almost all the ants at the present time have become Peaceful -Ants, and the fragments of the first Peaceful Ant are carefully and -reverently preserved. We have his head--the genuine head. We have -devastated and annihilated twelve other colonies who pretended to have -the True Head. Now there are but four who dare to do so. They call -themselves Peaceful Ants, but in fact they are Fighting Ants by -nature--but we have the True Head, and the Peaceful Ant had but one -head. Now we are going to-morrow to destroy the thirteenth colony. So -you see it is a good work.' - -'Yes, yes,' said Johannes. 'It is very strange!' - -He was in fact a little uneasy, and felt happier when, after thanking -the herd-keeper, they had taken their leave, and were sitting far from -the Ant colony, rocked on the top of a tall grass-stem, under the shade -of a graceful fern. - -'Hooh!' sighed Johannes, 'that was a bloodthirsty and stupid tribe!' - -Windekind laughed, and swung up and down on the grass haulm. - -'Oh!' said he, 'you must not call them stupid. Men go to the ants to get -wisdom.' - -Then Windekind showed Johannes all the wonders of the wood; they flew up -to visit the birds in the tree-tops and in the thick shrubs, went down -into the moles' clever dwellings, and saw the bees' nest in the old -hollow tree. - -At last they came out on an open place surrounded by brushwood. -Honeysuckle grew there in great abundance. Its luxuriant trails climbed -over everything, and the scented flowers peeped from among the greenery. -A swarm of tomtits hopped and fluttered among the leaves with a great -deal of twittering and chirping. - -'Let us stay here a little while,' said Johannes; 'this is splendid.' - -'Very well,' said Windekind. 'And you shall see something very droll.' - -There were blue-bells in the grass. Johannes sat down by one of them and -began to talk with the bees and the butterflies. They were friends of -the blue-bells', so the conversation went on at a great rate. - -What was that? A huge shadow came across the grass, and something like a -white cloud fell down on the blue-bell--Johannes had scarcely time to -get away,--he flew to Windekind who was sitting high up in a honeysuckle -flower. Then he saw that the white cloud was a pocket-handkerchief, and -bump! A sturdy damsel sat down on the handkerchief and on the poor -blue-bell which was under it. - -He had not time to bewail it before the sound of voices and the cracking -of branches filled the glade in the forest. A crowd of men and women -appeared. - -'Now we shall have something to laugh at,' said Windekind. - -The party came on, the ladies with umbrellas in their hands, the men -with tall chimney-pot hats, and almost all in black, completely black. -In the green sunny wood they looked like great, ugly ink-spots on a -beautiful picture. The brushwood was broken down, flowers trodden -underfoot; many white handkerchiefs were spread, and the yielding grass -and patient moss sighed as they were crushed under the weight they had -to bear, fearing much that they might never recover from the blow. The -smoke of cigars curled among the honeysuckle wreaths, and enviously -supplanted the delicate odour of their blossoms. Sharp voices scared the -gleeful tomtits, who, with terrified and indignant piping, took refuge -in the nearest trees. - -One man rose and went to stand on a little mound. He had long light -hair, and a pale face. He said something, and then all the men and women -opened their mouths very wide and began to sing so loud, that the rooks -flew cawing out of their high nests, and the inquisitive little rabbits, -who had come from the sand-hills to see what was going on, ran off in -alarm, and were still running fully a quarter of an hour after they were -safe at home again in the dunes. - -Windekind laughed and fanned away the cigar-smoke with a fern leaf; but -there were tears in Johannes' eyes, though not from the tobacco. - -'Windekind,' said he, 'I want to go. This is all so ugly and so rude.' - -'No, no, we must stay. You will laugh; it will be more amusing.' - -The singing ceased and the pale man began to speak. He shouted hard, -that every one might hear him; but what he said sounded very kind. He -called them all his brothers and sisters, spoke of the glories of nature -and the wonders of creation, of God's sunshine and the dear little birds -and flowers. - -'What is this?' asked Johannes. 'How can he talk of these things? Does -he know you? Is he a friend of yours?' - -Windekind shook his flower-crowned head disdainfully. - -'He does not know me, and the sun and the birds and the flowers even -less. What he says is all lies.' - -The people listened very attentively. The stout lady who sat on the -blue-bell began to cry several times, and wiped her eyes on her skirt, -as she could not get at her handkerchief. - -The pale man said that God had made the sun shine so brightly for the -sake of their meeting here, and Windekind laughed and threw an acorn -down from the thick leaves, which hit the tip of his nose. - -'He shall learn to know better,' said he; 'my father shines for him, -indeed! a fine idea!' - -But the pale man was too much excited to pay any heed to the acorn, -which seemed to have dropped from the sky; he talked a long time, and -the longer the louder. At last he was red and purple in the face, -doubled his fists, and shouted so loud that the leaves quivered and the -grass stems were dismayed, and waved to and fro. When at last he came to -an end they all began to sing again. - -'Well, fie!' said a blackbird, who was listening from the top of a high -tree, 'that is a shocking noise to make! I had rather the cows should -come into our wood. Only listen. Well, for shame!' - -Now the blackbird knows what he is talking about, and has a fine taste -in music. - -After singing, the folks brought all sorts of eatables out of baskets, -boxes and bags. Sheets of paper were spread out; cakes and oranges were -handed round. And bottles and glasses also made their appearance. - -Then Windekind called his allies together, and they began to attack the -feasters. - -A smart frog leaped up into an old maid's lap, flopped on to the bread -she was just about to put into her mouth, and sat there as if amazed at -his own audacity. The lady gave a fearful yell, and stared at the -intruder without daring to stir. This bold beginning soon found -imitators. Green caterpillars crept fearlessly over hats, handkerchiefs -and rolls, inspiring terror and disgust; fat field-spiders let -themselves down on glittering threads into beer glasses, and on to heads -or necks, and a loud shriek always followed their appearance; endless -winged creatures fairly attacked the human beings in the face, -sacrificing their lives for the good cause by throwing themselves on the -food and in the liquor, making them useless by their corpses. Finally -the ants came in innumerable troops and stung the enemy in the most -unexpected places, by hundreds at once. This gave rise to the greatest -consternation and confusion. Men and women alike fled from the long -crushed moss and grass. The poor blue-bell, too, was released in -consequence of a well-directed attack by two ear-wigs on the stout -maiden's legs. The men and women grew desperate; by dancing and leaping -with the most extraordinary gestures, they tried to escape their -persecutors. The pale man stood still for a long time, hitting about -him with a small black stick; but a few audacious tomtits, who were not -above any form of attack, and a wasp, who stung him in the calf through -his black trousers, placed him _hors de combat_. - -Then the sun could no longer keep his countenance, and hid his face -behind a cloud. Large drops of rain fell on the antagonistic parties. It -looked as though the shower had suddenly made a forest of great black -toadstools spring out of the ground. These were the umbrellas, which -were hastily opened. The women turned their skirts over their heads, -thus displaying their white petticoats, white-stockinged legs, and shoes -without heels. Oh, what fun for Windekind! He had to hold on to a -flower-stem to laugh. - -The rain fell more and more heavily; the forest was shrouded in a grey -sparkling veil. Streams of water ran off the umbrellas, tall hats and -black overcoats, which shone like the shell of a water-snail; their -shoes slopped and smacked in the soaking ground. Then the people gave it -up, and dropped off doubtfully in twos and threes, leaving behind them a -litter of papers, empty bottles and orange peel, the hideous relics of -their visit. The open glade in the forest was soon deserted once more, -and ere long nothing was to be heard but the monotonous rush of the -rain. - -'Well, Johannes! now we have seen what men are like. Why do you not -laugh at them?' - -'Oh, Windekind! Are all men like these?' - -'Indeed, there are worse and uglier. Sometimes they shout and rave, and -destroy everything that is pretty or good. They cut down trees and stick -their horrible square houses in their place; they wilfully crush the -flowers, and kill every creature that comes within their reach, merely -for pleasure. In their dwellings, where they crowd one upon another, it -is all dirty and black, and the air is tainted and poisoned by the smell -of smoke. They are complete strangers to nature and their -fellow-creatures. That is why they cut such a foolish, miserable figure -when they come forth to see them.' - -'Oh dear! Windekind, Windekind.' - -'Why do you cry, Johannes? You must not cry because you were born to be -a man. I love you all the same and choose you out of them all. I have -taught you to understand the language of the butterflies and birds, and -the faces of the flowers. The moon knows you, and the good kind earth -regards you as her dearest child. Why should you not be glad since I am -your friend?' - -'You are, Windekind, you are!--still I cannot help crying over men.' - -'Why? You need not remain among them if it vexes you. You can live here -with me, and always keep me company. We will make our home in the -thickest of the wood, in the solitary, sunny downs, or among the reeds -by the pool. I will take you everywhere, down under the water among the -water-plants, in the palaces of the elves and in the earth-spirits' -homes. I will waft you over fields and forests, over strange lands and -seas. I will make the spiders spin fine raiment for you, and give you -wings such as I have. We will live on the scent of flowers, and dance -with the elves in the moonlight. When autumn comes we will follow the -summer, to where the tall palm-trees stand, where gorgeous bunches of -flowers hang from the cliffs, and the dark blue ocean sparkles in the -sun. And I will always tell you fairy tales. Will you like that, -Johannes?' - -'And I shall never live among men any more?' - -'Among men, endless vexations await you, weariness, troubles and sorrow. -Day after day you will toil and sigh under the burden of life. Your -tender soul will be wounded and tortured by their rough ways. You will -be worn and grieved to death. Do you love men more than you love me?' - -'No, no! Windekind, I will stay with you.' - -Now he could prove how much he cared for Windekind. Yes, he would -forsake and forget everybody and everything for his sake: his little -room, and Presto, and his father. He repeated his wish, full of joy and -determination. - -The rain had ceased. A bright smile of sunshine gleamed through the grey -clouds on the wet sparkling leaves, on the drops which hung twinkling -from every twig and blade of grass, and gemmed the spiders' webs spread -among the oak leaves. A filmy mist rose slowly from the moist earth and -hung over the underwood, bringing up a thousand warm, sleepy odours. The -blackbird flew to the topmost bough and sang a short, passionate melody -to the sinking sun--as though he would show what kind of singing -befitted the spot--in the solemn evening stillness, to the soft -accompaniment of falling drops. - -'Is that not more lovely than the noises of men, Johannes? Ah, the -blackbird knows exactly the right thing to sing! Here all is harmony; -you will find none so perfect among men.' - -'What is harmony, Windekind?' - -'It is the same thing as happiness. It is that which all agree in -striving after. Men too, but they do so like children trying to catch a -butterfly. Their stupid efforts are just what scare it away.' - -'And shall I find it with you?' - -'Yes, Johannes. But you must forget men and women. It is a bad beginning -to have been born to be a man; but you are still young. You must put -away from you all remembrance of your human life; among them you would -go astray, and fall into mischief and strife and wretchedness--it would -be with you as it was with the young cockchafer of whom I told you.' - -'What happened to him afterwards?' - -'He saw the beautiful light of which the old chafer spoke; he thought he -could do no better than fly towards it at once. He flew straight into a -room, and into a human hand. For three days he lived in torture; he was -shut up in a cardboard box; they tied a thread to his feet and let him -fly at the end of it; then they untied him, with one wing and one leg -torn off; and at last, helplessly creeping round and round on a carpet, -trying to feel his way back to the garden, a heavy foot crushed him to -death. - -'All the creatures, Johannes, which come out and about at night are just -as much children of the Sun as we are. And although they have never seen -their glorious father, still an obscure remembrance always tempts them -wherever a light is beaming. And thousands of poor creatures of the -darkness find a miserable end through their love for the Sun, from which -they were so long since parted, and to which they have become strangers. -And in the same way a vague and irresistible attraction brings men to -ruin in the false image of that Great Light whence they proceeded, but -which they no longer know.' - -Johannes looked inquiringly into Windekind's eyes, but they were as deep -and mysterious as the dark sky between the stars. - -'Do you mean God?' he timidly asked. - -'God?' There was a soft smile in the deep eyes. 'I know, Johannes, what -you are thinking of when you speak that word,--of the chair by your -bed-side where you knelt to say your long prayers last evening--of the -green serge curtains in front of the church window, which you gaze at by -the hour on Sunday mornings--of the capital letters in your little -Bible--of the church-bag with its long pole--of the stupid singing and -the stuffy atmosphere. All that you mean by the word, Johannes, is a -monstrous, false image. In place of the sun a huge petroleum lamp, to -which thousands and thousands of flies are helplessly and hopelessly -stuck fast!' - -'But what then is the name of that Great Light, Windekind? And to whom -must I pray?' - -'Johannes, it is as though a patch of mould should ask me what was the -name of the earth which bears it round in space. Even if there were any -answer to your question you would no more understand it than an -earthworm can hear the music of the stars. Still, I will teach you to -pray.' - -And while Johannes was still silently wondering over Windekind's reply, -the elf flew out of the wood with him, high up, so high that beyond the -edge of the down a long narrow line was visible, gleaming like gold. -They flew on and on, the undulating sand-hills beneath them gliding -away, and the streak of light growing broader and broader. The green hue -faded, the wild broom was grey and thin, and strange bluish-green plants -grew among the bushes. Then another range of hills--a long narrow strip -of sand--and beyond, the wide unresting sea. - -The vast expanse was blue to the very horizon; but out there, under the -sun, a small streak shone in blinding red fire. An endless fringe of -downy-looking white foam edged the waters, as ermine borders blue -velvet. On the horizon a wonderful, fine line divided the air from the -ocean. It was indeed a marvel; straight yet curved; sharply defined yet -non-existent; visible yet intangible. It was like the vibration of a -harp-string, which thrills dreamily for a long time, seeming to die away -and yet still be there. - -Then little Johannes sat down on the sand-hill and gazed--gazed -long--motionless and silent; till he felt as though he were about to -die,--as though the great golden gates of the Infinite had opened -majestically before him, and his little soul were soaring forth towards -the first light of eternity; until the tears, which welled up to his -wide-open eyes, had dimmed the radiance of the sun, and the splendour of -sky and earth floated off into soft tremulous light. - -'That is the way to pray!' said Windekind. - - - - -V - - -Have you ever loitered in the woods on a fresh autumn day? When the sun -shines calmly and clearly on the richly-tinted foliage; when the boughs -creak, and the dry leaves rustle under foot. The forest seems weary of -life; it can merely think, and lives in its memories of the past. A blue -mist hangs about it like a dream, full of mysterious splendour, and the -glistening gossamers float on the air with slow undulations--a sweet -aimless musing. - -And now from the moist ground among the mosses and withered leaves -suddenly and inexplicably the strange forms of toadstools spring into -being. Some sturdy, deformed and fleshy; others slim and tall with -ringed stems and gaily painted hats. These are the quaint dream-figures -of the forest. On the decayed tree-trunks, too, there are little white -columns in numerable, with black heads as though they had been burnt. -Certain learned men regard them as a sort of fungus. But Johannes knew -better:-- - -'They are little tapers. In the still autumn nights they burn while the -boguey-sprites sit near them, reading their little books.' - -Windekind had told him this one such tranquil autumn day, and Johannes -dreamily drank in the faint earthy smell which came up from the -mouldering ground. - -'How is it that the leaves of the ash-trees are so speckled with black?' - -'Ah! the boguey-sprites do that too,' said Windekind. 'When they have -been busy writing at night, in the morning they throw out what is left -in their ink-bottles over the leaves. They do not love the ash-trees; -crosses are made of ash-wood, and poles for church bags.' - -Johannes was curious to know all about the busy little sprites, and he -made Windekind promise to take him to see one of them. He had now stayed -some time with Windekind, and he was so happy in his new life that he -felt very little regret for his promise to forget all he had left -behind him. And he had no hours of loneliness or terror, when repentance -is always apt to intrude. Windekind never quitted him, and with him he -felt everywhere at home. He slept soundly in the swinging nest, where it -hung between the green reeds, however ominously the bittern might boom -or the raven croak. He knew no fear of the pelting rain or howling -storm--he could creep into a hollow tree or a rabbit's burrow, and hide -close under Windekind's cloak, and listen to his voice as he told him -tales. - -And now he was to see the Wood-Sprites. - -It was a good day for such a visit. So calm, so still, Johannes fancied -he could already hear tiny voices and the rustle of little feet, though -it was mid-day. The birds had almost all fled; only the thrushes were -feasting on the scarlet berries. One was caught in a snare. There he -hung with flapping wings, struggling till his sharp clenched claws were -almost torn away. Johannes made haste to set him free, and he flew off -with a happy chirp. - -The toadstools had a great deal to say. - -'Only look at me!' said a fat puffy Toadstool. - -'Did you ever see the like? See how thick and white my stem is, and how -my hat shines. I am the biggest of you all. And that in one night!' - -'Pooh!' said the red spotted toadstool. 'You are most vulgar!--so brown -and clumsy. Now, I sway on a tall stem like a reed; I am of a splendid -red like the rowan berries, and most elegantly speckled. I am the -handsomest of you all.' - -'Hush!' said Johannes, who knew them both of old. 'You are both -poisonous.' - -'That is a virtue,' said the red fellow. - -'Or are you a man by chance?' retorted the fat toadstool. 'Then indeed I -wish you would eat me.' - -But Johannes did not eat him; he took some dry twigs and stuck them into -his round hat. That looked funny, and all the others laughed; even a -swarm of slender toadstools with little brown heads who had only come up -a few hours since, and pushed themselves everywhere to look out on the -world. The fat toadstool turned blue with spite, thus displaying his -venomous nature. Earth-stars raised their little pert heads on angular -stems. Now and then a little cloud of the finest brown powder puffed -out of the opening in a round head. Wherever that dust fell on the moist -soil, threads would tangle and plait beneath the dark earth, and next -year myriads of fresh stars would come up. - -'What a beautiful existence!' they said to each other. - -'The happiest lot in life is to shed dust. What joy to think we may do -it as long as we live!' And they puffed the little smoke-like cloud into -the air with the deepest concentration. - -'Are they really happy, Windekind?' - -'Why not? What higher joy can they know? They are happy, for they ask no -better because they know no better.' - -When night fell, and the shadows of the trees were merged in uniform -gloom, the mysterious vitality of the forest knew no rest. The branches -snapped and cracked, the dry leaves rustled hither and thither among the -grass and in the underwood. Then Johannes felt the touch of invisible -wings and was aware of the presence of invisible beings. He could -plainly hear the murmur of little voices and tripping of little feet. -There! there in the darkest depth of the thicket, a tiny blue spark -glowed and vanished. There was another and another!--Hark! When he -listened attentively he could hear a rustling in the leaf-strewn floor -near him, close to the black tree-trunk. The blue lights again were -visible and then stood still on the top. - -Now Johannes saw such lights all about him; they flitted among the brown -leaves, dancing along with airy leaping; and in one place a large -sparkling mass beamed like a blue bonfire. - -'What fire is that?' asked Johannes. 'It burns splendidly.' - -'That is a rotten tree-stump,' replied Windekind. - -They went towards a bright light which remained steady. - -'Now I will introduce you to Wistik.[1] He is the oldest and wisest of -the Wood-Sprites. - -As they approached Johannes saw him sitting by his candle. The wrinkled -little face with its grey beard could be plainly seen by the blue light; -he was reading diligently with knitted brows. On his head he wore an -acorn-cup with a tiny feather in it. Before him sat a wood-spider -listening to his reading. - -When the pair went near him, the little boguey, without raising his -head, looked up from his book and lifted his eyebrows. - -The spider crept away. - -'Good-evening,' said he. 'I am Wistik. Who are you?' - -'My name is Johannes. I should like to make acquaintance with you. What -are you reading?' - -'It is not meant for your ears,' said Wistik. 'It is only for -wood-spiders.' - -'Just let me once look at it, dear Wistik,' begged Johannes. - -'I cannot. This is the sacred book of the spiders, and is in my charge. -I may not let it out of my own hands. I have the keeping of the sacred -books of the snails, and the butterflies, and the hedge-hogs, and the -moles, and all the creatures that live here. They cannot all read, and -when they want to know anything I read it to them. This is a great -honour for me, a post of trust, you understand.' - -The sprite nodded very gravely several times, and pointed with his tiny -forefinger. - -'And what were you studying just now?' - -'The history of Kribbelgauw, the great hero among spiders, who lived -very long ago and had a net which spread over three trees, and in which -he caught millions of flies every day. Before the time of Kribbelgauw -spiders made no nets, but lived on grass and dead creatures; but -Kribbelgauw was a very clever fellow, and proved that all living insects -were created on purpose for food for spiders. Then, by the most -laborious calculation, Kribbelgauw discovered the art of making nets, -for he was very learned. And to this day the wood-spiders make their -nets exactly as he taught them, thread for thread, only much smaller. -For the spider race is greatly degenerate. Kribbelgauw caught great -birds in his net, and murdered thousands of his own children--he was -something like a spider! At last there came a great storm and carried -away Kribbelgauw and his net, with the three trees it was made fast to, -through the air to a distant wood, where he is now perpetually honoured -for his great achievements and sagacity.' - -'Is that all true?' asked Johannes. - -'It is all in this book,' said Wistik. - -'Do you believe it?' - -The boguey shut one eye and laid his forefinger to his nose. - -'The sacred books of other creatures, when they mention Kribbelgauw, -speak of him as a hateful and contemptible monster. But that is no -concern of mine.' - -'And is there a Sprites' Book, Wistik?' - -Wistik looked at Johannes rather suspiciously. - -'What sort of creature are you really, Johannes? There is -something--just something--human about you, so to speak.' - -'No, no; be easy, Wistik,' said Windekind, 'we are elves. But formerly -Johannes saw a good deal of men and their doings. You may trust him -entirely. It can do him no harm.' - -'Ay, ay, well and good. But I am called the wisest of the sprites--and I -studied long and hard before I knew what I know. So now I must be -cautious with my learning. If I tell you too much, I shall lose my -reputation.' - -'But in what book do you think that the truth is to be found?' - -'I have read a great deal, but I do not believe that I have ever read -that book. It is not the Elves' Book nor the Sprites'. Yet it must -exist.' - -'The Men's Book perhaps?' - -'That I do not know, but I do not think it. For the True Book must bring -with it great peace and great happiness. In it there must be an exact -explanation of why everything is as it is, so that no one need ever ask -or inquire any more. Now men, I believe, have not got so far as that.' - -'Oh dear, no!' said Windekind, laughing. - -'Is there anywhere such a book?' said Johannes eagerly. - -'Yes, yes,' whispered the sprite. 'I know there is, from very ancient -legends. And--hush!--I know where it is, and who can find it.' - -'Oh, Wistik! Wistik!' - -'Why then have you not yet got it?' asked Windekind. - -'Patience, patience,--it will be found. I know as yet no -particulars,--but I shall soon find it. I have toiled for it and sought -it all my life. For to him who finds it life shall be one perpetual -autumn day--blue air above and blue mists all round,--only no falling -leaves shall rustle, no twigs shall snap, no raindrops patter, the -shadows shall not change, the sun-gold on the tree-tops shall not fade. -What seems to us now to be light shall be darkness; what seems to us now -to be joy shall be woe by comparison, to those who read that book! Ay! I -know this much, and some day I shall find it.' - -The Wood-Sprite raised his eyebrows very much and laid his finger on his -lips. - -'Wistik, if you could but teach me----' Johannes began; but before he -could say more he felt a strong gust of wind and saw a great, broad -black shroud overhead, which silently and swiftly swept by. When he -looked for Wistik again he saw one little foot just vanishing into the -hollow tree. Whisk! the sprite had leapt into his cave, book and all. -The candles burnt paler and paler and suddenly went out. Those were very -strange little candles. - -'What was that?' asked Johannes, clinging in terror to Windekind in the -darkness. - -'An owl,' said Windekind. Then they were both silent for some time. -Presently Johannes said:-- - -'Do you believe what Wistik said?' - -'Wistik is not so wise as he thinks himself. He will never find such a -book, nor you either.' - -'But does it exist?' - -'It exists, as your shadow exists, Johannes. However fast you run, -however cautiously you seize it, you can never overtake it or hold it. -And at last you discover that you are trying to catch yourself. Do not -be foolish; forget the sprite's chatter. I can tell you a hundred finer -tales. Come along! We will go to the outskirts of the wood and see how -our good father draws off the white woollen coverlets of dew from the -sleeping meadows. Come.' - -Johannes went; but he did not understand Windekind's words, nor did he -follow his counsel. And while he watched the dawn of the glorious autumn -morning, he was meditating over the book in which it is written why -everything is as it is, and repeating to himself in a low tone, -'Wistik!' - - - - -VI - - -It seemed to him, all the next few days, as though it was no longer so -delightful or so beautiful to be with Windekind in the wood or on the -sand-hills. His thoughts were no onger wholly occupied with all that -Windekind told him or showed him. He could not help thinking of that -Book, but he dared not speak of it. The things he saw seemed to him less -fine and wonderful than before. The clouds were so black and heavy, he -was afraid lest they should fall upon him. It distressed him when the -unresting autumn wind shook and bowed the poor weary trees, so that the -sallow under side of the leaves was seen, and yellow leaves and dry -twigs were swept before the gale. - -What Windekind told him had ceased to interest him. A great deal of it -he did not understand, and he never got a perfectly clear and -satisfactory answer when he asked one of his old questions. - -And this again made him think of that Book in which everything was set -forth so plainly and simply; and of that everlasting still and sunny -autumn day which would ensue. - -'Wistik! Wistik!' he murmured. - -Windekind heard him. - -'Johannes, I am afraid you ought to have remained a human being. Even -your friendship is as that of men--the first person who has spoken to -you after me has won all your confidence from me. Ah! my mother was -right after all!' - -'No, Windekind. But you are much wiser than Wistik--as wise as that -Book. Why do you not tell me everything? See now! Why does the wind blow -through the trees so that they bend and bow? Look, they can bear it no -longer; the boughs snap and the leaves are flying by hundreds on all -sides, though they are still green and fresh. They are so tired they can -no longer hold on, and yet they are constantly shaken and thrashed by -the rude, spiteful wind. Why is it so? What does the wind mean?' - -'My poor Johannes, you are talking as men talk.' - -'Make it stop, Windekind. I want calm and sunshine.' - -'You question and want as a man; there is no answer, no fulfilment. If -you cannot learn to ask or wish better, the autumn day will never dawn -for you, and you will be like the thousands of human beings who have -talked to Wistik.' - -'What, so many?' - -'Yes, thousands. Wistik affects great mystery, but he is a chatterbox -who cannot keep his own secrets. He hoped to find the Book among men, -and communicates his knowledge to every one who might be able to help -him. And he has made many as unhappy as himself. They believe in him, -and go forth to seek the Book with as much zeal as some use in seeking -the art of making gold. They sacrifice everything, give up their calling -and their happiness, and shut themselves up among big volumes or strange -matters and instruments. They risk their lives and health, they forget -the blue sky and kindly gentle Nature--nay, even their fellow-creatures. -Some find good and useful things, as it were gold nuggets, which they -throw out of their holes on to the bright sunlit surface of the earth; -but they do not themselves care for these; they leave them for others to -enjoy, while they dig and grub on in the dark without cessation or rest. -They are not seeking gold but the Book. Some lose their wits over the -work, forgetting their object and aim, and becoming mere miserable -dotards. The sprite has made them quite childish. You may see them -building up little castles of sand, and calculating how many grains more -are needed to make them fall in; they make little watercourses, and -estimate precisely the bends and bays the water will make; they dig -trenches, and devote all their patience and reason to making them very -smooth and free from stones. If these poor idiots are interrupted in -their work and asked what they are doing, they look up with great -importance, shake their heads and mutter, 'Wistik, Wistik!' Yes, it is -all the fault of that little foolish Wood-Sprite. Have nothing to say to -him, Johannes.' - -But Johannes stared before him at the swaying, creaking trees. The -smooth brow above his clear childish eyes puckered into furrows. He had -never before looked so grave. - -'And yet--you yourself said--that there is such a Book! And oh! I am -quite sure that in it there is all about the Great Light, whose name you -will not tell me.' - -'Poor, poor little Johannes!' said Windekind, and his voice rose above -the dizzy clamour of the storm like a peaceful hymn, sounding very far -away. 'Love me, only love me with all your might. In me, you will find -even more than you wish. You shall understand that which you cannot -conceive of, and be, yourself, what you desire to know. Earth and heaven -shall be familiar to you, the stars shall be your neighbours, infinitude -shall be your dwelling-place. Love me! only love me! Cling to me as the -hop-bine to the tree, be true to me as the lake is to its bed--in me -alone shall you find rest, Johannes.' - -Windekind ceased speaking, but the choral psalm still went on. It seemed -to float at an immense distance, in solemn rhythm, through the raging -and sighing of the wind--as tranquil as the moonlight shining between -the driving clouds. Windekind opened his arms and Johannes fell asleep -on his breast, under the shelter of the blue cloak. - -But in the night he awoke. Peace had suddenly and imperceptibly fallen -on the world; the moon was below the horizon; the leaves hung limp and -motionless; the forest was full of silence and darkness. - -And questions came back on Johannes' mind, in swift spectral succession, -dislodging all his newly-born confidence. Why were men thus made? Why -must he come away from them and lose their love? Why must the winter -come? Why must the leaves fall and the flowers die? Why--why? - -Down in the thicket the blue lights were dancing again. They came and -went. Johannes gazed at them with eager attention. He saw the larger, -brighter light shining on the dark tree-trunk. Windekind was sleeping -soundly and peacefully. - -'Just one more question!' thought Johannes, creeping out from under the -blue mantle. - - * * * * * - -'So, here you are again!' cried Wistik, with a friendly nod, 'I am very -pleased to see you. And where is your friend?' - -'Out yonder. But I wanted to ask you one more question--alone. Will you -answer it?' - -'You have lived among men, I am sure. Has it anything to do with my -secret?' - -'Who will find the Book, Wistik?' - -'Ay, ay! That's it, that's it. If I tell you, will you help me?' - -'If I can--certainly.' - -'Then listen, Johannes.' Wistik opened his eyes astonishingly wide, and -raised his eyebrows higher than ever. Then he whispered behind his -little hand. 'Men have the golden casket; elves have the golden key; the -foe of the elves can never find it, the friend of men alone can open it. -The first night of Spring is the right time, and Robin Redbreast knows -the way.' - -'Is that true, quite true?' cried Johannes, remembering his little key. - -'Yes,' said Wistik. - -'How is it that no one has found it yet?' asked Johannes, 'so many men -are seeking for it.' - -'I have never confided to any man, never to any man, what I have told -you. I never before knew a friend of the Elves.' - -'I have it, Wistik, I can help you!' Johannes leaped and clapped his -hands. 'I will ask Windekind about it.' - -Away he flew over the moss and dry leaves. But he stumbled now and then -and his feet were heavy. Stout twigs snapped under his tread, while -before, it had not even bent the blades of grass. There was the shady -fern under which they had been sleeping. Their bed was empty. - -'Windekind!' he called. But he started at the sound of his own voice. -'Windekind!' It sounded like a human voice. - -A scared night-bird flew up with a shriek. - -There was no one under the fern. Johannes could see no one. The blue -lights had vanished. It was very cold and perfectly dark on all sides. -Overhead, he saw the black tree-tops against the starry sky. - -Once more he called. Then he dared no more; his voice was an insult to -the silence, and Windekind's name a mockery. Poor Johannes fell on the -ground and sobbed in helpless grief. - - -[Footnote 1: 'Wistik' means, Could I but know.] - - - - -VII - - -The morning was cold and grey. The black shining boughs, swept bare by -the storm, dripped in the fog. Little Johannes ran as fast as he could -over the wet, down-beaten grass, looking before him in the distance -where the wood was thinnest, as though he had some goal beyond. His eyes -were red with crying, and dazed with fear and grief. He had been -wandering about all night, seeking some light,--the feeling of being -safe and at home had vanished with Windekind. The spirit of loneliness -lurked in every dark corner; he dared not look round. - -At last he came out of the wood; he looked over a meadowland, and fine -close rain was pouring steadily. A horse was standing out in the rain -close to a bare willow tree. It stood motionless, with bowed head, and -the water trickled slowly off its shining flanks and plaited mane. -Johannes ran on, along the skirt of the wood. He looked with dim, timid -eyes at the lonely beast, and the grey drizzle, and he softly groaned. - -'Now it is all over,' thought he. 'Now the sun will never come again. -Now everything will always look the same to me as it does here.' - -But he dared not stand still in his despair; something most dreadful -would befall him, he thought. Then he espied the high wall of a garden, -and a little house, under a lime-tree with faded yellow leaves. He went -into the enclosure and ran along broad paths where the brown and gold -lime-leaves thickly covered the ground. Purple asters and other gay -autumn flowers grew by the grass plots in wild abundance. Then he came -to a pond. By the side of it was a large house, with windows and doors -all opening down to the ground. Climbing roses and other creepers grew -against the walls. But it was all shut up and deserted. Half-stripped -chestnut trees stood about the house, and on the earth, among the fallen -leaves Johannes saw the shining brown chestnuts. - -The cold, dead feeling about his heart disappeared. He thought of his -own home--there two chestnut-trees grew, and at this season he always -went out to pick up chestnuts. He suddenly longed to be there, as though -an inviting voice had called him. He sat down on a bench close to the -big house and cried himself to rest. - -A peculiar smell made him look up. A man was standing by him, with a -white apron on and a pipe in his mouth. Round his waist he had a wisp of -bast with which he tied up the flowers. Johannes knew that smell so -well! It reminded him of his own garden, and the gardener who brought -him pretty caterpillars and showed him starling's eggs. - -He was not frightened,--though it was a man who stood before him. He -told the man that he had got lost and did not know his way, and -thankfully followed him to the little cottage under the lime-tree. - -Indoors, the gardener's wife sat knitting black stockings. A large -kettle of water was hung to boil over the turf-fire in the hearth-place. -On the mat by the fire lay a cat with her forepaws crossed, just as -Simon had been lying when Johannes left home. - -Johannes was made to sit down by the fire to dry his feet. 'Tick-tick, -tick-tick,' said the great hanging clock. Johannes looked at the steam -which came singing out of the kettle, and at the little flames which -skipped and jumped fantastically about the peat blocks. - -'Here I am among men,' thought he. - -It was not alarming. He felt easy and safe. They were kind and friendly, -and asked him what he would like to do. - -'I would rather stay here,' he replied. - -Here he was at peace, and if he went home there would be scolding and -tears. He would have to listen in silence, and he would be told that he -had been very naughty. He would be obliged to look back on the past, and -think everything over once more. - -He longed, to be sure, for his little room, for his father, for -Presto--but he could better endure the quiet longing for them here than -the painful, miserable meeting. And he felt as though here he could -still think of Windekind, while at home he could not. Windekind was now -certainly quite gone. Gone far away to the sunny land where palm-trees -bend over the blue sea. He would do penance here and await his friend's -return. - -So he begged the two good folks to let him live with them. He would be -obedient and work for them. He would help to take care of the garden and -the flowers, at any rate through this winter; for he hoped in his heart -that Windekind would return with the Spring. - -The gardener and his wife supposed that Johannes had run away from home -because he had been hardly treated. They pitied him, and promised to let -him stay. So he remained and helped to work in the garden and attend to -the flowers. They gave him a little room to sleep in with a bedstead -painted blue. Out of it, in the morning, he could see the wet yellow -lime-leaves flutter past the window, and at night the black boughs -waving to and fro, and the stars playing hide-and-seek between them. And -he gave names to the stars, and the brightest of them he called -Windekind. - -He told his history only to the flowers, most of which he had known -before at home; to the large, solemn asters, the many-hued zinnias, and -the white chrysanthemums which bloom on so late into the blustering -autumn. When all the rest of the flowers were dead the chrysanthemums -still stood upright--even when one morning the first snow had fallen and -Johannes came to see how they were getting on, they held up their -cheerful faces and said: 'Yes, we are still here. You would never have -thought it!' And they looked very brave; but two days later they were -all dead. - -But palms and tree-ferns were still thriving in the hot-house, and the -strange blossoms of orchids hung in the damp heat. Johannes peeped with -amazement into their gorgeous cups, and thought of Windekind. How cold -and colourless everything seemed then when he came out again--the sloppy -snow with black footmarks, and the sighing, dripping branches of the -trees! - -But when the snow-flakes had been noiselessly falling hour after hour so -that the boughs bent under the growing burthen, Johannes ran off -gleefully into the purple twilight of the snow-laden wood. That was -silence--but not death. It was almost more lovely than summer verdure, -as the dazzling whiteness of the tangled twigs made lace-work against -the light-blue sky, or as one of the over-weighted boughs shook off its -load of snow, which fell in a cloud of glittering powder. - -Once in the course of such a walk, when he had gone so far that all -round him there was nothing to be seen but snow and snow-wrapped woods, -half white and half black, and every sound of life seemed stifled under -the glistening downy shroud, it happened that he thought he saw a tiny -white creature running swiftly in front of him. He followed it--it -resembled no animal that he knew; but when he tried to catch it, it -promptly vanished into a hollow trunk. Johannes stared into the hole -where it had disappeared and thought to himself: 'I wonder if it was -Wistik?' - -But he did not think much about him. He fancied it was wrong, and he -would not spoil his fit of repentance. And his life with these two kind -people left him little to ask for. In the evenings he had indeed to read -aloud out of a thick book in which a great deal was said about God; but -he was familiar with the book, and read unheeding. - -That night, however, after his walk in the snow, he lay awake in his -bed, looking at the cold gleam of the moonlight on the floor. All at -once he saw two tiny hands which came out from below the bedstead and -firmly clutched the edge. Then the top of a little white fur cap came -into sight between the two hands, and at last he saw a pair of grave -eyes under uplifted eyebrows. - -'Good-evening, Johannes!' said Wistik. 'I am come to remind you of your -promise. You cannot yet have found the Book, for it is not yet Spring -time. But do you ever think it over? What is that thick book which you -are made to read? But that cannot be the right book. Do not imagine -that.' - -'I do not imagine that, Wistik,' said Johannes. - -He turned over to go to sleep again; but he could not get the gold key -out of his head. Before now, when reading the big Book, he had thought -of that, and he saw plainly that it could not be the right Book. - - - - -VIII - - -'Now he will come back,' thought Johannes, the first time the snow had -melted here and there, and the snowdrops peeped out in bunches. 'Will he -come now?' he asked of the snowdrops. But they did not know, and stood -there with hanging heads, looking down at the earth as if they were -ashamed of their haste to come out, and would gladly creep back again. - -If only they could have done so! The numbing east wind soon began to -blow again, and the snow drifted deep over the foolish, forward little -things. Some weeks later came the violets; their sweet smell betrayed -them among the brushwood; and when the sun had shone warmly on the mossy -ground the pale primroses came out by hundreds and thousands. - -The shy violets with their fine fragrance were the mysterious harbingers -of coming splendour, but the glad primroses were the glorious reality. -The waking earth had caught and captured the first sunbeams and turned -them into a golden jewel. - -'Now--now he will certainly come!' thought Johannes. He eagerly watched -the leaf-buds on the trees as they slowly swelled day by day and freed -themselves from the bark, till the first pale-green tips peeped out -between the brown scales. Johannes would stand gazing for long at the -little young leaves--he could never see them move, but if he only turned -round, they seemed to have grown bigger. 'They dare not, so long as I am -looking at them,' thought he. - -The shade had already begun to be green. Still Windekind did not come, -no dove had settled near him, no little mouse had spoken to him. When he -spoke to the flowers they merely nodded and never answered. - -'My punishment is not yet ended,' thought he. - -One sunny spring morning he went to the pond by the great house. The -windows were all wide open. Had the people who lived there come back? - -The bird-cherry which grew by the water-side was entirely covered with -fresh leaves; every twig had a crop of delicate green winglets. On the -grass by the tree lay a young girl; Johannes could only see that she had -a light-blue dress and fair hair. A robin, sitting on her shoulder, fed -out of her hand. She suddenly turned her head and looked at Johannes. - -'Good-day, little man!' said she, with a friendly nod. - -Johannes felt a glow from head to foot. Those were Windekind's eyes; -that was Windekind's voice. - -'Who are you?' he asked. His lips trembled with excitement. - -'I am Robinetta, and this is my bird. He will not be afraid of you. Are -you fond of birds?' - -The Redbreast was not afraid of Johannes; it flew on to his arm. This -was just as it used to be. The being in blue must be Windekind. - -'And tell me what your name is, boy,' said Windekind's voice. - -'Do you not know me? Do you not know that my name is Johannes?' - -'How should I know that?' - -What did this mean? For it was the sweet familiar voice, and those were -the same dark, heavenly-deep blue eyes. - -'Why do you look at me so, Johannes? Have you ever seen me before?' - -'Yes I have, indeed.' - -'You must surely have dreamed it.' - -'Dreamed it?' thought Johannes. 'Can I have dreamed it? Or can I be -dreaming now?' - -'Where were you born?' he inquired. - -'A long way from hence, in a great town.' - -'Among human beings?' - -Robinetta laughed--it was Windekind's laugh. 'Why, I should think so. -Were not you?' - -'Oh yes, I was too.' - -'Do you object to that? Do you not like human beings?' - -'No. Who could?' - -'Who?--Well, Johannes, you are a very strange little boy. Do you like -beasts better?' - -'Oh, much better,--and flowers.' - -'So do I myself sometimes; just for once in a while. But it is not -right. We ought to love our fellow-men, my father says.' - -'Why is it not right? I love whom I choose, whether it is right or not.' - -'Fie, Johannes! Have you no parents or any one to take care of you? And -do you not love them?' - -'Yes,' said Johannes thoughtfully, 'I love my father. But not because it -is right--nor yet because he is a man.' - -'Why then?' - -'That I do not know,--because he is not like other men; because he too -is fond of birds and flowers.' - -'And so am I, Johannes, as you may see.' And Robinetta called the robin -to sit on her hand and talked to him fondly. - -'That I know,' replied Johannes, 'and I love you very much.' - -'Already? That is quick work!' laughed the girl. 'And whom, then, do you -love best?' - -Johannes hesitated. Should he utter Windekind's name? The fear that he -might accidentally speak it in the presence of other persons was never -out of his thoughts. And yet, was not this fair-haired creature in blue -Windekind in person? How else could she give him such a sense of rest -and gladness? - -'You,' he suddenly replied, looking full into those deep blue eyes. He -boldly made a complete surrender; but he was a little alarmed -nevertheless, and anxiously awaited her reception of his precious -offering. - -Robinetta laughed again, a light clear laugh; but she took his hand and -her look was no colder nor her voice less full of feeling. - -'Why, Johannes,' said she, 'what have I done to deserve it all at once?' - -Johannes made no reply, but stood looking at her with trustful eyes. -Robinetta rose and laid her arm on his shoulder. She was taller than he. -Thus they wandered on through the wood, gathering great bunches of -cowslips till they could have hidden under the mass of bright yellow -blossoms. The robin flew, as they went on, from branch to branch, and -watched them with his glittering little black eyes. - -They did not talk much, but looked at each other now and then, with a -side glance. They were both embarrassed by this meeting and did not know -what to think of each other. - -But Robinetta had soon to turn back. It was growing late. - -'I must go now, Johannes. But will you come and walk with me again? I -think you are a nice little boy,' she said as they turned round. - -'Weet, weet!' piped the robin, and flew after her. - -When she was away and he had only her image left to think of, he had not -a moment's doubt as to who she was. She it was to whom he had given his -friendship: the name of Windekind faded from his mind, and that of -Robinetta took its place. - -And now everything was the same to him again as it had formerly been. -The flowers nodded gaily, and their scent drove away the melancholy -home-sickness which he had felt and encouraged now and then. Amid the -tender greenery, in the warm, soft breeze of spring, he all at once felt -himself at home, like a bird that has found its nest. He spread out his -arms and drew a deep breath; he was so happy. As he went homewards the -figure in light blue with yellow hair, floated before him whichever way -he turned his gaze. It was as though he had looked on the sun, and its -image danced before his eyes where-ever he looked. - -From that day forward Johannes found his way to the pond every fine -morning. He went early, as soon as he was roused by the squabbling of -the sparrows in the ivy round his window, and by the twitter and wheeze -of the starlings as they fluttered on the roof and wheeled in the early -sunshine. Then he flew off through the dewy grass, to wait close by the -house, behind a lilac-bush, till he heard the glass door open and saw -the light figure come out. - -Away they went, wandering through the wood and over the sand-hills which -skirted it. They talked of all they saw, the trees, and the plants and -the downs. Johannes had a strange bewildered feeling as he walked by her -side; sometimes he felt so light that he fancied he could fly through -the air. But that never happened. He told her all the stories of the -flowers and animals that he had heard from Windekind. But he had -forgotten who had told them to him, and Windekind did not now stand -before him, only Robinetta. He was happy when she smiled at Mm and he -saw her friendship for him in her eyes; and he would talk to her as of -old he had talked to his little dog, telling her everything that came -into his head, without reserve or timidity. During the hours when he -could not see her he thought of her; and in everything he did he asked -himself whether Robinetta would think it right or nice. She herself -seemed no less pleased to see him; she smiled and ran quicker to meet -him. She told him indeed that there was no one she was so glad to walk -with as with him. - -'But, Johannes,' said she one day, 'how do you know all these things? -How do you know what the cockchafers think about, what the thrushes -sing, what the inside of the rabbit-holes is like, and how things look -at the bottom of the water?' - -'I have been told,' answered Johannes, 'and I have myself been inside a -rabbit-burrow, and down to the bottom of the water.' - -Robinetta knit her pretty eyebrows and looked at him half mockingly. -But he looked as if he were speaking the truth. They were sitting under -lilac-trees covered with large bunches of purple blossoms. In front of -them was the pond with its reeds and duck-weed. They saw the black -water-snails gliding below the surface, and red spiders busily swinging -up and down. It was swarming with life and movement. Johannes, lost in -remembrance, gazed down into the depths and said-- - -'I went down there once. I slipped down a reed to the very bottom. It is -covered all over with dead leaves which fall so lightly and softly. It -is always twilight there--green twilight, because the light comes -through the green duck-weed. And over my head I saw the long white -rootlets of the duck-weed hanging down. Newts came and swam round me; -they are very inquisitive. It is strange to see such great creatures -swimming overhead; and I could not see far before me, it was too dark, -and all green. In that darkness, the creatures appeared like black -shades. Water-snails with their swimming-foot and flat shells, and -sometimes a little fish. I went a long way, for hours, I believe, and in -the middle was a great forest of water-plants, where snails were -creeping and water-spiders wove their glistening nets. Sticklebacks shot -in and out, and sometimes paused to stare at me, with open mouth and -quivering fins--they were so much astonished. I made friends there with -an eel, whose tail I unfortunately trod on. He told me the history of -his travels; he had been as far as the sea, he said. For this, he had -been chosen king of the pool, for no one else had ever been so far. He -always lay sleeping in the mud, except when he got something to eat -which the others brought him. He ate a terrible quantity. That was -because he was king; they like to have a very fat king; it looks grand. -Oh! it was lovely down in that pool.' - -'They why do you not go down there again now?' - -'Now?' repeated Johannes, looking at her with wide, bewildered eyes. -'Now? I can never go again now. I should be drowned. But I do not care. -I had rather stay here, by the lilac-bush, with you.' - -Robinetta shook her yellow head, much puzzled, and stroked Johannes's -hair. Then she looked at her bird, which seemed to be finding all sorts -of delicious morsels by the edge of the pond. It glanced up at that -moment, and watched the pair for a moment with its bright little eyes. - -'Do you understand anything of all this, Dicky-bird?' - -The Robin looked very knowing and went on hunting and pecking. - -'Tell me something more, Johannes, of the things you have seen.' - -This Johannes was very glad to do, and Robinetta listened with attentive -belief in all he said. - -'But where did this all happen? Why cannot you go now with me? -Everywhere--all about? I should like it so much.' - -Johannes did his best to remember, but a sunlit mist covered the dim -landscape where he had once wandered. He could not quite make out how it -was that his former happiness had deserted him. - -'I do not know exactly--you must not ask about that. A foolish little -being spoiled it all. But it is all right now--better even than before.' - -The scent of the lilac poured down on them from the bushes, and the -humming of the insects on the pool, and the peaceful sunshine filled -them with pleasant drowsiness, till a bell rang at the great house with -a swinging clang, and Robinetta flew off. - -When Johannes went into his little room that evening, as he looked at -the moon-shadows of the ivy leaves which stole across the brick floor, -he fancied he heard a tap at the window. He thought it was an ivy leaf -shaken by the wind. But it was such a distinct knocking, three taps each -time, that Johannes softly opened the window and cautiously peeped out. -The ivy against the wall glistened in the blue gleam--the dark world -below was full of mystery; there were hollows and caves, where the moon -lighted up small blue sparks, which made the darkness behind seem deeper -still. After staring for a long time into the marvels of the -shadow-world, Johannes discerned the form of a tiny mannikin, close to -the window, screened by a large ivy leaf. He at once recognised Wistik -by his large wondering eyes and uplifted eyebrows. The moon had set a -spark of light on the tip of Wistik's long nose. - -'Have you forgotten me, Johannes? Why do you never think of me? It is -the right time of year. Have you asked Robin Redbreast to show you the -way?' - -'Oh, Wistik, why should I ask? I have all I can wish for. I have -Robinetta.' - -'But that cannot last long. And you might be happier still--and -certainly Robinetta might. And is the little key to lie there? Only -think how splendid it would be if you two were to find the Book! Ask -Robin Redbreast about it, and I will help as far as I can.' - -'I can ask about it at any rate,' said Johannes. - -Wistik nodded, and nimbly scrambled down to the ground; and Johannes -looked at the deep shadows and the shining ivy leaves for a long time -before he went to bed. - -Next day he asked the Redbreast whether he knew the way to the golden -chest. Robinetta listened in surprise. Johannes saw the Robin nod his -head and give a side-glance at Robinetta. - -'Not here! not here!' piped the little bird. - -'What are you asking, Johannes?' said Robinetta. - -'Do you know anything about it, Robinetta? Do you know where it is to be -found? Are you not waiting for the little golden key?' - -'No, no. Tell me, what is it?' - -Johannes told her all he knew about the Book. 'And I have the key, and I -thought that you must have the little golden chest. Is it not so, -Dicky-bird?' - -But the bird pretended not to hear, and flew about among the young -pale-green birch boughs. They were sitting under a sand-hill, on which -little birches and broom shrubs grew. A grassy path ran up the slope, -and they sat at the edge of it, on the thick, dark, green moss. They -could see over the tops of the low shrubs, a green sea of leaves with -waves in light and shade. - -'I believe,' said Robinetta, after thinking for some time, 'that I can -find what you want before you do. But what do you mean about the little -key? How did you come by it?' - -'Ah!--how did I?--How was that?' muttered Johannes to himself, staring -across the green landscape into the distance. - -Suddenly, as though they had come into being under the sunny blue sky, a -pair of white butterflies met his sight. They flitted and wheeled, and -shone in the sunshine with purposeless giddy flutterings; but they came -close to him. - -'Windekind! Windekind!' The name came back to Johannes, and he spoke it -in a whisper. - -'What is Windekind?' asked Robinetta. The Redbreast flew chirping up, -and the daisies in the grass at their feet seemed all at once to be -staring at Johannes in alarm with their round white eyes. - -'Did he give you the little key?' the girl went on. - -Johannes nodded; still he said nothing, but she wanted to know more -about it. - -'Who was it? Did he tell you all these things? Where is he?' - -'He is gone.--Now it is Robinetta--no one but Robinetta--only -Robinetta.' - -He took her arm and laid his head against it. - -'Silly boy!' she said, laughing, 'I will make you find the Book; I know -where it is.' - -'But then I must go to fetch the key, and it is a long way off.' - -'No, no, you need not. I can find it without the key.--To-morrow, I -promise you, to-morrow.' - -And as they walked homewards, the butterflies flitted in front of them. - -That night, Johannes dreamed of his father, of Robinetta, and of many -others. They were all good friends; they stood round him and looked at -him kindly and trustfully. But on a sudden, their faces were changed, -they looked coldly and laughed at him. He gazed about him in terror--on -all sides there were none but angry, unfriendly faces. He felt a -nameless misery, and awoke with a cry. - - - - -IX - - -Johannes had sat waiting for a long time. The air was chill, and heavy -clouds swept over the scene in endless succession. They spread a dark -grey mantle in wide folds, and lifted their proud heads to the bright -light which shone above them. Sunshine and shadow chased each other with -wonderful swiftness across the trees, like a fitfully blazing fire. -Johannes was uneasy in his mind; he was thinking of the Book, not really -believing that he should ever find it. Between the clouds very, very -high up, he saw the clear, deep blue strewn with fleecy white clouds, -soft and feathery, floating in calm and motionless rest. - -'It must be like that!' thought he. 'So high, so bright, so still!' - -Then came Robinetta. Her bird was not with her. - -'It is all right, Johannes!' she cried out. 'You may come and see the -Book.' - -'Where is Robin Redbreast?' said Johannes doubtfully. - -'He did not come; as we are not going for a walk.' - -So he went with her, still thinking to himself: 'It cannot be.--It will -not be like this,--it must be quite different.' However, he followed the -shining golden hair which lighted up the way. - - * * * * * - -Alas! Sad things now befell little Johannes. I wish that his history -ended here. Did you ever have a beautiful dream of an enchanted garden, -with flowers and beasts who loved you and talked to you? And have you in -your dream had the consciousness that you would presently awake, and all -the glory of it vanish? Then you try with all your might to hold it -fast, and not to see the cold light of morning. - -Johannes had just such a feeling as he followed Robinetta. - -She led him into the big house, into a passage where his steps echoed. -He could smell the scent of clothes and food; he thought of the long -days when he had been kept indoors--of his school-days--and of -everything in his life which had been cold and gloomy. - -They went into a room full of men and women; how many, he could not see. -They were talking, but as he went in they were silent. He noticed that -the carpet had a pattern of huge, impossible flowers in gaudy colours. -They were as strange and monstrous as those on the curtains in his -bedroom at home. - -'So that is the gardener's little boy?' said a voice opposite him. 'Come -here, my little friend; there is nothing to be afraid of.' - -And another voice close to him said-- - -'Well, Robbie, you have found a nice little companion.' - -What did it all mean? The deep lines gathered again above Johannes's -dark childlike eyes, and he looked about him in bewilderment and alarm. -A man dressed in black sat near him, looking at him with cold, grey -eyes. - -'So you want to see the Book of Books? I am surprised that your father, -whom I know for a pious man, should not have put it into your hands -before now.' - -'You do not know my father; he is far, far away.' - -'Indeed! Well, it is the same thing. Look here, my little friend! Read -this diligently; it shall show you the way of life----' - -But Johannes had already recognised the Book. This was not what he -wanted. No, something very different. He shook his head. - -'No, no! that is not what I mean. I know this Book. This is not it.' - -He heard exclamations of surprise, and felt the looks which were fixed -on him from all sides. - -'What? What do you mean, little man?' - -'I know this book. It is the book men believe in. But there is not -enough in it--if there were, there would be peace and goodwill among -men. And there is none. I mean something different--something which no -one can doubt who sees it; in which it is written, precisely and -clearly, why everything is as it is.' - -'How is that possible? Where can the boy have picked up such a notion?' - -'Who taught you that, my little friend?' - -'I am afraid that you have read some wicked books, child, and are -talking like them.' - -Thus spoke the various voices. Johannes felt his cheeks burning--his -eyes were dim and dazzled--the room turned round, and the huge flowers -on the carpet swayed up and down. Where was the little mouse who had so -faithfully helped him that day in the school-room? He wanted her badly. - -'I am not talking like any book, and he who taught me what I know is -worth more than all of you together. I know the language of flowers and -animals, and am friends with them all. And I know too what men are, and -how they live. I know all the fairies' secrets and the wood-sprites'; -for they all love me--more than men do.' - -Oh Mousey, Mousey! - -Johannes heard sounds of disapprobation and laughter behind him, and all -sides. There was a singing and roaring in his ears. - -'He seems to have read Hans Andersen's tales.' - -'He is not quite right in his head.' - -The man opposite to him said: 'If you know Andersen, my little man, you -ought to have more of his reverence for God and His Word.' - -'For God!' He knew that word, and he remembered Windekind's teaching. - -'I have no reverence for God. God is a great Petroleum-lamp which leads -thousands to misery and misfortune.' - -There was no laughter now, but a terrible silence, in which horror and -amazement might be felt on all sides. Johannes was conscious of piercing -looks, even at his back. It was like his dream of the night before. The -man in black stood up and took him by the arm. This hurt him and almost -crushed his courage. - -'Listen to me, youngster: I do not know whether you are utterly ignorant -or utterly depraved, but I suffer no ungodly talk here. Go away, and -never come in my sight again, I advise you. I will keep an eye on what -becomes of you, but you never more set foot in this house. Do you -understand?' - -Every face was cold and hostile as he had seen them in his dream. -Johannes looked about him in anguish. - -'Robinetta--where is Robinetta?' - -'Ay indeed! You would contaminate my child! Beware if you ever dare to -come here again!' And the cruel grip led him down the echoing -passage--the glass door slammed--and Johannes found himself outside, -under the black driving clouds. - -He did not turn round, but stared straight before him as he slowly -walked away. The sad furrows above his eyes were deeper, and did not -smooth out again. - -The Redbreast sat in a lime hedge looking after him. He stopped and -gazed back, but did not speak; but there was no longer any confidence in -the bird's timid sharp little eyes, and when Johannes took a step -nearer, the quick little creature shot away in hasty flight. - -'Away, away! Here is a man!' piped the sparrows who were sitting in a -row on the garden path, and they fluttered away in all directions. Even -the open blossoms laughed no more, but looked grave and indifferent, as -they do to all strangers. Still Johannes did not heed these signs, but -only thought how cruelly he had been hurt by those men; it was as -though a cold hard hand had been laid on his inmost secret soul. 'They -shall believe me yet!' thought he. 'I will fetch my little key and show -it to them.' - -'Johannes, Johannes!' called a tiny voice. There was a bird's nest in a -holly bush and Wistik's big eyes peeped out over the edge of it. 'Where -are you off to?' - -'It is all your fault!' said Johannes. 'Leave me in peace.' - -'What took you to talk with men? Men can never understand you. Why do -you tell men such things? It is most foolish.' - -'They laughed at me, and hurt me. They are detestable creatures! I hate -them.' - -'No, Johannes; you love them.' - -'No, no!' - -'If you did not, it would not vex you so much to find yourself different -from them; it could not matter to you what they say. You must learn to -care less.' - -'I want my key. I want to show it to them.' - -'You must not do that; and they would not even then believe you. Of what -use would it be?' - -'I want my little key from under the rose-bush. Do you know where to -find it?' - -'Yes, certainly; by the pool you mean? Yes, I know it.' - -'Then take me there, Wistik.' - -Wistik clambered up on Johannes's shoulder and showed him the way. They -went on and on, all the day; the wind blew, and heavy rain fell from -time to time, but towards evening the clouds ceased driving, and packed -into long grey and gold bars. When they reached the sand-hills which -Johannes knew so well, his heart was sad within him, and he whispered -again and again, 'Windekind, Windekind!' - -There was the rabbit-hole, and the sand-hill where he had fallen asleep. -The grey reindeer-moss was soft and damp, and did not crack under his -feet. The roses were all over, and the yellow evening-primroses with -their faint oppressive scent opened their cups by hundreds. Higher yet -grew the tall mulleins with their thick woolly leaves. Johannes looked -carefully to espy the small russet leaves of the wild rose. - -'Where is it, Wistik? I do not see it.' - -'I know nothing of it,' said Wistik. 'You buried the key, not I.' - -Where the rose-tree had stood there was a plot covered with yellow -Oenotheras staring heedlessly at the sky. Johannes questioned them, and -the mullein too; but they were much too proud, for their tall stems rose -far above his head; so he asked the little three-coloured pansies on the -sandy ground. However, no one knew anything of the wild rose. They were -all new-comers this summer, even the mullein, arrogant and tall as it -was. - -'Oh! where is it? where is it?' - -'Have you too deceived me?' cried Wistik. 'I expected it; it is always -so with men.' - -And he let himself slip down from Johannes's shoulder, and ran away -among the broom. Johannes looked about him in despair--there stood a -tiny wild rose-bush. - -'Where is the big rose-bush?' asked Johannes; 'the big one which used to -stand here?' - -'We never talk with human creatures,' said the shrub. - -That was the last thing he heard; everything remained silent. Only the -broom-shrubs sighed in the light evening breeze. - -'Am I then a man?' thought Johannes. 'No! it cannot be, it cannot be! I -will not be a man! I hate men!' - -He was tired and sick at heart. He lay down at the edge of the meadow, -on the soft grey moss which gave out a strong, damp scent. - -'Now I cannot find my way back, and shall never see Robinetta again. -Shall I not die if I have not Robinetta? Shall I live and grow to be a -man--a man like those others who laughed at me?' - -On a sudden he saw once more the two white butterflies which came flying -towards him from the side where the sun was setting. He watched them -anxiously; would they show him the way? They fluttered over his head, -sometimes close together and sometimes far apart, flitting about as if -in whimsical play. By degrees they went farther and farther from the -sun, and vanished at last over the ridge of the sand-hills towards the -wood, where only the topmost boughs were now red in the evening glow -which blazed out brightly from beneath the long dark levels of cloud. - -Johannes rose and went after them, but as they flew up over the first -trees he saw that a black shadow followed them and overtook them with -noiseless flight. The next instant they were gone. The black shade -pounced swiftly down on them, and Johannes in terror covered his face -with his hands. - -'Well, my little friend, what have you to cry about?' said a sharp -mocking voice close at hand. Johannes had seen a big bat coming towards -him, but when he now looked up a little black dwarf not much taller than -himself was standing on the sand-hill. He had a large head with big ears -which stuck out dark against the bright evening sky; a lean shape and -thin legs. Johannes could see nothing of his face but the small -twinkling eyes. - -'Have you lost anything, my little fellow? Can I help you seek it?' said -he. But Johannes shook his head in silence. - -'Look here. Would you like to have these?' he began again, opening his -hand. In it Johannes saw something white which still moved a little. -This was the two white butterflies, their crushed and broken wings -quivering in their death-struggle. Johannes shuddered as though some one -had blown against the nape of his neck, and he looked up in alarm at the -strange being. - -'Who are you?' he asked. - -'You would like to know my name? Well, call me Pluizer[1]--simply -Pluizer. I have other prettier names, but you would not understand them -yet.' - -'Are you a man?' - -'Better and better! Well, I have arms and legs and a head--see what a -head--and the boy asks me whether lama man! Why, Johannes, Johannes!' -And the mannikin laughed with a shrill piercing note. - -'How do you know who I am?' asked Johannes. - -'Oh, that, to me, is a mere trifle. I know a great deal more than that. -I know whence you have come and what you came to do. I know a wonderful -deal--almost everything.' - -'Ah, Master Pluizer----' - -'Pluizer, Pluizer--without any fine words.' - -'Then do you know anything----' but Johannes was suddenly silent. 'He is -a man,' thought he. - -'Of the little key, do you mean? Why, to be sure!' - -'But I did not think that any man could know about that.' - -'Foolish boy! Besides, Wistik has told me all about it.' - -'Then do you know Wistik too?' - -'Oh yes! One of my best friends--and I have many friends. But I know it -without Wistik. I know a great deal more than Wistik. Wistik is a very -good fellow--but stupid, uncommonly stupid. Now, I am not! Far from it!' - -And Pluizer tapped his big head with his lean little hand. 'Do you know, -Johannes,' he went on, 'what Wistik's great defect is?--but you must -never tell him, for he would be very angry.' - -'Well, what is it?' said Johannes. - -'He does not exist. That is a great defect, but he does not admit it. -And he says the same of me, that I do not exist. But that is a lie. I -not exist, indeed! What next, I wonder?' - -And Pluizer put the butterflies into his satchel, and suddenly turning a -somersault stood before Johannes on his head. Then, with a hideous -grin, he stuck out a vile long tongue. Johannes, who did not feel at all -at his ease alone with this strange being in the growing dusk on the -deserted sand-hills, now fairly quaked with fear. - -'This is a delightful manner of surveying the world,' said Pluizer, -still upside down. 'If you like I will teach you to do it. You see -everything much clearer, and more life-like.' And he flourished his -little legs in the air and waltzed round on his hands. As the red light -fell on his inverted face Johannes thought it perfectly horrible; those -little eyes twinkled in the glow and showed the whites at the lower edge -where it is not generally visible. - -'You see, in this position the clouds seem to be the ground and the -earth the top of the world. It is just as easy to maintain that as the -converse. There is really no above or below. A very pretty place to walk -on those clouds must be!' - -Johannes looked up at the long stretches of cloud. They looked to him -like a ploughed land, with red furrows, as though blood welled up from -it. Just over the pool yawned the gate of the cloud-grotto. - -'Can any one go there and enter in?' he asked. - -'What nonsense!' said Pluizer, suddenly standing on his feet again, to -Johannes's great relief, 'Nonsense! If you were there you would find it -just the same as here, and it would look as beautiful as that further on -again. But in those lovely clouds it is all foggy and grey and cold.' - -'I do not believe you,' cried Johannes. 'Now I see you really are a -man.' - -'Come, come! You do not believe me, my little friend, because I am a -man? And what sort of creature are you then, I should like to know?' - -'O Pluizer! Am I, too, really a man?' - -'What do you suppose? An elf? Elves are never in love.' And Pluizer -unexpectedly sat down on the ground at Johannes's feet with his leg -crossed under him, staring at him with a villainous grin. Johannes was -unutterably embarrassed and uncomfortable under his gaze, and wished he -could escape or become invisible. But he could not even take his eyes -off him. 'Only men fall in love, Johannes, d'ye hear! And so much the -better, or there would be none left by this time. And you are in love -like the best of them, although you are but a little fellow. Of whom -are you thinking at this moment?' - -'Of Robinetta,' whispered Johannes, hardly above his breath. - -'Whom do you most long for?' - -'Robinetta.' - -'Without whom do you think you could not live?' Johannes's lips moved -silently: 'Robinetta.' - -'Well then, youngster,' grinned Pluizer, 'what made you fancy that you -could be an elf? Elves do not love the daughters of men.' - -'But it was Windekind,' Johannes stammered out in his bewilderment. But -Pluizer flew into a terrible rage and his bony fingers gripped Johannes -by the ears. - -'What folly is this? Would you try to frighten me with that -whippersnapper thing? He is a greater simpleton than Wistik--much -greater. He knows nothing at all. And what is worse, he does not exist -in any sense, and never has existed. I only exist, do you understand? -And if you do not believe me, I will let you feel what I am.' And he -shook the hapless Johannes by the ears. - -Johannes cried out-- - -'But I have known him such a long time, and have travelled such a long -way with him!' - -'You dreamed it, I tell you. Where are the rose bush and the little key, -hey? But you are not dreaming now. Do you feel that?' - -'Oh!' cried Johannes, for Pluizer nipped him. - -It was by this time dark, and the bats flew close over their heads and -piped shrilly. The air was black and heavy, not a leaf was stirring in -the wood. - -'May I go home?' asked Johannes,--'home to my father?' - -'To your father! What to do there?' said Pluizer. 'A warm reception you -will get from him after staying away so long.' - -'I want to get home,' said Johannes, and he thought of the snug room -with the bright lamp light where he would sit so often by his father's -side, listening to the scratching of his pen. It was quiet there, and -not lonely. - -'Well then, you would have done better not to come away, and stayed so -long for the sake of that senseless jackanapes who has not even any -existence. Now it is too late, but it does not matter in the least; I -will take care of you. And whether I do it or your father, comes to -precisely the same in the end. Such a father--it is a mere matter of -education. Did you choose your own father? Do you suppose that there is -no one so good or so clever as he? I am just as good, and cleverer--much -cleverer.' - -Johannes had no heart to answer; he shut his eyes and nodded feebly. - -'And it would be of no use to look for anything from Robinetta,' the -little man went on. He laid his hands on Johannes's shoulders and spoke -close into his ear. That child thought you just as much a fool as the -others did. Did you not observe that she sat in the corner and never -spoke a word when they all laughed at you? She is no better than the -rest. She thought you a nice little boy, and was ready to play with -you--as she would have played with a cockchafer. She will not care that -you are gone away. And she knows nothing of that Book. But I do; I know -where it is, and I will help you to find it. I know almost everything.' - -And Johannes was beginning to believe him. - -'Now will you come with me? Will you seek it with me?' - -'I am so tired,' said Johannes, 'let me sleep first.' - -'I have no opinion of sleep,' replied Pluizer, 'I am too active for -that. A man must always be wide awake and thinking. But I will grant you -a little time for rest. Till to-morrow morning!' And he put on the -friendliest expression of which he was capable. - -Johannes looked hard into his little twinkling eyes till he could see -nothing else. His head was heavy and he lay down on the mossy knoll. The -little eyes seemed to go further and further from him till they were -starry specks in the dark sky; he fancied he heard the sound of distant -voices, as though the earth beneath him were going away and away--and -then he ceased to think at all. - - -[Footnote 1: The plucker, the spoiler.] - - - - -X - - -Even before he was fairly awake, he was vaguely conscious that something -strange had happened to him while he slept. Still he was not anxious to -know what, or to look about him. He would rather return to the dream -which was slowly fading like a rising mist--Robinetta had come to be -with him again, and had stroked his hair as she used to do--and he had -seen his father once more, and Presto, in the garden with the pool. - -'Oh! That hurt! Who did that?' Johannes opened his eyes, and in the grey -morning light, he saw a little man standing at his side who had pulled -his hair. He himself was in bed, and the light was dim and subdued, as -in a room. - -But the face which bent over him at once carried him back to all the -misery and distress of the past evening. It was Pluizer's face, less -boguey-like and more human, but as ugly and terrifying as ever. - -'Oh, no! Let me dream!' cried Johannes. - -But Pluizer shook him. 'Are you crazy, sluggard? Dreaming is folly; you -will never get any further by that. A man must work and think and -search; that is what you are a man for.' - -'I do not want to be a man. I want to dream.' - -'I cannot help that; you must. You are now in my charge, and you must -work and seek with me. With me alone can you ever find the thing you -want. And I will not give in till we have found it.' - -Johannes felt a vague dismay; still, a stronger will coerced and drove -him. He involuntarily submitted. - -The sand-hills, trees, and flowers had vanished. He was in a small -dimly-lighted room; outside, as far as he could see, there were houses, -and more houses, dingy and grey, in long dull rows. Smoke rose from -every one of them in thick wreaths, and made a sort of brown fog in the -streets. And along those streets men were hurrying, like great black -ants. A mingled, dull clamour came up from the throng without ceasing. - -'Look, Johannes,' said Pluizer. 'Now is not that a fine sight? Those are -men, and all the houses, whichever way you look, and as far as you can -see--even beyond the blue towers there--are full of men--quite full from -top to bottom. Is not that wonderful? That is rather different from a -sand-hill!' - -Johannes listened with alarmed curiosity, as though some huge and -hideous monster had risen up before him. He felt as if he stood on the -creature's back, and could see the black blood flowing through its great -arteries, and the murky breath streaming from its hundred nostrils. And -the portentous hum of that terrible voice filled him with fears. - -'Look how fast the men walk,' Pluizer went on. 'You can see that they -are in a hurry and are seeking something, cannot you? But the amusing -thing is, that not one of them knows exactly what he is seeking. When -they have been seeking for some little time, some one comes to meet -them--his name is Hein.' - -'Who is he?' asked Johannes. - -'Oh, a very good friend of mine. I will introduce you to him some day. -Then Hein says to them, "Are you looking for me?" To which most of them -reply, "Oh no. I do not want you!" But then Hein says again, "But there -is nothing to be found but me." So they have to be satisfied with Hein.' - -Johannes understood that he meant death. - -'And is it always, always so?' - -'To be sure, always. And yet, day after day, a new crowd come on, who -begin forthwith to seek they know not what, and they seek and seek till -at last they find Hein. This has been going on for a good while already, -and so it will continue for some time yet.' - -'And shall I never find anything, Pluizer--nothing but--?' - -'Ay, you will find Hein some day, sure enough! but that does not matter; -seek all the same--for ever be seeking.' - -'But the Book, Pluizer, you were to make me find the Book.' - -'Well who knows? I have not taken back my word. We must seek it -diligently. At any rate we know where to look for it; Wistik taught us -that. And there are folks who spend all their lives in the search -without even knowing so much as that. Those are the men of science, -Johannes. But then Hein comes and it is all over with their search.' - -'That is horrible, Pluizer!' - -'Oh no, not at all! Hein is a very kind creature; but he is -misunderstood.' - -Some one was heard on the staircase outside the bedroom door. Tramp, -tramp, up the wooden steps--tramp, tramp,--nearer and nearer. Then some -one tapped at the door, and it was as though iron rapped against the -panel. - -A tall man came in. He had deep-set eyes and long lean hands. A cold -draught blew into the room. - -'Good-day,' said Pluizer, 'so it is you! Sit down. We were just speaking -of you. How are you getting on?' - -'Busy, busy!' said the tall man, and he wiped the cold dews from his -bald, bony forehead. - -Without moving Johannes looked timidly into the deep-set eyes which were -fixed on his. They were grave and gloomy, but not cruel, not angry. -After a few minutes he breathed more freely and his heart beat less -wildly. - -'This is Johannes,' said Pluizer. 'He has heard of a certain book in -which it is written why everything is as it is, and we are now going to -seek it together, are we not?' And Pluizer laughed significantly. - -'Ay, indeed? That is well!' said Death kindly, and he nodded to -Johannes. - -'He is afraid he will not find it, but I tell him first to seek it -diligently.' - -'To be sure,' said Death. 'Seek diligently, that is the best way.' - -'He thought, too, that you were very dreadful. But you see, Johannes, -that you were mistaken.' - -'Oh yes,' said Death good-humouredly, 'men speak much evil of me. I am -not attractive to look upon, but I mean well, nevertheless.' - -He smiled faintly, as one who is occupied with more serious matters than -those he is speaking of. Then he took his dark gaze from Johannes's -face, and looked out thoughtfully over the great city. - -For a long time Johannes dared not speak; but at last he said in a low -voice-- - -'Are you going to take me with you?' - -'What do you mean, my child?' said Death, roused from his meditations. -'No, not now. You must grow up and become a good man.' - -'I will not grow to be a man like all the rest.' - -'Come, come,' said Death, 'there is no help for it.' - -And it was easy to hear that this was a frequent phrase with him. He -went on-- - -'My friend Pluizer can teach you how to become a good man. There are -various ways of being good, but Pluizer can teach you admirably. It is a -very fine and noble thing to be a good man. You must never look down on -a good man, my little fellow.' - -'Seek, think, look about you,' said Pluizer. - -'To be sure, to be sure,' said Death. And then he inquired of Pluizer: -'To whom will you take him?' - -'To Doctor Cypher, my old pupil.' - -'Ah yes,--a very good pupil. A very capital example of a man! Almost -perfect in his own way.' - -'Shall I see Robinetta again?' asked Johannes, trembling. - -'What does the boy mean?' asked Death. - -'Oh, he was in love, and fancied that he was an elf. Ha, ha, ha!' -laughed Pluizer spitefully. - -'No, no, my little man, that will never do,' said Death. 'You will soon -forget all that when you are with Doctor Cypher. Those who seek what you -seek must give up everything else. All or nothing.' - -'I shall make a real man of him. I will let him see some day what being -in love really means, and then he will cast it from him altogether.' - -And Pluizer laughed heartily. Death again fixed his black eyes on poor -Johannes, who had some difficulty in refraining from sobbing. But he was -ashamed to cry in the presence of Death. - -Death suddenly rose. 'I must be going,' said he. 'I am wasting my time -in talk, and there is much to be done. Good-bye, Johannes!--We shall -meet again. But you must not be afraid of me.' - -'I am not afraid of you; I wish you would take me with you.' - -But Death gently pushed him away; he was used to such entreaties. - -'No, Johannes.--Go now to your work in life; seek and see! Ask me no -more. _I_ will ask you some day, and that will be quite soon enough.' - -When he had disappeared Pluizer again began to behave in the wildest -fashion. He leaped over the seats, turned somersaults, climbed up the -cupboard and chimney-shelf, and played break-neck tricks at the open -window. - -'Well, that was Hein, my good friend Hein!' said he. 'Did you not like -him greatly? A little unattractive and bony-looking, perhaps. But he can -be very jolly too, when he takes pleasure in his work. Sometimes it -bores him; it is rather monotonous.' - -'Pluizer, who tells him where he is to go next?' - -Pluizer stared at Johannes with a look of cunning inquiry. - -'What makes you ask?--He goes where he pleases--He takes those he can -catch.' - -Later, Johannes came to see that it was not so. But as yet he knew no -better, and thought that Pluizer was always right. - -They went out and up the street, moving among the swarming throng. The -men in their black clothes bustled about, laughing and talking so gaily -that Johannes could not help wondering. He saw how Pluizer nodded to -several, but no one returned the greeting; they all looked in front of -them as if they did not even see him. - -'They go by and laugh now,' said Pluizer, 'as if they none of them knew -me. But that is only make-believe. When I am alone with one of them they -cannot pretend not to know me, and then they are not so light-hearted.' - -And as they went on Johannes was presently aware of some one following -them. When he looked round he saw that the tall pale figure was striding -on among the people, with long noiseless steps. He nodded to Johannes. - -'Do the people see him too?' asked Johannes of Pluizer. - -'Certainly, but they do not choose to know him. Well, I pardon them for -their arrogance!' - -The crowd and the turmoil produced a sort of bewilderment which made -Johannes forget his woes. The narrow streets and the high houses, which -cut the blue heavens above into straight strips, the people going up and -down them, the shuffling of feet and the clatter of vehicles, ousted -the visions and dreams of the night, as a storm dissipates the images in -a pool of water. It seemed to him that there was nothing in the world -but walls, and windows, and men. He felt as if he too must do the same, -and rush and push in the seething, breathless whirl. - -Presently they came to a quieter neighbourhood, where a large house -stood, with plain grey windows. It looked stern and unkindly. Everything -was silent within, and Johannes smelt a mixture of sour, unfamiliar -odours, with a damp, cellar-like atmosphere for their background. In a -room filled with strange-looking instruments sat a lonely man. He was -surrounded by books, and glass and copper objects, all unknown to -Johannes. A single ray of sunshine fell into the room above his head, -and sparkled on flasks full of bright-coloured liquids. The man was -gazing fixedly through a copper tube and did not look up. - -As Johannes approached he could hear him murmuring, 'Wistik, Wistik!' - -By the man's side, on a long black board, lay something white and furry -which Johannes could not see very clearly. - -'Good-morning, doctor,' said Pluizer; but the doctor did not move. - -But Johannes was startled, for the white object which he was watching -intently, suddenly began to move convulsively. What he had seen was the -white fur of a rabbit lying on its back. The head, with the mobile nose, -was fixed in an iron clamp, and its four little legs were firmly bound -to its body. The hopeless effort to get free was soon over, then the -little creature lay still again, and only the rapid movement of its -bleeding throat showed that it was still alive. And Johannes saw its -round, gentle eye staring wide in helpless terror, and he felt as if he -recognised the poor little beast. Was not that the soft little body -against which he had slept that first delightful night with the elves? -Old memories crowded in his mind; he flew to the rabbit. - -'Wait, wait! Poor rabbit! I will release you!' and he hastily tried to -cut the cords which bound the tender little paws. But his hands were -tightly clutched, and a sharp laugh sounded in his ear. - -'What do you mean by this, Johannes? Are you still such a baby? What -must the doctor think of you?' - -'What does the boy want? What brings him here?' asked the doctor in -surprise. - -'He wants to become a man, so I have brought him to you. But he is still -young and childish. That is not the way to find what you are seeking, -Johannes.' - -'No, that is not the way,' said the doctor. 'Doctor, set the rabbit -free!' - -But Pluizer held him by both hands till he hurt him. - -'What did we agree on, little man?' he whispered in his ear. 'To seek -diligently, was it not? We are not on the sand-hills now, with Windekind -and the dumb brutes. We are to be men--men. Do you understand? If you -mean to remain a child, if you are not strong enough to help me, I will -send you about your business and you may seek by yourself.' - -Johannes was silent, and believed him. He would be strong. He shut his -eyes so that he might not see the rabbit. - -'My dear boy,' said the doctor, 'you seem still too tender-hearted to -begin. To be sure--the first time it is horrible to look on. I myself, -for some time, was most averse to it, and avoided it as far as -possible. But it is indispensable; and you must remember we are men and -not brutes, and the advancement of mankind and of science is of more -importance than a few rabbits.' - -'Do you hear?' said Pluizer,--'science and mankind.' - -'The man of science,' the doctor went on, 'stands far above all other -men. But he must make all the smaller feelings which are common to the -vulgar give way to the one grand idea of science. Will you be such a -man? Is that your vocation, my boy?' - -Johannes hesitated; he did not know justly what a vocation might be--any -more than the cockchafer. - -'I want to find the book of which Wistik spoke,' said he. - -The doctor looked surprised and asked, 'Wistik?' - -Pluizer hastened to reply. 'He will, doctor; I know he really will. He -desires to seek the highest wisdom and to understand the true nature of -tilings.' - -Johannes nodded, 'Yes!' So far as he understood the matter, that was -what he meant. - -'Very well; but then you must be strong, Johannes, and not timid and -soft-hearted. Then I can help you. But remember: all or nothing.' - -And with trembling fingers Johannes helped to tighten the relaxed cords -round the rabbit's little paws. - - - - -XI - - -'Now we shall see,' said Pluizer, 'whether I cannot show you just as -pretty things as Windekind did.' - -And when they had taken leave of the doctor, promising to return soon, -he led Johannes into every nook and corner of the great town; he showed -him how the Monster lived, how he breathed and took in food, how he -digested within and expanded without. But what he liked best were the -gloomy back slums, where men sat closely packed, where everything was -grey and grizzly, and the air black and heavy. He took him into one of -the great buildings from which the smoke rose which Johannes had seen -the first day. The place was filled with deafening noise--thumping, -rattling, hammering and droning--great wheels were turning and long -belts sliding endlessly onward; the walls and floors were black, the -windows broken and murky. The towering chimneys rose high above the -dingy structure, and poured forth thick wreaths of smoke. Amid the -turmoil of wheels and axles, Johannes saw numbers of men with pale faces -and blackened hands and clothes, working busily without a word. - -'Who are they?' he asked. - -'Wheels, wheels too,' said Pluizer with a laugh, 'or men, if you choose -to call them so. And what you see them doing, they do from morning to -night. Even so, they can be men--after their own fashion, of course.' - -Then they passed along filthy streets, where the strip of heavenly blue -seemed no more than a finger's breadth wide, and was still more shut out -by clothes hung out to air. These alleys were swarming with people, who -jostled each other, shouted, laughed and sometimes even sang. In the -houses here, the rooms were so small, so dark and foul, that Johannes -could scarcely breathe. He saw squalid children crawling about on the -bare floor, and young girls with tangled hair crooning songs to pale, -hungry babies. He heard quarrelling and scolding, and every face he -looked upon was weary, or stupid and indifferent. - -It filled Johannes with a strange sudden pang. It had nothing in common -with any former pain, and he felt ashamed of it. - -'Pluizer,' said he, 'have men always lived here in such grief and -misery? And when I--' he dared not finish the question. - -'To be sure, and a happy thing too. They are not in such grief and -misery; they are used to it and know no better. They are mere animals, -ignorant and indifferent. Look at those two women sitting in front of -their door; they look out on the dirty street as contentedly as you used -to gaze at the sand-hills. You need not worry yourself about the lot of -man. You might as well cry over the lot of the moles who never see -daylight.' - -And Johannes did not know what to answer, nor what, then, he ought to -weep over. And ever through the noisy throng and bustle, he still saw -the pale, hollow-eyed figure marching on with noiseless steps. - -'A good man, don't you think?' said Pluizer. 'He takes them away from -this at any rate. But even here men are afraid of him.' - -When night had fallen and hundreds of lights flared in the wind, casting -long, straggling reflections in the black water, they made their way -down the quiet streets. The tall old houses seemed tired out, and asleep -as they leaned against each other. Most of them had their eyes shut; but -here and there a window still showed a pale gleam of yellow light. - -Pluizer told Johannes many a long tale of those who dwelt within, of the -sufferings which were endured there, and the struggle waged between -misery and the love of life. He spared him nothing: he sought out the -gloomiest, the lowest, the most dreadful facts, and grinned with delight -as Johannes turned pale and speechless at his horrible tales. - -'Pluizer,' Johannes suddenly asked, 'do you know anything about the -Great Light?' He thought the question might deliver him from the -darkness which grew thicker and more oppressive about him. - -'All nonsense!' said Pluizer. 'Windekind's nonsense! Mere visions and -dreams! Men alone exist--and I myself. Do you suppose that a God, or -anything at all like one, could take pleasure in governing such a muddle -as prevails on this earth? And such a Great Light would not shine here -in the dark.' - -'But the stars, what about the stars?' asked Johannes as if he expected -that the visible Splendour would raise up the squalor before him. - -'The stars! Do you know of what you are talking, boy? There are no -lights up there like the lamps you see about you here below. The stars -are nothing but worlds, a great deal larger than this world with its -thousand cities, and we move among them like a speck of dust; and there -is no "above" or "below," but worlds all round, and on every side more -worlds, and no end of them anywhere.' - -'No, no!' cried Johannes in horror. 'Do not say so, do not say so! I can -see the lights against a great dark background overhead.' - -'Very true. You cannot see anything but lights. If you stared up at the -sky all your life long you would still see nothing but lights against a -dark background overhead. But, you know, you must know, that there is no -above nor beneath. Those are worlds, amid which this clod of earth, with -its wretched, struggling mass of humanity, is as nothing--and will -vanish into nothing. Do not ever speak of "the stars" in that way, as -though there were but a few dozen of them. It is foolishness.' - -Johannes said no more. The immensity which ought to have elevated the -squalor had crushed it. - -'Come along,' said Pluizer. 'Now we will go to see something amusing.' - -At intervals bursts of delightful, soft music were wafted to their ears. -On a dark slope in front of them stood a large building with lamps -blazing in its numerous long windows. A row of carriages was in waiting -outside; the pawing of the horses rang hollow through the silent night, -and as they shook their heads, sparks of light shone on the silver -fittings of their harness, and on the varnish of the coaches. - -Inside, everything was a blaze of light. Johannes was half blinded as he -gazed, by the hundreds of candles, the bright colours, the glitter of -mirrors and flowers. Gay figures flitted across the windows, bowing to -each other, with laughter and gestures. Beyond, at the other side of the -room, richly dressed persons were moving about with slow dignity or -spinning with swift, swaying motion. A confused sound of laughter and -merry voices, of shuffling feet and rustling dresses came through the -front door, mingling with the waves of that soft bewitching music which -Johannes had already heard from afar. In the street, close to the -windows, stood a few dark figures, their faces only strangely lighted up -by the illumination within, at which they stared with avidity. - -'That is pretty! That is splendid!' cried Johannes, delighted at the -sight of so much light and colour, and so many flowers. 'What is going -on in there? May we go in?' - -'Indeed! So you really think that pretty? Or do you not prefer a -rabbit-hole? Look at the people as they laugh, and bow, and glitter. See -how stately and polite the men are; and how gay and fine the ladies! And -how solemnly they dance, as if it were the most important thing on -earth.' - -Johannes recalled the ball in the rabbit-burrow, and he saw a great deal -which reminded him of it. But here, everything was much grander and more -brilliant. The young ladies in their beautiful array seemed to him as -lovely as elves, as they raised their long, bare arms, and bent their -heads on one side in the dance. The servants moved about incessantly, -offering elegant refreshments with respectful bows. - -'How splendid! How splendid!' cried Johannes. - -'Very pretty, is it not?' said Pluizer. 'But now you must learn to look -a little further than the end of your nose. You see nothing there but -happy smiling faces? Well, the greater part of all that mirth is -falsehood and affectation. The friendly old ladies in the corner sit -there like anglers round a pond; the young girls are the bait, the men -are the fish. And affectionately as they gossip together, they envy and -grudge each other every fish that bites. If either of the young ladies -feels some pleasure, it is because she has a prettier dress than the -rest, or secures more partners; the pleasure of the men chiefly consists -in the bare shoulders and arms of the ladies. Behind all these bright -eyes and pleasant smiles there lurks something quite different. Even the -thoughts of the respectful servants are very far from respectful. If -suddenly every one should give utterance to his real thoughts the party -would soon be at an end.' - -And when Pluizer pointed it ail out to him, Johannes could plainly see -the insincerity of the faces and manners of the company, and the vanity, -envy, and weariness which showed through the smiling mask, or were -suddenly revealed as though it had just been taken off. - -'Well,' said Pluizer, 'they must do things in their own way. Human -creatures must have some amusement, and they know no other way.' - -Johannes was aware of some one standing just behind him. He looked -round; it was the well-known tall figure. The pale face was strangely -lighted up by the glare, so that the eyes showed as large dark caverns. -He was muttering softly to himself and pointed with one finger into the -splendid ball-room. - -'Look,' said Pluizer, 'he is seeking out some one.' - -Johannes looked where the finger pointed, and he saw how the old lady -who was speaking closed her eyes and put her hand to her head; and how a -fair young girl paused in her slow walk, and stared before her with a -slight shiver. - -'How soon?' Pluizer asked of Death. - -'That is my affair,' was the answer. - -'I should like to show Johannes this same company once more,' said -Pluizer with a grin and a wink, 'can I do it?' - -'This evening?' asked Death. - -'Why not?' said Pluizer. 'There, time and the hour are no more. What now -is has always been, and what shall be, is now already.' - -'I cannot go with you,' said Death. 'I have too much to do. But speak -the name we both know and you can find the way without me.' - -Then they went a little way along the deserted streets where the gas was -flaring in the night wind, and the dark cold water plashed against the -sides of the canals. The soft music grew fainter and fainter, and at -last died away in the hush which lay over the town. - -Presently, from high above them, a loud and festal song rang out with a -deep, echoing, metallic ring. It came down suddenly from the tall church -tower on the sleeping city, and into little Johannes' sad and gloomy -soul. He looked up much startled. The chime rang on with clear, steady -tones, rising joyfully in the air, and boldly scaring the death-like -silence. The glad strain struck him as strange--a festal song in the -midst of noiseless sleep and blackest woe. - -'That is the clock,' said Pluizer, 'it is always cheerful, year in, year -out. It sings the same song every hour, with the same vigour and -vivacity; and it sounds more gleeful by night than even by day, as if -the clock rejoiced that it has no need of sleep, that it can sing at all -times with equal contentment, while thousands, just below, are weeping -and suffering. But it sounds most gladly when some one is just dead.' - -Again the jubilant peal rang out. - -'One day, Johannes,' Pluizer went on,' a dim light will be burning in a -quiet room, behind just such a window as that yonder; a melancholy -light, flickering pensively, and making the shadows dance on the wall. -There will be no sound in that room but now and then a low, suppressed -sob. A bed will be standing there, with white curtains, and long shadows -in their folds. In the bed something will be lying--white and still. -That will have been little Johannes. And then, how loud and joyful will -that chime sound, breaking into the room, and singing out the first hour -after his death!' - -Twelve was striking, booming through the air with long pauses between -the strokes. At the last stroke, Johannes, all at once, had a strange -feeling as though he were dreaming; he was no longer walking, but -floating along a little way above the ground, holding Pluizer's hand. -The houses and lamps sped past him in swift flight. And now the houses -stood less close together. They formed separate rows, with dark, -mysterious gaps between them, where the gas lamps lighted up trenches, -puddles, scaffoldings and woodwork. At last they reached a great gate, -with heavy pillars and a tall railing. In a winking, they had floated -over it and come down again on some soft grass by a high heap of sand. -Johannes fancied he must be in a garden, for he heard the rustling of -trees hard by. - -'Now pay attention, and then confess whether I cannot do greater things -than Windekind.' - -Then Pluizer shouted aloud a short and awful name which made Johannes -quake. The darkness on all sides echoed the sound, and the wind bore it -up in widening circles till it died away in the upper air. - -And Johannes saw the grass blades growing so tall that they were above -his head, and a little pebble which but just now was under his feet, -seemed to be close to his face. Pluizer, by his side, and no bigger than -he was, picked up the stone with both hands and threw it away with all -his might. A confused noise of thin, shrill voices rose up from the spot -he had cleared. - -'Hey day! who is doing that? What is the meaning of it? Lout!' they -could hear said. - -Johannes saw black objects running in great confusion. He recognised the -quick, nimble ground-beetle, the shining, brown ear-wig with his fine -nippers, the millipede with its round back and thousand tiny feet, in -the midst of them a long earthworm shrank back as quick as lightning -into its burrow! Pluizer made his way through the angry swarm of -creatures to the worm's hole. - -'Hey there! you long, naked crawler! come up and show yourself once more -with your sharp red nose!' he cried. - -'What do you want?' asked the worm from below. - -'You must come out, because I want to go in; do you hear, you -bare-skinned sand-eater!' - -The worm cautiously put his pointed head out of the hole, felt all round -it two or three times, and then slowly dragged his naked ringed body up -to the surface. Pluizer looked round at the other creatures who had -crowded curiously about them. - -'One of you must go first with a light--no, Master Beetle, you are too -stout, and you with your thousand feet would make me giddy. Hey, you -ear-wig! I like your looks. Come with me and carry a light in your -nippers. You, beetle, must look about for a will-o'-the-wisp, or fetch a -chip of rotten wood.' - -The creatures were scared by his commanding tones and obeyed him. - -Then they went down into the worm's burrow; the ear-wig first, with the -shining wood, then Pluizer, and then Johannes. It was a narrow passage -and very dark down there. Johannes saw the grains of sand glittering in -the dim blue gleam. They looked like large stones, half transparent and -built up into a smooth firm wall by the worm's body. The worm himself -followed, full of curiosity. Johannes saw the pointed head come close up -behind him, and then stop till the long body had been dragged after it. -Down they went, without speaking, far and deep. When the path was too -steep for Johannes, Pluizer helped him. They seemed never to be coming -to an end; still fresh galleries of sand, and still the ear-wig crept -on, turning and bending with the sinuosities of the passage. At last -this grew broader, and the walls opened out. The grains of sand were -black and wet, forming a vault overhead, down which driblets of water -made shining streaks, while the roots of trees came through in coils -like petrified snakes. - -And suddenly there rose before Johannes's eyes an upright wall, black -and high, cutting off all space beyond. The ear-wig turned round. - -'Here we are. The next question is how to get any further. The worm -ought to know; he is at home here.' - -'Come on; show us the way,' said Pluizer. - -The worm slowly dragged his jointed body up to the black wall and felt -it inquisitively. Johannes could see that it was of wood. Here and there -it had fallen into brownish powder. The worm bored his way into one such -place and the long, wriggling body vanished with three pushes and -pauses. - -'Now for you,' said Pluizer, pushing Johannes into the little round -opening. For a moment he thought he should be suffocated in the soft -damp stuff, but he soon felt his head free, and with some trouble worked -his way completely through. A large room seemed to lie open before him; -the floor was hard and moist, the air thick and intolerably oppressive. -Johannes could scarcely breathe, and stood waiting in mortal terror. - -He heard Pluizer's voice, which sounded hollow, as in some vast cellar. - -'Here, Johannes, follow me.' - -He felt the ground before him rise to a hill--and he climbed it, -clutching Pluizer's hand in the darkness. He trod, as it were, on a -carpet which yielded under his foot. He trampled over hollows and -ridges, following Pluizer who led him on to a level spot where he held -on by some long stems which bent in his hand like reed-grass. - -'Here we can stand very comfortably. Bring a light,' said Pluizer. - -The dim light came on from a distance, up and down with its bearer. The -nearer it approached, and the more its pale gleam spread in the place -they were in, the more terrible became Johannes's anguish of mind. The -eminence on which he stood was long and white; the support he clung to -was brown, and lay about in glistening waves and curls. - -He recognised the features of a human being, and the icy level on which -he stood was the forehead. Before him lay the sunken eyes, two deep, -dark hollows, and the blue gleam fell on the pinched nose and ashy lips -which were parted in the hideous, rigid smile of death. - -Pluizer laughed sharply, but the sound seemed smothered by the damp, -wooden walls. - -'Is not this a surprise, Johannes?' - -The worm crept up along the plaits of the shroud: he glided over the -chin and the stiffened lips and into the mouth. - -'This was the beauty of the ball, whom you thought lovelier even than an -elf. Then her hair and dress shed sweet fragrance; then her eyes -sparkled and her lips smiled. Now,--look at her!' - -With all his horror there was doubt in Johannes's eyes. So soon? The -splendour was but now--and already----? - -'Do you not believe me?' grinned Pluizer. 'Half a century lies between -now and then. Time and the hour are no more. What has been shall always -be, and what shall be has ever been. You could not conceive of it, but -you must believe it. Everything here is the truth. All I tell you is -true! True!--and Windekind could not say that.' - -With a nod and a grimace he leaped round the dead face, and played the -most horrible antics. He sat on the eyebrows and raised the eyelids by -the long lashes. The eye, which Johannes had seen bright with gladness, -stared dull and white in the pale light. - -'Now onwards!' cried Pluizer. 'There is more yet to be seen.' - -The worm came creeping up from a corner of the mouth, and the dreadful -march began once more. Not back again, but along new paths, no less long -and gloomy. - -'This is much older,' said the earthworm as he made his way through -another black wall. 'This has been here a very long time.' - -It was less dreadful here than before. Johannes saw nothing but a -confused mass, out of which brown bones projected. Hundreds of insects -were silently busy here. The light startled and alarmed them. - -'Where do you come from? Who brings a light here? We want no light.' And -they hastily vanished into the folds and crevices. But they recognised a -fellow-creature. - -'Have you been in the next one?' asked the worms. 'The wood is still -hard.' - -The first worm denied it. 'He wants to keep the find to himself,' said -Pluizer to Johannes in a low voice. - -Then they went forward again; Pluizer explained everything, and pointed -out persons whom Johannes had known. They came to an ugly face with -prominent, staring eyes, and thick dark lips and cheeks. - -'This was a very fine gentleman,' said he in high glee. 'You should have -seen him--so rich, so fashionable, so arrogant. He is as much puffed up -as ever!' - -And so they went on. There were lean and haggard faces with white hair -that shone blue in the feeble light, and little children with large -heads and old-looking, anxious features. - -'These, you see, died first and grew old afterwards,' said Pluizer. - -They came to a man with a flowing beard and parted lips, showing -glistening white teeth. There was a round black hole in the middle of -his forehead. - -'This one lent Death a helping hand. Why had he not a little patience? -He would have come here in the end.' - -Through passage after passage, one after another, they passed, no end of -them--straight-laid figures, with rigid, grinning faces, and motionless -hands laid one over the other. - -'Now I can go no further,' said the ear-wig. 'I do not know my way -beyond this.' - -'Let us turn back,' said the worm. - -'One more, one more!' cried Pluizer. - -So on they went. - -'Everything you see here, actually exists,' said Pluizer, as they made -their way forward. 'It is all real. One thing only is not real, and that -is yourself, Johannes. You are not here; you cannot come here.' - -And he laughed maliciously as he saw Johannes's terrified and bewildered -face at these words. - -'This is the last, positively the last.' - -'The way stops here. I am going no further,' said the ear-wig crossly. - -'I will go further,' said Pluizer; and where the path ended he began -grubbing the earth with both hands. - -'Help me, Johannes.' - -And Johannes, submissive with wretchedness, obeyed, scratching away the -fine damp soil. Silent and breathless they worked away till they came to -the black wood. - -The worm had drawn back his ringed head and disappeared. The ear-wig -dropped the light and turned away. - -'It is impossible to get in, the wood is new,' said he as he withdrew. - -'I will do it!' said Pluizer, and with his clawed fingers he tore long -white splinters cracking out of the wood. - -A fearful anguish came over Johannes. But he could not help himself; -there was no escape. - -At last the dark thing was opened. Pluizer seized the light and hurried -in. - -'Here, here!' he cried, running to the head. - -But when Johannes came as far as the hands, which lay quietly folded -over the breast, he stopped. He gazed at the thin white fingers, dimly -lighted from above. On a sudden, he recognised them,--he knew the shape -and turn of the fingers, the look of the long nails, now blue and dull. -He recognised a brown spot on one of the forefingers. These were his own -hands. - -'Here, this way!' Pluizer called from the head. 'Only look, do you know -him?' - -Hapless Johannes tried to stand up and go towards the light which winked -at him; but he could not. The gleam died into total darkness and he fell -senseless. - - - - -XII - - -He had sunk into deep sleep--that sleep which is too deep for dreams. - -When he came out of the darkness--very slowly--into the cool grey light -of dawn, he passed through varied and peaceful dreams of an early time. -He woke up, and they glided off his soul, like dew-drops off a flower. -The look in his eyes was calm and sweet as they still gazed on the crowd -of lovely images. - -But he closed them again quickly as though the glare were painful, to -shut out the pale daylight. He saw just what he had seen the morning -before. It seemed to him far away and a long time ago. Still, hour by -hour, he remembered it all, from the dreary day-break to the terrible -night. He could not believe that all these horrors had come upon him in -a single day. The beginning of his wretchedness seemed so remote, lost -in grey mist. - -The sweet dreams vanished, and left no trace on his spirit; Pluizer -shook him, and the dreadful day began, gloomy and colourless; the first -of many, many more. But all he had seen last night in that terrible walk -dwelt in his mind. Had it been no more than a fearful vision? - -When he asked Pluizer doubtfully, he looked at him with mockery and -amazement. - -'What do you mean?' he said. - -But Johannes did not see the sarcasm in his eyes, and asked whether all -this, which he still saw so plainly and clearly, had not indeed been -true. - -'Why, Johannes, how silly you are! Such a thing could never happen at -all.' - -And Johannes did not know what to think. - -'We must set you to work at once, and then you will ask no more such -foolish questions.' - -So they went to Doctor Cypher, who was to help Johannes to find what he -sought. - -But as they went along the crowded street, Pluizer suddenly stood still, -and pointed out a man in the throng. - -'Do you remember him?' asked Pluizer, and he laughed aloud when -Johannes turned pale and stared at the man in terror. He had seen him -last night, deep under ground. - -The doctor received them kindly and imparted his learning to Johannes, -who listened to him for hours that day--and for many days after. The -doctor had not found what they sought; but was very near it, he said. He -would lead Johannes as far as he himself had gone, and then, together, -they would be sure to achieve to it. - -Johannes learned and listened, diligently and patiently--day after day, -and month after month. He had very little hope, but he understood that -he must go on now, as far as possible. He thought it strange that the -longer he sought the light the darker it grew around him. The beginning -of everything, he learned, was the best part of it, but the deeper he -got the duller and more obscure it became. He began with the study of -plants and animals, of everything about him, and when he had studied -these a long time they all turned to numbers. Everything resolved itself -into numbers--pages of figures. This Doctor Cypher thought quite -splendid; he said that light would come to them as the numbers came, -but to Johannes it was darkness. - -Pluizer never left him, and drove and urged him on when he was -disheartened or weary. His presence marred every moment of enjoyment and -admiration. Johannes was amazed and delighted when he learnt and saw how -exquisitely flowers were constructed, how the fruit was formed, and how -insects unconsciously helped in the process. - -'That is beautiful!' he exclaimed. 'How exactly it is all arranged, and -how delicately and accurately contrived!' - -'Yes, amazingly contrived,' said Pluizer. 'The pity is that the greater -part of this ingenuity and accuracy comes to nothing. How many flowers -produce fruit, and how many seeds become trees?' - -'But still, it seems to be all wrought by some grand plan,' said -Johannes. 'Look, the bees seek honey for their own ends and do not know -that they are serving the flowers, and the flowers attract the bees by -their colours. That is a scheme, and they both work it out without -knowing it.' - -'That all looks very pretty, but it fails in many ways. When the bees -have a chance, they bite a hole through the flower and make the whole -internal structure useless. He is a clever Contriver indeed who can be -laughed to scorn by a bee!' - -And when he came to study the organism of men and beasts, matters were -even worse. Whenever Johannes thought anything beautiful or well -adapted, Pluizer would demonstrate its imperfections and inefficiency. -He expatiated on the host of ills and woes to which every living -creature is liable, selecting by preference the most disgusting and -terrible. - -'The Contriver, Johannes, was very shrewd, but in everything he made he -forgot something, and men have as much as they can do to patch up these -defects as best they may. You have only to look about you. An umbrella, -a pair of spectacles--for shelter and better sight--these are specimens -of man's patching. They are no part of the original plan. But the -Contriver never considered that men would have colds, and read books, -and do a thousand other things for which his plan was inadequate. He -gave his children clothes without reflecting that they would outgrow -them. Almost all men have by this time long outgrown their natural -outfit. Now they do everything for themselves, and never trouble -themselves at all about the Contriver and his schemes. What he failed to -give them, they simply take by brute force; and when the obvious result -is that they must die, they evade death, sometimes for a long period, by -a variety of devices.' - -'But it is men's own fault,' said Johannes. 'Why do they wilfully -deviate from the laws of nature?' - -'Oh, silly Johannes! If a nursemaid lets an innocent child play with -fire and it is burned, whose fault is it? The child's, who knew nothing -about fire; or the nurse's, who knew that it would burn itself? And who -is to blame if men pine in misery and disobedience to nature--they or -the all-wise Contriver, compared with whom we are ignorant children?' - -'But they are not ignorant, they know--' - -'Johannes, if you say to a child: Do not touch that fire, it will hurt -you--and if the child touches it all the same because it does not know -what pain is, can you then plead your own innocence and say: The child -was not ignorant? Did you not know that it would not heed your advice? -Men are as foolish as children. Glass is brittle and clay is soft. And -He who made men and did not take their folly into account, is like a man -who should make weapons of glass and not expect them to break, or arrows -of clay and not expect them to bend.' - -His words fell like drops of liquid fire on Johannes's soul, and his -heart swelled with a great grief to which his former woes were as -nothing, and which often made him weep in the silent, sleepless hours of -the night. - -Oh, for sleep! sleep! There came a time after long days, when nothing -was so dear to him as sleep. Then he neither thought nor suffered; in -his dreams he was always carried back to his old life. It seemed to him -beautiful as he dreamed of it, but day by day he could never remember -exactly how things had then been. He only knew that the vexations and -cravings of that former time were better than the vacant, stagnant -feeling of the present. He once had longed bitterly for Windekind; he -once had waited hour after hour on Robinetta. How delightful that had -been! - -Robinetta! Did he still long for her? The more he learnt the feebler -that craving became. For that too was dissected, and Pluizer showed him -what love really was. Then he felt ashamed, and Doctor Cypher said that -he could not as yet express it in numbers, but that he should soon -accomplish this. Then things grew darker and darker round little -Johannes. He had an obscure feeling of thankfulness that he had not seen -Robinetta in the course of that fearful expedition with Pluizer. - -When he spoke of it to Pluizer he made no reply but a sly laugh; but -Johannes understood that this was from no desire to spare him. - -Those hours which Johannes did not spend in study or work Pluizer took -advantage of to show him the life of men. He managed to take him -everywhere--into the hospitals where sick people lay in great -numbers--long ranks of pale, haggard faces with a dull, suffering -expression--and where unearthly silence reigned, broken only by coughing -and groaning. And Pluizer showed him how many of them could never leave -the place. And when at a fixed hour streams of men and women came -pouring into the place to visit their sick relations, Pluizer said: 'You -see, they all know that they too must some day find their way into this -house and these gloomy rooms, only to be carried out in a black chest.' - -'Then how can they ever be so light-hearted?' thought Johannes. - -And Pluizer took him up to a little attic-room where a dismal twilight -reigned, and where the distant tinkle of a piano in a neighbouring house -made an incessant dreamy noise. Here they found, among others, one man -who lay staring helplessly before him at a narrow sunbeam which slowly -crept up the wall. - -'He has lain there for seven years,' said Pluizer. 'He was a sailor, and -has seen the palms of India, the blue seas of Japan, the forests of -Brazil; and now, for seven long years, he has amused himself all day and -every day with the sunbeams and the sound of the piano. He will never -leave this room again; but it cannot last much longer now.' - -After this day Johannes had his worst dream; he fancied himself in that -little room, listening to the feeble music, in the melancholy -half-light, with nothing to look at but the rising and waning sunbeams ---never more till the end. - -Pluizer took him, too, to the great churches to listen to what was said -there. He took him to festivals and grand ceremonies, and made him -intimate in many houses. Johannes learnt to study men, and it sometimes -happened that he could not help thinking of his past life, of the tales -Windekind had told him and of his own disappointments. There were men -who reminded him of the glow-worm, who fancied that the stars were his -departed friends; or of the cockchafer who was one day older than his -comrade, and who had said so much about a vocation; and he heard tales -which made him think of Kribbelgauw, the Spider-Hero, and of the eel who -did nothing, but was fed because it was a grand thing to have a fat -king. Himself, he could only compare to the younger cockchafer, who did -not know what a vocation was, and flew to the light. He felt that he in -the same way was creeping, helpless and crippled, over the carpet with a -string round his body, a cruel string which Pluizer tugged and twitched. - -Ah! he should never see the garden again! When would the heavy foot come -and crush him to death? - -Pluizer laughed at him if he ever spoke of Windekind; and by degrees he -began to think that Windekind had never existed. - -'But, Pluizer, then the little key does not exist--nothing is real!' - -'Nothing, nothing. Men and numbers--those are real and exist, endless -numbers!' - -'Then you deceived me, Pluizer. Let me go away--let me seek no -more--leave me alone.' - -'Have you forgotten what Death told you? That you are to become a man, a -complete man?' - -'I will not! it is horrible!' - -'You must. You wished it once. Look at Doctor Cypher, does he think it -horrible? Become like him----' - -It was very true. Doctor Cypher seemed always content and happy. -Unwearied and imperturbable, he pursued his way, studying and teaching, -satisfied and equable. - -'Look at him,' Pluizer went on, 'he sees everything, and yet sees -nothing. He looks on men as though he himself were a being apart, having -nothing to do with their sufferings. He moves among griefs and -wretchedness as though he were invulnerable, and meets Death face to -face as though he were immortal. All he aims at is to understand what -he sees, and everything is good in his eyes that comes in the way of -knowledge. He is satisfied with everything so long as he understands it. -That is what you must be.' - -'But that I can never be.' - -'Well, I cannot help that.' - -This was the hopeless conclusion of all their discussions. Johannes grew -dull and indifferent, and searched and searched, knowing no longer why, -or for what. He had become like the multitudes of whom Wistik had -spoken. - -It was now winter, but he scarcely observed it. - -One chill and misty morning, when the snow lay wet and dirty on the -roads, and fell from the trees and roofs, he went with Pluizer for his -daily walk. In a public garden he met a party of young girls, in a row, -and carrying school-books. They pelted each other with snow, and laughed -and gambolled; their voices rang out clearly over the snowy plain. There -was no sound of feet or wheels to be heard; nothing but the tinkling -bells of the horses, or the latch of a shop door. Their merry laughter -sounded distinctly through the silence. - -Johannes noted that one of these damsels looked at him and stared back -after him. She wore a coloured cloak and a black hat. He knew her face -very well, but he could not think who she was. She nodded to him once -and again. - -'Who is that? I know her.' - -'Yes, very likely. Her name is Maria, some persons call her Robinetta.' - -'No, that cannot be. She is not like Windekind. She is a girl like any -other.' - -'Ha, ha, hah! She cannot be like Nobody. But she is what she is. You -have longed to see her so much; now I will take you to see her!' - -'No, I do not want to see her. I would rather see her dead like the -others.' - -And Johannes would not look round again, but hurried on, murmuring: -'This is the last! There is nothing--nothing!' - - - - -XIII - - -The clear warm sunshine of an early spring morning shone down on the -great city. Its bright rays fell into the room where Johannes lived, and -on the low ceiling danced and flickered a large patch of light reflected -from the rippling water in the canal. Johannes sat by the window in the -sunshine, looking out over the town. Its aspect was completely changed. -The grey fog was now a sheeny blue sun-mist, veiling the end of the long -streets and the distant towers. The slopes of the slate roofs shone like -silver. All the houses showed clear outlines and bright surfaces in the -sunshine; the pale blue atmosphere was full of glittering warmth. The -water seemed alive. The brown buds of the elm-trees were swollen and -shiny, and loudly-chirping sparrows fluttered among the branches. A -strange feeling came over Johannes as he sat looking out on it all. The -sunshine filled him with sweet vague emotion, a mixture of oblivion and -ecstasy. He gazed dreamily at the dancing ripples, the bursting -leaf-buds; he listened to the chirping of the birds. There was gladness -in their tune. - -He had not for a long time felt so soft at heart, nor for many a day -been so happy. - -This was the sunshine of old; he knew it well. This was the sun which of -yore called him forth--out into the garden where, under the shelter of a -low wall, he would stretch himself on the warm ground, where he might -for hours enjoy the light and heat, gazing before him at the grasses and -sods basking in the glow. - -He was glad in that light; it gave him a safe home-like feeling, such as -he remembered long ago when his mother held him in her arms. He thought -of all he had gone through, but without either grieving or longing. He -sat still and mused, wishing nothing more than that the sun might -continue to shine. - -'What are you about, mooning there?' cried Pluizer. 'You know I do not -approve of dreaming.' - -Johannes looked up with absent, imploring eyes. 'Leave me alone for a -little longer,' said he; 'the sun is so good!' - -'What can you find in the sun?' said Pluizer. 'It is nothing, after all, -but a big candle--sunlight or candlelight, it is all the same in the -end. Look at the patches of light and shadow in the street--they are -nothing more than the effect of a light which burns steadily and does -not nicker. And that light is really quite a small flame shining on a -quite small speck of the universe. Out there, beyond the blue, above and -beneath, it is dark,--cold and dark! It is night there, now and always.' - -But his words had no effect on Johannes. The calm warm sunbeams had -penetrated him, bathed his whole soul--he was full of light and peace. - -Pluizer carried him off to Doctor Cypher's cold house. For some time yet -the sunny images floated before his brain; then they slowly faded away, -and by the middle of the day all was dark again within him. - -But when evening came he made his way through the town once more, the -air was soft and full of the vapourous odours of the past. Only the -fragrance was ten times stronger, and oppressed him in the narrow -streets. But as he crossed the open square he smelt the grass and leaves -from the country beyond. And overhead he saw the spring in the tranquil -little clouds and the tender rose of the western sky. The twilight shed -a soft grey mist, full of delicate tints, over the town. The streets -were quiet, only a grinding organ in the distance played a love-sick -tune; the houses stood out black against the crimson heavens, their -fantastic pinnacles and chimneys stretching up like numberless arms. - -To Johannes it was as though the sun were giving him a kind smile as he -shed his last beams over the great city--kind, like the smile which -seals a pardon. And the warmth stroked Johannes's cheek with a caress. - -Deep tenderness came over his soul, so great that he could walk no -farther, but lifted up his face to the wide heavens with a deep sigh. -The Spring was calling to him and he heard it. He longed to answer--to -go. His heart was full of repentance and love and forgiveness. He gazed -up with longing tears flowing from his sad eyes. - -'Come, Johannes! do not behave so strangely; people are staring at you!' -cried Pluizer. - -The long monotonous rows of houses stretched away on each side, gloomy -and repulsive--an offence in the soft atmosphere, a discord in the -voices of the Spring. - -The folk were sitting at their doors and on the steps, to enjoy the -warmth. To Johannes this was a mockery. The squalid doors stood open and -the stuffy rooms within awaited their inhabitants. The organ was still -grinding out its melancholy tune in the distance. - -'Oh, if I could but fly away--far away! To the sand-hills and the sea!' - -But he must needs go home to the little garret room; and that night he -could not sleep. - -He could not help thinking of his father, and of the long walks he had -been used to take with him, when he trotted ten yards behind, or his -father traced letters for him in the sand. He thought of the spots where -the violets grew under the brushwood, and of the days when he and his -father had hunted for them. All the night he saw his father's face just -as he had seen him in the evenings when he sat by his side in the -silence and lamplight, watching him and listening to the scratching of -his pen. - -Every morning now he asked Pluizer when he might once more go home to -his father, and see the garden and the sand-hills again. And he -perceived now that he had loved his father more than Presto, or his -little room, for it was of him that he asked-- - -'Tell me how he is, and if he is not angry with me for staying away so -long.' - -Pluizer shrugged his shoulders. 'Even if I could tell you, what good -would it do you?' - -But the spring still called him, louder and louder. Night after night he -dreamed of the dark green moss and the downs, and the sunbeams falling -through the fine, fresh verdure. - -'I can bear it no longer,' thought Johannes. 'I cannot stay.' - -And as he could not sleep he softly got out of bed, went to the window, -and looked out on the night. He saw the drowsy, fleecy clouds slowly -sailing beneath the full moon, peacefully floating in a sea of pale -light. He thought of the downs far away, sleeping through the warm -night; how beautiful it must be in the low woods where none of the baby -leaves would be stirring, and where the air was smelling of damp moss -and young birch sprouts! He fancied he could hear the rising chorus of -frogs, sounding mysteriously from afar over the meadows, and the pipe of -the only bird which accompanies the solemn stillness--which begins its -song with such soft lament and breaks off so suddenly that the silence -seems more still than before. And it called to him--everything called to -him. He bowed his head on the window-sill and sobbed in his sleeve. - -'I cannot, I cannot bear it! I shall die soon, if I do not get away!' - -When Pluizer came to call him next day he was still sitting by the -window, where he had fallen asleep with his head on his arm. - -The days went by, longer and warmer, and still there was no change. But -Johannes did not die, and had to bear his troubles. - -One morning Doctor Cypher said to him-- - -'Come with me, Johannes; I have to visit a sick man.' - -Doctor Cypher was well known as a learned man, and many appealed to him -for help against disease and death. Johannes had already gone with him -on such errands now and then. Pluizer was unusually cheerful that -morning. He would at times stand on his head, dance and leap, and play -all sorts of impudent tricks. He wore a constant mysterious grin, as -though he had a surprise in store for some one. Johannes dreaded him -most in this mood. - -Doctor Cypher was as grave as ever. They went a long way that morning, -in a train, and on foot. They went farther than Johannes had ever been -before outside the town. - -It was a fine hot day. Johannes, looking out from the train, saw the -broad green fields fly past, with tall feathery grasses and grazing -kine. He saw white butterflies flitting over the flowery land where the -air quivered with the heat of the sun. - -But suddenly he saw a gleam in the distance.--There lay the long -undulating stretch of sand-hills. - -'Now, Johannes,' said Pluizer with a grin, 'now you have your wish, you -see.' - -Johannes, half incredulous, sat gazing at the sand-hills. They came -nearer and nearer. The long ditches on each side of the railway seemed -to whirl round a distant centre, and the little houses flew swiftly past -and away down the road. - -Then came some trees: thickly green horse-chestnut trees, covered with -thousands of spikes of pink and white blossoms--dark, blue-green -pines--tall, spreading lime-trees. It was true, then,--he was going to -see his sand-hills once more. The train stopped; they all three jumped -out, under verdurous shade. - -Here was the deep, green moss, here were the flecks of sunshine on the -ground under the forest-trees--this was the fragrance of birch-buds and -pine-needles. - -'Is it real--is it true?' thought Johannes. 'Can such happiness befall -me?' - -His eyes sparkled and his heart beat high. He began to believe in his -happiness. He knew these trees and this soil. He had often trodden this -forest-path. - -They were alone here. But Johannes could not help looking round, as -though some one were following him. And he fancied that between the oak -boughs he caught sight of a dark figure hiding itself, as they threaded -the last turns of the path. - -Pluizer looked at him with mysterious cunning. Doctor Cypher hurried -forward, with long strides, keeping his eyes on the ground. - -At each step the way was more familiar--he knew every stone and every -shrub--and suddenly Johannes started violently: he stood before his old -home. - -The horse-chestnut in front of the house spread the shade of its large, -fingered leaves. Above him the beautiful white flowers, and thick, round -mass of foliage towered high overhead. He heard the sound of an opening -door which he knew well--and he smelt the peculiar smell of his own -home. He recognised the passage, the doors, everything, bit by bit--with -a keen pang of lost familiarity. It was all a part of his life--of his -lonely dreamy childhood. He had held council with all these things, had -lived with them his own life of thoughts--to which he had admitted no -human being. But now he felt himself dead, as it were, and cut off from -the old house, with its rooms and passages and doorways. The severance, -he knew, was irremediable, and he felt as melancholy and woeful as -though he had come to visit a graveyard. If only Presto had sprung out -to meet him, it would have been less dreary. But Presto, no doubt, was -gone or dead. - -But where was his father? - -He looked back through the open door out into the sunny garden, and saw -the man who, as he had fancied, was following them on the way, coming -towards the house. He came nearer and nearer, and seemed to grow in -stature as he approached. When he reached the door a vast cold shadow -filled the entrance. Then Johannes knew him. - -There was perfect silence indoors, and they went up-stairs without -speaking. There was one step which always creaked under foot as Johannes -knew; and now he heard it creak three times with a sound like a groan of -pain. But under the fourth footstep it was like a deep sob. - -Above stairs, Johannes heard moaning, as low and as regular as the slow -ticking of a clock. It was a heart-rending and doleful sound. The door -of his own little room stood open; he timidly glanced in. The strange -flowers on the curtains stared at him with unmeaning surprise. The clock -had stopped. They went on to the room whence the groaning came. It was -his father's bedroom. The sun shone in brightly, on the green -bed-curtains which were drawn close. Simon, the cat, sat on the -window-sill, in the sun. There was an oppressive smell of wine and -camphor; the low moaning now sounded close at hand. - -Johannes heard whispering voices and carefully softened footsteps. Then -the green curtains were opened. - -He saw his father's face, which had so often risen before him during the -last few weeks. But it was quite different. The kind, grave expression -had given way to a rigid look of suffering, and his face was ashy pale, -with brown shadows. The teeth showed through the parted lips, and the -white of the eyes under the half-closed lids. His head lay sunk in -pillows, and was lifted a little with every moaning breath, falling back -wearily after each effort. - -Johannes stood by the bed without stirring, staring with wide fixed eyes -at the well-known features. He did not know what he thought; he dared -not move a finger, he dared not take the wan old hands, which lay limp -on the white linen sheet. - -All about him was black, the sun and the bright room, the greenery -outside and the blue air he had come in from--all the past was -black--black, heavy and impenetrable. And that night he could see -nothing but that pale face. He could think of nothing but the poor head -which seemed so weary, and yet was lifted again and again with a groan -of anguish. - -But there was a change in this regular movement. The moaning ceased, the -eyes slowly opened and stared about inquiringly, while the lips tried to -say something. - -'Good-morning, father,' whispered Johannes, looking into the seeking -eyes and trembling with terror. The dim gaze rested on him, and a faint, -faint smile moved the hollow cheeks; the thin clenched hand was lifted -from the sheet and made a feeble movement towards Johannes, but it -dropped again, powerless. - -'Come, come,' said Pluizer. 'No scenes here.' - -'Get out of the way, Johannes,' said Doctor Cypher. 'We must see what -can be done.' - -The Doctor began his examination, and Johannes went away from the -bed-side and stood by the window, looking out at the sunlit grass and -broad chestnut leaves on which large flies were sitting which shone -blue in the sun. - -The groaning began again with the same regularity. - -A blackbird was hopping among the tali grass, large red and black -butterflies fluttered over the flower-beds, and from the topmost boughs -of the highest trees a soft, tender cooing of wood-pigeons, fell on -Johannes's ear. In the room the moaning went on--without ceasing. He -could not help listening--and it came as regularly, as inevitably as the -falling drip which may drive a man mad. He watched anxiously at every -interval and it always came again--as awful as the approaching footsteps -of Death. - -And outside, warm and rapturous delight in the sunshine reigned. -Everything was basking and happy. The blades of grass thrilled and the -leaves whispered for sheer gladness. High above the trees in the deep, -distant blue, a heron was soaring on lazy wing. - -Johannes did not understand--it was all a mystery to him. Everything was -confused and dark in his soul-- - -'How can all this exist in me at the same time?' thought he. 'Am I -really myself? Is that my father--my own father? Mine--Johannes's?' And -it was as though a stranger spoke. - -It was all a tale which he had heard. He had heard some one tell of -Johannes, and of the house where he dwelt with his father from whom he -had run away, and who was now dying. This was not himself--he had only -heard of it all; and indeed it was a sad story,--very sad. But it had -nothing to do with him. - -And yet--and yet.--It was he himself, Johannes. - -'I cannot understand the case,' said Doctor Cypher, pulling himself up. -'It is a very mysterious attack.' - -Pluizer came up to Johannes. - -'Come and look, Johannes; it is a very interesting case. The Doctor -knows nothing about it.' - -'Leave me alone,' said Johannes, without turning round. 'I cannot -think.' - -But Pluizer went close behind him and whispered sharply in his ear, as -was his wont-- - -'You cannot think? Did you fancy that you could not think? That is a -mistake. You must think. Staring out like this at the green grass and -the blue sky will do no good. Windekind will not come to you. And the -sick man is sinking fast; that you must have seen as clearly as we did. -But what is his disorder, do you think?' - -'I do not know!--I do not want to know!' - -Johannes said no more, but listened to the moaning; it sounded like a -gentle complaint and reproach. Doctor Cypher was taking notes in a book. -At the head of the bed sat the dark figure which had followed them in; -his head was bowed, his lean hand extended towards the sick man, and his -hollow eyes steadfastly gazing at the clock. - -That sharp whisper in his ear began again. - -'Why are you so unhappy, Johannes? You have got what you wished for. -There lie the sand-hills, there is the sunshine through the verdure, -there are the dancing butterflies, the singing birds. What more do you -want? Are you waiting for Windekind? If he exists anywhere, it must be -there. Why does he not come to you? He is frightened, no doubt, by our -dark friend by the bed. He always has been afraid of him. Don't you see, -Johannes, that it was all fancy? And listen to the moaning. It is weaker -than it was just now. You can hear that it will soon cease altogether. -Well, and what matter? Many folks must have groaned just so when you -were at play here among the wild roses. Why do you now sit here grieving -instead of going out to the sand-hills as you used to do? Look! Out -there everything is as flowery and fragrant as if nothing had happened. -Why do you care no more for all the gladness of that life? - -'First you complained and longed to be here. Now I have brought you -where you yearned to be, and yet you are not content. See. I will let -you go--go out into the tall grass, lie in the cool shade, let the flies -hum about you, and breathe the perfume of growing herbs. You are free! -Go. Find Windekind once more. You will not? Then do you now believe in -me alone? Is all I have told you true? Am I or is Windekind the false -one? - -'Listen to the moans! So short and feeble! They will soon be stilled. -But do not look so terrified, Johannes, the sooner it is ended, the -better. There could be no long walks now, no more seeking for violets -together. With whom has he wandered these two years, do you think, while -you were away? You can never ask him now. You can never know. If you -had known me a little earlier you would not look so wretched now. You -are a long way yet from being what you must become. Do you think that -Doctor Cypher in your place would look as you do? It would sadden him no -more than it does the cat blinking there in the sunshine. And it is best -so. Of what use is brooding sorrow? Have the flowers learnt to grieve? -They do not mourn if one of them is plucked. Is not that far happier? -They know nothing, and that is why they are thus content. You have begun -to know something; now you must learn everything to become happy. I -alone can teach you. All, or nothing. - -'Listen to me. What is there remarkable in your father's case? It is the -death of a man--that is a common occurrence. Now do you hear the -gasping? Weaker still! It must be very near the end!' - -Johannes looked at the bed in agonised fear. - -Simon the cat jumped down from the window-sill, stretched himself, and -then, still purring, lay down on the bed by the dying man. - -The poor weak head moved no longer; it lay still, sunk in the pillows, -but the short, dull panting still came through the half-open mouth. - -It grew weaker and weaker till it was scarcely audible. - -Then Death took his hollow eyes off the clock and looked at the weary -head; he raised his hand. Then all was still. - -A grey shadow fell on the rigid features. - -Silence, oppressive, unbroken silence! - -Johannes sat and sat, waiting. But the regular sound was heard no more. -All was still--a great, murmuring stillness. - -The tension of the last hours of listening was over, and to Johannes it -seemed that his soul had been let fall down into black and bottomless -space. Deeper and deeper he fell. All about him grew darker and more -silent. - -Then he heard Pluizer's voice as if it were a long way off. - -'There! That tale is told.' - -'That is well,' said Doctor Cypher. 'Now you can see what was wrong with -him. I leave that to you. I must be off.' - -Still, as if half-dreaming, Johannes saw the gleam of bright knives. The -cat set her back up. It was cold by the corpse, and she returned to the -sunshine. - -Johannes saw Pluizer take a knife, which he examined carefully, and then -went up to the bed. - -Then he shook off his lethargy. Before Pluizer could get to the bed he -stood in front of him. - -'What do you want?' he asked. His eyes were wide open with horror. - -'We must see what he died of,' said Pluizer. - -'No,' said Johannes, and his voice was as deep as a man's. - -'What is the meaning of this?' said Pluizer, with a glare of rage. 'Can -you hinder me? Do you not know how strong I am?' - -'I will not have it,' said Johannes. He drew a deep breath and set his -teeth, staring firmly at Pluizer, and put out his hand against him. - -But Pluizer came nearer. Then Johannes gripped him by the wrists and -struggled with him. - -Pluizer was strong; he knew that; nothing had ever been able to resist -him. But he did not leave go, and his will was steadfast. - -The knife gleamed before his eyes; he seemed to see sparks and red -flames, but he did not give in, and wrestled on. He knew what would -happen if he yielded. He knew--he had seen it before. But that which lay -behind him was his father, and he would not see it now. - -And while he panted and struggled, the dead body lay stretched out -motionless, just as it was lying when the silence fell; the white of the -eyes visible through a narrow opening, the corners of the mouth curled -to a ghastly smile. Only as the two knocked against the bed in their -wrestling, the head gently moved a little. - -Still Johannes held his own. His breath came hard and he could not see; -a blood-red mist was before his eyes--and still he stood firm. - -Then gradually the resistance of those wrists grew weaker in his grasp, -his muscles relaxed, his arms fell limp by his sides and his clenched -hands were empty. - -When he looked up Pluizer had vanished. Death sat alone by the bed and -nodded to him. - -'That was well done, Johannes,' said he. - -'Will he come back again?' whispered Johannes. Death shook his head. - -'Never. Those who have once defied him, never see him again.' - -'And Windekind? Shall I ever see Windekind again?' - -The gloomy man gazed long at Johannes. His look was no longer terrible, -but gentle and grave. It seemed to allure Johannes like some great deep. - -'I alone can take you to Windekind. Through me alone can you find the -Book.' - -'Then take me too, there is no one left. Take me with you as you have -taken others. I want nothing more.' - -But again Death shook his head. - -'You love men, Johannes. You do not know it, but you have always loved -them. You must grow up to be a good man. It is a very fine thing to be a -good man.' - -'I do not want that--take me with you.' - -'You are mistaken; you do want it; you cannot help it.' - -The tall dark figure became dim in Johannes' sight--it melted into a -vague shape--a formless grey mist filled its place and floated away on -the sunbeams. - -Johannes bowed his head on the edge of the bed and mourned for the dead -man. - - - - -XIV - - -It was long before he looked up again. The sun's rays fell aslant into -the room and were glowing red, looking like straight bars of gold. - -'Father, father!' whispered Johannes. - -Outside, the sun filled the whole atmosphere with a cloud of glittering -golden fire. Every leaf was motionless, and all was still in the solemn, -holy sunshine. - -A low sighing chant came down on the sun's rays; it was as though they -were singing: 'Child of the Sun--Child of the Sun!' - -Johannes raised his head and listened. It was in his ears, 'Child of the -Sun--Child of the Sun!' - -It was like Windekind's voice. No one else had ever called him so. Was -it he who called him now? But he looked at the face before him; he would -listen no more. - -'Poor, dear father!' he murmured. - -But suddenly it sounded again close to him, on every side of him, so -loud, so urgent, that he thrilled with strange excitement-- - -'Child of the Sun--Child of the Sun!' - -Johannes rose and looked out. What radiance! What a glory of light! It -flooded the leafy tree-tops, it sparkled in the grass, and danced even -in the dappled shadows. The whole air was full of it, high up towards -the blue sky where the first soft clouds of evening were beginning to -gather. - -Beyond the meadows, between the green trees and shrubs, he could see the -sand-hills. They were crowned with glowing gold, and the blue of heaven -hung in their dells. - -There they lay, at rest, in their robe of exquisite tints. The beautiful -curves of their expanse were as peace-giving as a prayer. Johannes felt -once more as he had felt when Windekind had taught him to pray. - -And was not that he, his slender form in its blue robe? There in the -very heart of the light--gleaming in a shimmer of gold and blue--was not -that Windekind beckoning to him? - -Johannes flew out into the sunshine. There he stood still for a moment. -He felt the consecration of the light, and scarcely dared stir where the -very leaves were so motionless. But the figure was there, before his -eyes. It was Windekind. Certainly, surely! The radiant face was turned -towards him with parted lips, as if to call him. He beckoned Johannes -with his right hand. In his left he held some object on high. He held it -very high with the tips of his slender fingers, and it trembled and -shone in his hand. - -With a glad cry of joy and yearning, Johannes flew to meet the beloved -vision. But it floated up and away before his eyes. With a smile on his -face, and waving his hand now and then, he touched the earth, descending -slowly; but then he rose again lightly and swiftly, soaring higher than -the thistle-down borne by the wind. - -Johannes, too, would fain float up and fly, as of yore--and as in his -dreams. But the earth clung to his feet, and his tread was heavy on the -grassy sod. He had to make his way with difficulty through the brushwood -where the leaves caught and rustled against his clothes, and the lithe -branches lashed his face. He climbed the moss-grown hillocks panting as -he went. Still he went on, unwearied, and never took his eyes off the -radiant vision of Windekind and the object which shone in his uplifted -hand. - -There he was, in the midst of the sandy downs. The wild roses of that -soil were in bloom in the warm hollows, with their thousand pale yellow -cups gazing up at the sun. There were many other flowers too, -light-blue, yellow and purple; sultry heat lurked in the little hollows, -warming the fragrant herbs; the air was full of strong aromatic scents. -Johannes inhaled them as he toiled onward. He smelt the thyme and the -dry reindeer-moss, which crackled under his feet. It was overpoweringly -delightful. - -Between him and the lovely vision he was pursuing, he saw the gaudy -butterflies flitting--small ones, black and red, and the 'sand-eye' as -they call it--the restless little flutterer with sheeny wings of -tenderest blue. Round his head buzzed golden beetles that live on the -wild rose--and heavy bumble-bees buzzed from blade to blade of the -scorched short grass. How delicious it all was, how happy he could be, -when he should find himself with Windekind once more! - -But Windekind glided away, farther and farther, Johannes breathlessly -following. The straggling, pale-leaved thorn bushes stopped his way and -tore him with their spines; the grey woolly mulleins shook their tall -heads as he pushed them aside in his course. He scrambled up the sandy -slopes and scratched his hands with the prickly broom. He struggled -through the low birch-wood where the tall grass came up to his knees, -and the water-fowl flew up from the little pools which glistened among -the trees. Thick white-blossomed hawthorns mingled their perfume with -that of the birches and of the mints which grew all over the marshy -ground. - -But presently there were no more trees, or shade, or flowers. Only -weird-looking grey eryngium growing amid the parched white-blossomed -broom. - -On the top of the farthest knoll rested the image of Windekind. That -which he held up shone blindingly. From beyond, with mysterious -allurement, there came, borne on a cool breeze, the great unceasing, -surging roar. It was the sea. Johannes felt that he was getting near to -it, and slowly climbed the last slope. At the top he fell on his knees, -gazing over the ocean. - -Now he had got above the sand-hills he found himself in the midst of a -ruddy glow. The evening clouds had gathered round the departing day. -They surrounded the sinking sun like a vast circle of immense rocks with -fringes of light. Across the sea lay a broad band of living, purple -fire--a flaming sparkling path of glory leading to the gates of distant -heaven. Below the sun, on which the eye could not yet rest, soft hues of -blue and rose mingled together in the heart of that cave of light; and -all over the expanse of sky crimson flames and streaks were glowing, and -light fleeces of blood-red down, and waves of liquid fire. - -Johannes gazed and waited, till the sun's disc touched the rim of the -path of light which led up to him. - -Then he looked down; and at the beginning of the path of light he saw -the bright form he had followed. A boat, as clear and bright as crystal, -floated on the fiery way. At one end of the boat stood Windekind, -slender and tall, with that golden object shining in his hand. At the -other end, Johannes recognised the dark figure of Death. - -'Windekind! Windekind!' he cried. - -But as he approached the strange barque, he also saw the farther end of -the path. In the midst of the radiant space, surrounded by great fiery -clouds, he saw a small dark figure. It grew bigger and bigger, and a man -slowly came forward, treading firmly on the surging glittering waters. -The glowing waves rose and fell under his feet, but he walked steadily -onward. He was a man pale of aspect, and his eyes were dark and -deep-set: as deep as Windekind's eyes, but in his look was an infinite, -gentle pity, such as Johannes had never seen in any other eyes. - -'Who are you?' asked Johannes, 'are you a man?' - -'I am more,' was the reply. - -'Are you Jesus?--are you God?' said Johannes. - -'Do not speak those names!' said the figure. 'They were holy and pure as -priestly raiment, and precious as nourishing corn; but they are become -as husks before swine, and as motley to clothe fools withal. Speak them -not, for their meaning has become a delusion, and their sacredness is -laughed to scorn. Those who desire to know me cast away the names and -obey themselves.' - -'I know Thee! I know Thee!' cried Johannes. - -'It was I who made you weep for men when as yet you knew not the meaning -of your tears. It was I who made you love before you understood what -love was. I was with you, and you saw me not; I moved your soul and you -knew me not!' - -'Why have I never seen Thee till now?' - -'The eyes that shall see Me must be cleared by many tears. And you must -weep not for yourself alone, but for Me also; then I shall appear to -you, and you will recognise Me for an old friend.' - -'I know Thee! I recognised Thee. I will ever remain with Thee!' - -Johannes stretched out his hand but the figure pointed to the gleaming -barque which slowly drifted off up the fiery path. - -'Look!' said he, 'that is the way to all you have longed for. There is -no other. Without those two you will never find it. Now, take your -choice; there is the Great Light; there you would yourself be what you -crave to know. There,' and he pointed to the shadowy East, 'where men -are, and their misery, there lies my way. I shall guide you there, and -not the false light which you have followed. Now you know--take your -choice.' - -Then Johannes slowly took his eyes off Windekind's vanishing form, and -put up his hands to the grave Man. And led by Him, he turned and faced -the cold night wind, and made his toilsome way to the great dismal town -where men are, and their misery. - - * * * * * - -Perhaps I may some day tell you more about Little Johannes; but it will -not be like a fairy tale. - - -THE END. - - - - -Contents - - Introduction - - I VIII - II IX - III X - IV XI - V XII - VI XIII - VII XIV - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Johannes, by Frederik van Eeden - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE JOHANNES *** - -***** This file should be named 40656-8.txt or 40656-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/6/5/40656/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by Internet Archive and -Toronto University) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Little Johannes - -Author: Frederik van Eeden - -Translator: Clara Bell - -Release Date: September 4, 2012 [EBook #40656] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE JOHANNES *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by Internet Archive and -Toronto University) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<h1>LITTLE JOHANNES</h1> - - -<h4><i>Translated from the Dutch of</i></h4> - -<h2><i>FREDERIK VAN EEDEN</i></h2> - -<h4><i>By CLARA BELL</i></h4> - - -<h4><i>With an Introductory Essay</i></h4> - -<h4><i>by ANDREW LANG</i></h4> - - -<h5><i>LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN</i></h5> - -<h5><i>MDCCCXCV</i></h5> - -<hr class="full" /> -<p><a href="#Contents">Contents</a></p> - -<h3><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a></h3> - -<h3>LITERARY FAIRY TALES</h3> - - -<p>The <i>Märchen</i> or child's story, is a form of literature primevally old, -but with infinite capacity of renewing its youth. Old wives' fables, -tales about a lad and a lass, and a cruel step-mother, about three -adventurous brothers, about friendly or enchanted beasts, about magical -weapons and rings, about giants and cannibals, are the most ancient form -of romantic fiction. The civilised peoples have elaborated these -childlike legends into the chief romantic myths, as of the Ship Argo, -and the sagas of Heracles and Odysseus. Uncivilised races, Ojibbeways, -Eskimo, Samoans, retain the old wives' fables in a form far less -cultivated,—probably far nearer the originals. European peasants keep -them in shapes more akin to the savage than to the Greek forms, and, -finally, men of letters have adopted the <i>genre</i> from popular narrative, -as they have also adopted the Fable.</p> - -<p><i>Little Johannes</i>, here translated from the Dutch of Dr. Frederik van -Eeden, is the latest of these essays, in which the man's fancy -consciously plays with the data and the forms of the child's -imagination. It is not my purpose here to criticise <i>Little Johannes, an -Allegory of a Poet's Soul</i>, nor to try to forestall the reader's own -conclusions. One prefers rather to glance at the history of the Fairy -Tale in modern literature.</p> - -<p>It might, of course, be said with truth that the Odyssey, and parts of -most of the world's Epics are literary expansions of the <i>Märchen</i>. But -these, we may be confident, were not made of set literary purpose. -Neither Homer, nor any poet of the French <i>Chansons de Geste</i>, cried, -'Here is a good plot in a child's legend, let me amplify and ennoble -it.' The real process was probably this: adventures that from time -immemorial had been attributed to the vague heroes of <i>Märchen</i> -gradually clustered round some half divine or heroic name, as of -Heracles or Odysseus, won a way into national traditions, and were -finally sung of by some heroic poet. This slow evolution of romance is -all unlike what occurs when a poet chooses some wild-flower of popular -lore, and cultivates it in his garden, when La Fontaine, for example, -selects the Fable; when the anecdote is developed into the <i>fabliau</i> or -the <i>conte</i>, when Apuleius makes prize of <i>Cupid and Psyche</i> (a -<i>Märchen</i> of world-wide renown), when Fénelon moralises the fairy tale, -or Madame d'Aulnoy touches it with courtly wit and happy humour, or when -Thackeray burlesques it, with a kindly mockery, or when Dr. Frederik van -Eeden, or Dr. Macdonald, allegorises the nursery narratives. To moralise -the tale in a very ancient fashion: Indian literature was busy to this -end in the Buddhist Jatakas or Birth-stories, and in the <i>Ocean of the -Stream of Stories</i>. Mediæval preachers employed old tales as texts and -as illustrations of religious and moral precepts. But the ancient -popular fairy tale, the salt of primitive fancy, the drop of the water -of the Fountain of Youth in modern fiction, began its great invasion of -literature in France, and in the reign of Louis XIV. When the survivors -of the <i>Précieuses</i>, when the literary court ladies were some deal weary -of madrigals, maxims, <i>bouts-rimés</i>, 'portraits,' and their other -graceful bookish toys, they took to telling each other fairy tales.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>On August 6, 1676, Madame de Sévigné tells her daughter that at -Versailles the ladies <i>mitonnent,</i> or narrate fairy tales, concerning -the Green Isle, and its Princess and her lover, the Prince of Pleasure, -and a flying hall of glass in which the hero and heroine make their -voyages. It is not certain whether these exercises of fancy were based -on memories of the <i>Pentamerone</i>, and other semi-literary Italian -collections of Folk-Tales, or whether the witty ladies embroidered on -the data of their own nurses. As early as 1691, Charles Perrault, -inventing a new <i>genre</i> of minor literature, did some Folk-Tales into -verse, and, in 1696, he began to publish his famous <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>, -and <i>Puss in Boots</i>, in Moetjens's miscellany, printed at the Hague. In -1696 Mlle. L'Héritière put forth a long and highly embroidered fairy -tale, <i>Les Enchantements de l'Eloquence</i>, in her <i>Bizarrures -Ingénieuses</i> (Guignard), while Perrault's own collected <i>Contes de ma -Mère l'Oye</i> were given to the world in 1697 (Barbin, Paris).</p> - -<p>The work of Mlle. L'Héritière was thoroughly artificial, while the -immortal stories of Perrault have but a few touches of conscious courtly -wit, and closely adhere to the old nursery versions. Perrault, in fact, -is rather the ancestor of the Grimms and the other scholarly collectors, -than of the literary letters of fairy tales. The Fairy Godmothers of -modern <i>contes</i> play quite a small part in Perrault's works (though a -larger part than in purely popular narrative) compared with their <i>rôle</i> -in Madame d'Aulnoy, and all her successors. Much more truly than la -Comtesse de M—— (Murat), author of <i>Contes des Fées</i>(1698), Madame -d'Aulnoy is the true mother of the modern fairy tale, and the true Queen -of the <i>Cabinet des Fées</i>.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> To this witty lady of all work, author of -<i>Mémoires de la Cour d'Espagne</i>, and of many novels, a mere hint from -tradition was enough. From such hints she developed her stories, such as -<i>Le Mouton, Le Nain jaune, Finette Cendron, Le Bon petit Souris</i>, and -very many others. She invented the modern Court of Fairyland, with its -manners, its fairies—who, once a year, take the forms of animals, its -Queens, its amorous, its cruel, its good, its evil, its odious and its -friendly <i>fées</i>; illustrious beings, the counsellors of kings, who are -now treated with religious respect, and now are propitiated with -ribbons, scissors, and sweetmeats.</p> - -<p>The Fairies are as old as the Hathors of Egypt, the Moerae who came to -the birth of Meleager, the Norns of Scandinavian myth. But Madame -d'Aulnoy first developed them into our familiar <i>fées</i> of fairy tale. -Her <i>contes</i> are brilliant little novels, gay, satirical, full of hits -at courts and kings. Yet they have won a way into true popularity: -translated and condensed, they circulate as penny scrap-books, and -furnish themes for pantomime.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> It is from Madame d'Aulnoy that the -<i>Rose and the Ring</i> of Thackeray derives its illustrious lineage. The -banter is only an exaggeration of her charming manner. It is a pity that -Sainte-Beuve, in his long gallery of portraits, found no space for -Madame d'Aulnoy. The grave Fénelon follows her in his <i>Rosimond et -Braminte</i>, by no means the worst effort of the author of <i>Télémaque</i>.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> -From Madame d'Aulnoy, then, descend the many artificial stories of the -<i>Cabinet des Fées</i>, and among these the very prolix novel out of which -<i>Beauty and the Beast</i> has been condensed takes a high place. The tales -of the Comte de Caylus have also humour, wit, and a pleasant -invention.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - -<p>The artificial fairy tale was in the eighteenth century a regular -literary <i>genre</i>, a vehicle, now for satire, now for moralities. The old -courtly method has died out, naturally, but the modern <i>Märchen</i> has -taken a hundred shapes, like its own enchanters. We have Kingsley's -<i>Water Babies</i>, a fairy tale much too full of science, and of satire -not very intelligible to children, and not always entertaining to older -people, but rich in tenderness, poetry, and love of nature. We have the -delightful <i>Rose and the Ring</i>, full of characters as real to us, -almost, as Captain Costigan, or Becky Sharpe. Angelica is a child's -Blanche Amory; Betsinda is a child's Laura Bell, Bulbo is the Foker of -the nursery, and King Valoroso a potentate never to be thought of -without respectful gratitude. How noble is his blank verse.</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">—'He laid his hands on an anointed king,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">—Hedzoff! and floored me with a warming pan!'</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Then we have the <i>Phantastes</i> of Dr. Macdonald, which the abundant -mysticism does not spoil, a book of poetic adventure perhaps too -unfamiliar to children. To speak of Andersen is superfluous, of Andersen -so akin in imagination to the primeval popular fancy; so near the -secret of the heart of childhood. The <i>Tin Soldier,</i> the <i>Ugly Duckling</i> -and the rest, are true <i>Märchen</i>, and Andersen is the Perrault of the -North, more grave, more tender, if less witty, than the kind Academician -who kept open for children the gardens of the Louvre. Of other modern -<i>Märchen</i>, the delightful, inimitable, irresponsible nonsense of <i>Alice -in Wonderland</i> marks it the foremost. There has been, of course, a vast -array of imitative failures: tales where boisterousness does duty for -wit, and cheap sentiment for tenderness, and preaching for that -half-conscious moral motive, which, as Perrault correctly said, does -inform very many of the true primeval <i>Märchen</i>. As an inveterate reader -of good fairy tales, I find the annual Christmas harvest of them, in -general, dull, imitative,—<i>Alice</i> is always being imitated,—and, in -brief, impossible. Mere vagaries of absurdity, mere floods of floral -eloquence, do not make a fairy tale. We can never quite recover the old -simplicity, energy, and romance, the qualities which, as Charles Nodier -said, make Hop o' my Thumb, Puss in Boots, and Blue Beard 'the Ulysses, -the Figaro and the Othello of children.' There may possibly be critics -or rather there are certain to be critics, who will deny that the modern -and literary fairy tale is a legitimate <i>genre</i>, or a proper theme of -discussion. The Folklorist is not unnaturally jealous of what, in some -degree, looks like Folk-Lore. He apprehends that purely literary stories -may 'win their way,' pruned of their excrescences, 'to the fabulous,' -and may confuse the speculations of later mycologists. There is very -little real danger of this result. I speak, however, not without -sympathy; there was a time when I regarded all <i>contes</i> except <i>contes -populaires</i> as frivolous and vexatious. This, however, is the fanaticism -of pedantry. The French <i>conteurs</i> of the last century, following in -the track of Hop o' my Thumb, made and narrated many pleasing -discoveries, if they also wrote much that was feeble and is faded. To -admit this is but common fairness; literary fairy tales may legitimately -amuse both old and young, though 'it needs heaven-sent moments for this -skill.' The <i>conteurs</i>, like every one who does not always stretch the -bow of Apollo till it breaks, had, of course, their severe censors. To -listen to some persons, one might think that gaiety was a crime. You -scribble light verses, and you are solemnly told that this is not high -poetry, told it by worthy creatures whose rhymes could be uncommonly -elevated, if mere owl-like solemnity could make poetry and secure -elevation. You make a fairy tale, and you are told that the incidents -border on the impossible, that analysis of character, and the discussion -of grave social and theological problems are conspicuously absent. The -old <i>conteurs</i> were met by those ponderous objections. Madame d'Aulnoy, -in <i>Ponce de Léon</i>, makes one of her characters defend the literary -<i>Märchen</i> in its place. 'I am persuaded that, in spite of serious -critics, there is an art in the simplicity of the stories, and I have -known persons of taste who sometimes found in them an hour's -amusement.... He would be ridiculous who wanted to hear and read nothing -but such legends, and he who should write them in a pompous and inflated -style, would rob them of their proper character, but I am persuaded -that, after some serious occupation, <i>l'on peut badiner avec</i>.' 'I -hold,' said Melanie, 'that such stories should be neither trivial nor -bombastic, that they should hold a middle course, rather gay than -serious, not without a shade of moral, above all, they should be offered -as trifles, which the listener alone has a right to put his price upon.'</p> - -<p>This is very just criticism of literary fairy tales, made in an age -when we read of a professional <i>faiseur des contes des fées vieux et -modernes</i>.</p> - -<p><i>Little Johannes</i> is very modern, and, as Juana says in <i>Ponce de Léon</i>:</p> - -<p>'Vous y mettrez le prix qu'il vous plaira, mais je ne peux m'empêcher de -dire que celui qui le compose est capable de choses plus importantes, -quand il veut s'en donner la peine.'</p> - -<p>ANDREW LANG.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Part of what follows I have already stated in a reprint of -<i>Perrault's Popular Tales</i>, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1888.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> In forty-one volumes, Paris, 1785-89.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> There are complete English translations of the eighteenth -century. Many of the stories have been retold by Miss M. Wright, in the -<i>Red</i> and <i>Blue Fairy Books</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> I am unacquainted with the date of composition of this -story about a Ring more potent than that of Gyges. (It is printed in the -second volume of <i>Dialogues des Morts</i> Paris, 1718).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> From one of these tales by Caylus the author, who but -recently made their acquaintance, finds that he has unconsciously -plagiarised an adventure of Prince Prigio's.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="I" id="I">I</a></h3> - - -<p>I will tell you something about little Johannes. My tale has much in it -of a fairy story; but it nevertheless all really happened. As soon as -you do not believe it you need read no farther, as it was not written -for you. Also you must never mention the matter to little Johannes if -you should chance to meet him, for that would vex him, and I should get -into trouble for having told you all about it.</p> - -<p>Johannes lived in an old house with a large garden. It was difficult to -find one's way about there, for in the house there were many dark -doorways and staircases, and cupboards, and lumber-lofts, and all about -the garden there were sheds and hen-houses. It was a whole world to -Johannes. He could make long journeys there, and he gave names to all he -discovered. He had named the rooms in the house from the animal world; -the caterpillar-loft, because he kept caterpillars there; the hen-room, -because he had once found a hen there. It had not come in of itself; but -Johannes' mother had set it there to hatch eggs. In the garden he chose -names from plants, preferring those of such products as he thought most -interesting. Thus he had Raspberry Hill, Cherry-tree Wood, and -Strawberry Hollow. Quite at the end of the garden was a place he had -called Paradise, and that, of course, was lovely. There was a large -pool, a lake where white water-lilies floated and the reeds held long -whispered conversations with the wind. On the farther side of it there -were the dunes or sand-hills. Paradise itself was a little grassy meadow -on the bank, shut in by bushes, among which the hemlock grew tall. Here -Johannes would sometimes He in the thick grass, looking between the -swaying reeds at the tops of the sand-hills across the water. On warm -summer evenings he was always to be found there, and would lie for -hours, gazing up, without ever wearying of it. He would think of the -depths of the still, clear water in front of him—how pleasant it must -be there among the water-plants, in that strange twilight; and then -again of the distant, gorgeously coloured clouds which swept across the -sand-downs—what could be behind them? How splendid it would be to be -able to fly over to them! Just as the sun disappeared, the clouds -gathered round an opening so that it looked like the entrance to a -grotto, and in the depths of the cavern gleamed a soft, red glow. That -was what Johannes longed to reach. 'If I could but fly there!' thought -he to himself. 'What can there be beyond? If I could only once, just for -once, get there!'</p> - -<p>But even while he was wishing it the cavern fell asunder in rolling dark -clouds before he could get any nearer. And then it grew cold and damp by -the pool, and he had to go back to his dark little bedroom in the old -house.</p> - -<p>He did not live all alone there; he had his father, who took good care -of him, his dog Presto and the cat Simon. Of course he loved his father -best: but he did not love Presto and Simon so very much less, as a -grown-up man would have done. He told Presto many more secrets than he -ever told his father, and he held Simon in the greatest respect. And no -wonder! Simon was a very big cat with a shining black coat and a bushy -tail. It was easy to see that he was perfectly convinced of his own -importance and wisdom. He was always solemn and dignified, even when he -condescended to play with a rolling cork or to gnaw a stale herring's -head behind a tree. As he watched Presto's flighty behaviour he would -contemptuously blink his green eyes and think: 'Well, well, dogs know no -better!'</p> - -<p>Now you may understand what respect Johannes had for him. But he was on -much more familiar terms with little brown Presto. He was not handsome -nor dignified, but a particularly good-natured and clever little dog, -who never went two yards from Johannes' side, and sat patiently -listening to all his master told him. I need not tell you how dearly -Johannes loved Presto. But he had room in his heart for other things as -well. Do you think it strange that his dark bedroom with the tiny -window-panes filled a large place there? He loved the curtains with the -large-flowered pattern in which he could see faces, and which he had -studied so long when he lay awake in the mornings or when he was sick; -he loved the one picture which hung there, in which stiff figures were -represented in a yet stiffer garden, walking by the side of a tranquil -pond where fountains were spouting as high as the clouds, and white -swans were swimming. But most of all he loved the hanging clock. He -pulled up the weights every day with solemn care, and regarded it as an -indispensable civility to look up at it whenever it struck. This of -course could only be done as long as Johannes remained awake. If by some -neglect the clock ran down Johannes felt quite guilty, and begged its -pardon a dozen times over. You would have laughed, no doubt, if you had -heard him talking to his room. But perhaps you sometimes talk to -yourself; that does not seem to you altogether ridiculous; and Johannes -was perfectly convinced that his hearers had quite understood him, and -he required no answer. Still he secretly thought that he might perhaps -have a reply from the clock or the curtains.</p> - -<p>Johannes had schoolmates, but they were not exactly friends. He played -with them, and plotted tricks with them in school, and robber-games out -of school; still he never felt quite at home but when he was alone with -Presto. Then he never wanted any boys, and was perfectly at his ease and -safe.</p> - -<p>His father was a wise, grave man, who sometimes took Johannes with him -for long walks through the woods and over the sand-hills; but then he -spoke little, and Johannes ran a few steps behind, talking to the -flowers he saw, and the old trees which had always to stay in the same -place, stroking them gently with his little hand on the rough bark. And -the friendly giants rustled their thanks.</p> - -<p>Sometimes his father traced letters in the sand as they went along, one -by one, and Johannes spelt the words they made: and sometimes his father -would stop and tell Johannes the name of some plant or animal.</p> - -<p>And now and then Johannes would ask about what he saw, and heard many -strange things. Indeed, he often asked very silly questions: Why the -world was just as it was, and why the plants and animals must die, and -whether miracles could ever happen. But Johannes' father was a wise man, -and did not tell him all he knew; and this was better for Johannes.</p> - -<p>At night before he went to sleep Johannes always said a long prayer. His -nurse had taught him this. He prayed for his father and for Presto. -Simon did not need it, he thought. He had a long prayer for himself too, -and almost always ended with the wish that just for once a miracle might -happen. And when he had said <i>Amen</i> he would look curiously round the -half-dark room at the figures in the picture, which looked stranger than -ever in the dim twilight, at the door-handle and the clock, wondering -how the miracle would begin. But the clock always ticked in its own old -fashion, and the door-knob did not stir, and it grew darker and darker, -and Johannes fell asleep without any miracle having happened.</p> - -<p>But it would happen some day; of that he was sure.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="II" id="II">II</a></h3> - - -<p>It was a warm evening, and the pool lay perfectly still. The sun, red -and tired with its day's work, seemed to pause for a moment on the edge -of the world, before going down. Its glowing face was reflected, almost -perfect, in the glassy water. The leaves of the beech-tree which -overhung the lake took advantage of the stillness to gaze at themselves -meditatively in the mirror. The solitary heron, standing on one leg -among the broad leaves of the water-lilies, forgot that he had come out -to catch frogs, and looked down his long nose, lost in thought.</p> - -<p>Then Johannes came to the meadow to look into the cloud-cavern. Splash, -dash! the frogs went plump off the bank. The mirror was rippled, the -reflection of the sun was broken up into broad bands, and the -beech-leaves rustled indignantly, for they were not yet tired of looking -at themselves.</p> - -<p>A little old boat lay tied up to the bare roots of the beech-tree. -Johannes was strictly forbidden ever to get into it. Oh! how strong was -the temptation this evening! The clouds were parting into a grand -gateway, through which the sun would sink to rest. Shining ranks of -small clouds gathered on each side like life-guards in golden armour. -The pool glowed back at them, and red rays flashed like arrows between -the water-reeds.</p> - -<p>Johannes very slowly untied the rope that moored the boat to the -beech-root. Oh, to float out there in the midst of that glory! Presto -had already jumped into the boat; and before his master knew what he was -doing, the reeds had pushed it out, and they were drifting away together -towards the setting sun.</p> - -<p>Johannes lay in the bows staring into the heart of the cavern of light. -'Wings!' thought he. 'Oh, for wings now, and I should be there!'</p> - -<p>The sun was gone. The clouds were of fire. The sky in the east was deep -blue. A row of willows grew on the bank. Their tiny silvery leaves -stood motionless in the still air, looking like pale green lace against -the dark background.</p> - -<p>Hark! What was that? A breath flew over the surface of the pool—like a -faint gust of wind making a little groove in the water. It came from the -sand-hills, from the cloud-cavern. When Johannes looked round he saw a -large blue dragon-fly sitting on the edge of the boat. He had never seen -one so large. It settled there, but its wings quivered in a large -circle; it seemed to Johannes that the tips of them made a ring of -light.</p> - -<p>'It must be a glow-worm dragon-fly,' thought he, 'and they are very -seldom seen.'</p> - -<p>But the circle grew wider and wider, and the wings fluttered so fast -that Johannes saw them only as a mist. And by degrees he saw out of the -mist two dark eyes gleaming, and a slender, shining figure in a pale -blue dress sat in the place where the dragon-fly had been. Its fair hair -was crowned with a garland of white convolvulus, and on its shoulders -were gauzy insect-wings glittering like a soap-bubble, with a thousand -colours.</p> - -<p>A shiver of delight tingled through Johannes. Here was a miracle!</p> - -<p>'Will you be my friend?' he whispered.</p> - -<p>It was an odd way of addressing a stranger, but this was not a common -case. And he had a feeling as though he had always known this strange -sky-blue creature.</p> - -<p>'Yes, Johannes!' he heard, and the voice sounded like the rustling of -the sedges in the evening breeze, or the whisper of rain on the leaves -in the wood.</p> - -<p>'What is your name?' asked Johannes.</p> - -<p>'I was born in the bell of a bindweed flower. Call me Windekind.'<a name="FNanchor_1_6" id="FNanchor_1_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_6" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> And -Windekind laughed and looked so kindly into Johannes' eyes that he felt -strangely happy.</p> - -<p>'To-day is my birthday,' Windekind went on, 'I was born close to this -spot. The last rays of the sun and the first beams of the moon are my -father and mother. People in Holland call the sun <i>she</i>, but that is not -right. The sun is my father.'</p> - -<p>Johannes made up his mind to call the sun <i>he</i> in school to-morrow.</p> - -<p>'And look! There comes my mother's round shining face. Good-day, -mother! Oh, oh! But she looks very sad!'</p> - -<p>He pointed to the eastern horizon. The moon was rising, broad and bright -in the grey heavens, behind the lace-work of willow-twigs which stood -out black against the silver disc. It really had a melancholy face.</p> - -<p>'Come, come, mother. There is nothing wrong. I can trust him.'</p> - -<p>The fair being fluttered his gauzy wings gleefully, and tapped Johannes -on the cheek with an iris flower he had in his hand.</p> - -<p>'She does not like my having come to talk to you. You are the first, you -see; but I trust you, Johannes. You must never, never mention my name to -any human being, nor speak of me at all. Will you promise me this?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, Windekind,' said Johannes. It was still very strange to him. He -felt happy beyond words, but feared lest his happiness should vanish. -Was he dreaming? By his side, on the seat, lay Presto, sleeping quietly. -His dog's warm breath reassured him. The gnats crept over the surface -of the water and danced in the sultry air, just as usual. Everything -about him was quite clear and real. It must be true. And he felt all the -time that Windekind's trustful look was on him. Then again he heard the -sweet low voice:—</p> - -<p>'I have often seen you here, Johannes. Do you know where I was? -Sometimes I sat on the sand at the bottom of the pool among the thicket -of water-plants, and looked up at you when you bent over to drink, or to -catch the water-beetles or the efts. But you did not see me. Then again -I would hide near you among the reeds. There I was very comfortable; I -sleep there most times when it is warm, in an empty reed-warbler's nest. -And that is deliciously soft!'</p> - -<p>Windekind rocked himself contentedly on the edge of the boat, hitting at -the gnats with his flower.</p> - -<p>'Now I have come to keep you company. Your life is too dull. We shall be -good friends, and I will tell you a great many things—much better -things than the schoolmaster teaches you. He knows nothing about them. -And if you do not believe me I will let you see and hear for yourself. -I will take you with me.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, Windekind! Dear Windekind! Can you take me with you out there?' -cried Johannes, pointing to the spot where the purple rays of the -vanished sun had streamed out of the golden gate of clouds. The glorious -structure was already fading into grey mist, but the rosy light still -could be seen in the farthest depths.</p> - -<p>Windekind looked at the glow, which tinged his delicate face and fair -hair, and he gently shook his head.</p> - -<p>'Not now, not now. You must not ask too much at once, Johannes. I myself -have never been to my father's home.'</p> - -<p>'I am always at my father's,' said Johannes. 'No; he is not your father. -We are brothers. My father is your father too. But the earth is your -mother and so we are very different. And you were born in a house among -men, and I in a bindweed flower; and that is much better. But we shall -get on very well together nevertheless.'</p> - -<p>Then Windekind sprang lightly into the boat, which did not rock under -his weight, and kissed Johannes on the forehead.</p> - -<p>What a strange change then came over Johannes! Everything about him -seemed different. He saw everything better and more clearly, as he -fancied. He saw the moon look down with a kinder glance, and he saw that -the water-lilies had faces, and gazed at him in pensive amazement. He -now suddenly understood why the gnats danced so merrily up and down, and -round and round each other, touching the water with the tips of their -long legs. He had often wondered and thought about it, but now he -understood it at once.</p> - -<p>He heard too what the reeds whispered to the trees on the bank, softly -complaining that the sun had gone down.</p> - -<p>'Oh! Windekind, thank you, this is glorious. Yes; we shall be very happy -together!'</p> - -<p>'Give me your hand,' said Windekind, spreading his many-coloured wings. -Then he drew Johannes in the boat over the pool through the splashing -leaves which glistened in the moonlight. Here and there a frog was -sitting on a leaf; but he did not now leap into the water when Johannes -came by. He only made a little bow and said, 'Quaak.' Johannes politely -bowed in return; above all, he would not seem ill-bred.</p> - -<p>Then they came to the reeds; they grew so far out into the water that -the whole boat was swallowed up in them without touching the shore. But -Johannes held fast to his leader and they scrambled to land between the -tall stems. It seemed to Johannes that he had grown quite small and -light, but perhaps that was fancy. Still, he could not remember that he -had ever before been able to climb up a sedge.</p> - -<p>'Now, keep your eyes open,' said Windekind, 'and you shall see something -pretty.'</p> - -<p>They walked on among the tall grass and under dark brushwood which here -and there let through a bright narrow streak of moonlight.</p> - -<p>'Did you ever hear the crickets of an evening out on the sand-hills, -Johannes? It is as if they were giving a concert, isn't it? And you can -never find out exactly where the sound comes from. Now they do not sing -for pleasure: the voices come from the crickets' school, where hundreds -of little crickets are learning their lessons. Be quite still, for we -are near them now.'</p> - -<p>Shurr! Shurr!</p> - -<p>The bushes were thinner here, and when Windekind pushed the grass stems -aside with his flower, Johannes saw a beautiful open glade where, among -the fine spiky grass of the down, the crickets were busy reading their -lessons. A great stout cricket was master and teacher. One after another -the pupils skipped up to him with one leap forward and one leap back -again. The cricket who missed his leap had to stand on a toadstool.</p> - -<p>'Now listen, Johannes,' said Windekind; 'you too may perhaps learn -something.'</p> - -<p>Johannes could understand what the little crickets said. But it was not -at all the same as the master at his school taught him. First came -geography: they knew nothing of the quarters of the world. They only -knew twenty-six sand-hills at most, and two ponds. No one could know of -anything beyond, said the master, and what was told of it was mere idle -fancy.</p> - -<p>Then came the botany lesson. They were all very sharp at this, and many -prizes were given, consisting of the youngest and sweetest blades of -grass of various length. But the zoology was what most puzzled Johannes. -The animals were classified as leaping, flying, and creeping. The -crickets could leap and fly, and thus stood at the head of all; next to -them the frogs. Birds were mentioned with every sign of horror, as most -malignant and dangerous creatures. Finally man was spoken of. He was a -huge useless and mischievous being, very low in the scale, as he could -neither leap nor fly; but happily he was very rarely met with. A very -tiny cricket, who had never yet seen a man, had three blows with a reed -for including man among the harmless beasts.</p> - -<p>Johannes had never heard anything like this before. Then the master -called out: 'Silence! Leaping exercise!' And the little crickets -immediately ceased conning their lessons, and began to play leap-frog, -in the cleverest and nimblest way, the big teacher at their head. It was -such a merry sight that Johannes clapped his hands with glee; but at -that sound, the whole school vanished in an instant into the sand-hills, -and the grass plot was as still as death.</p> - -<p>'There, that is your doing, Johannes! You must not behave so roughly. It -is easy enough to see that you were born among men.'</p> - -<p>'I am so sorry! Twill do my best. But it was so funny!'</p> - -<p>'It will be still funnier,' said Windekind.</p> - -<p>They crossed the grass plot and went up the down on the other side. Oof! -it was hard walking in the heavy sand; but as soon as Johannes held on -to the pale-blue robe he flew upwards, lightly and swiftly. Half-way up -there was a rabbit-burrow. The rabbit who lived there was lying with his -head and forepaws over the edge. The wild roses were still in bloom, and -their sweet, delicate fragrance mingled with that of the thyme which -grew on the sand-hill.</p> - -<p>Johannes had often seen rabbits pop into their holes, and had wondered -what the burrows looked like inside, and how they sat there together, -and would they not be stifled?</p> - -<p>So he was very glad when he heard his companion ask the rabbit whether -they might step in.</p> - -<p>'So far as I am concerned, and welcome,' said the rabbit. 'But it most -unfortunately happens that I have this very evening lent my burrow for a -charitable entertainment, and so am not properly master in my own -house.'</p> - -<p>'Dear, dear! Has some disaster occurred?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes!' said the rabbit sadly—'a terrible misfortune! It will take -us years to get over it. About a dozen jumps from here, a man's house -has been built, so big, so big! And its men are come to live there with -dogs. Seven members of my family have already perished, and three times -as many holes have been robbed. The mouse family and the mole tribe have -fared no better. Even the toads have suffered. So now we are giving an -entertainment for the benefit of the survivors. Every one does what he -can; I have lent my burrow. One must find something to spare for one's -fellow-creatures.'</p> - -<p>The polite rabbit sighed and passed his long ear over his face with his -right forepaw, as though to wipe a tear from his eye. It was his -pocket-handkerchief. There was a rustling sound in the grass and a fat, -heavy body came shuffling up to the hole.</p> - -<p>'Look,' said Windekind, 'here comes daddy toad too, all humped up. Well, -how are you getting on, old fellow?'</p> - -<p>The toad made no reply. He carefully laid an ear of corn neatly wrapped -in a dry leaf close to the entrance, and nimbly climbed over the -rabbit's back into the hole.</p> - -<p>'May we go in?' said Johannes, who was excessively inquisitive. 'I will -give something.'</p> - -<p>He remembered that he still had a biscuit in his pocket—a little round -biscuit, from Huntley and Palmer's. When he took it out he at once -observed how much smaller he had grown. He could scarcely grasp it with -both hands, and could not understand how his breeches pocket had still -held it.</p> - -<p>'That is most rare and precious!' cried the rabbit. 'That is a princely -donation!'</p> - -<p>And he respectfully made way for them to pass. It was dark in the -burrow, and Johannes let Windekind lead the way. Soon they saw a -pale-green light approaching them. It was a glow-worm, who obligingly -offered to light them.</p> - -<p>'It promises to be a delightful evening,' said the glow-worm as they -went forward. 'There are a great number of guests. You are elves as it -seems to me—are you not?' And the glow-worm glanced doubtfully at -Johannes as he spoke.</p> - -<p>'You may announce us as elves,' replied Windekind.</p> - -<p>'Do you know that your king is of the party?' the glow-worm went on.</p> - -<p>'Is Oberon here? Well, I am pleased indeed,' cried Windekind. 'He is a -personal friend of mine.'</p> - -<p>'Oh!' said the glow-worm. 'I did not know that I had the honour—' and -his light almost went out with alarm. 'Yes, his Majesty prefers the -outer air as a rule, but he is always to be seen at a beneficent -meeting. It will be really a most brilliant affair.'</p> - -<p>And so indeed it was. The chief apartment in the rabbit-burrow was -beautifully decorated; the floor was patted flat and strewn with scented -thyme, and over the entrance a bat hung head downwards. He called out -the names of the guests, and at the same time his wings served as -curtains—a most economical arrangement. The walls were tastefully lined -with dry leaves, cobwebs, and tiny hanging bats. Glowworms innumerable -crept between them and over the ceiling, forming a very pretty and -twinkling illumination. At the end of this hall stood a throne made of -fragments of decayed wood which gave a light of themselves. That was a -very pretty sight.</p> - -<p>There were a great many guests. Johannes felt very shy in this crowd of -strangers, and clung closely to Windekind. He saw wonderful things -there. A mole was talking to a field-mouse of the charming effect of the -lighting and decorations. Two fat toads sat together in a corner, -shaking their heads and lamenting over the persistent drought. A frog -tried to walk round the room arm in arm with a lizard; but this was a -failure, for he was embarrassed and excited, and now and then made too -long a leap, whereby he somewhat damaged the wall decorations.</p> - -<p>On the throne sat Oberon, the Elfin King, surrounded by his little train -of elves who looked down on the rest of the company with some contempt. -The King himself was full of royal condescension, and conversed in the -most friendly way with several of the company. He had just arrived from -a journey in the East, and wore a strange garment of brightly coloured -flower-petals. 'Such flowers do not grow here,' thought Johannes. On his -head he had a dark blue flower-cup which still shed a fresh perfume as -though it had but just been plucked. In his hand he carried the stamen -of a lotus-flower as a sceptre. All the company were struck with silent -admiration of his condescension. He had praised the moonlight over the -downs, and had said that the glow-worms here were as beautiful as the -fire-flies in the East. He had also glanced with approval at the -decorations, and a mole had observed that he had nodded his head very -graciously.</p> - -<p>'Come along,' said Windekind to Johannes. 'I will present you.' And they -made their way to the King's throne.</p> - -<p>Oberon opened his arms with joy when he saw Windekind, and embraced him. -There was a murmur among the guests, and unfriendly glances from the -Elfin court. The two fat toads in the corner muttered something about -'flattery' and 'servility' and 'it would not last'—and nodded -significantly to each other.</p> - -<p>Windekind talked to Oberon for a long time in an unknown language, and -then beckoned to Johannes to come forward. 'Shake hands, Johannes,' said -the King. 'Windekind's friends are my friends. So far as I can, I will -gladly serve you. I will give you a token of our alliance.'</p> - -<p>Oberon took a tiny gold key from the chain he wore about his neck and -gave it to Johannes, who received it with great respect and clasped it -tightly in his hand.</p> - -<p>'That key may bring you luck,' the King went on. 'It opens a golden -casket which contains a priceless treasure. But where that is I cannot -tell you; you must search for it diligently. If you remain good friends -with me, and with Windekind, and are steadfast and true, you may very -likely succeed.' The Elfin King nodded his handsome head with hearty -kindness, and Johannes thanked him, greatly delighted.</p> - -<p>Hereupon three frogs, who sat perched on a little cushion of moist moss, -began to sing the prelude to a slow waltz, and the couples stood up. -Those who did not dance were requested by a green lizard—who acted as -master of the ceremonies and who rushed hither and thither very -busily—to move into the corners; to the great indignation of the two -toads, who complained that they could not see; and then the dancing -began. It was very droll at first. Each one danced after his own fashion -and naturally imagined that he did it better than any one else. The mice -and frogs leaped as high as they could on their hind legs; an old rat -spun round so roughly that all the rest had to keep out of his way; and -even a fat slug ventured to take a turn with a mole, but soon gave it -up, excusing herself by saying that she had a stitch in her side—the -real reason was that she could not do it well.</p> - -<p>However, the dance went on very gravely and ceremoniously. Every one -regarded it as a matter of conscience, and glanced anxiously at the King -to see some token of approval on his countenance. But the King was -afraid of causing jealousies, and looked quite unmoved. His suite -thought it beneath them to dance with the rest.</p> - -<p>Johannes had stood among them quite quietly for a long time; but he saw -a little toad waltzing with a tall lizard who sometimes lifted the -hapless toad so-high above the ground that she described a semicircle -in the air, and his amusement burst out in a hearty laugh. What an -excitement it caused! The music ceased. The King looked angrily about -him. The master of the ceremonies flew in all haste to implore Johannes -to behave less frivolously.</p> - -<p>'Dancing is a very serious thing,' said he, 'and certainly no subject -for laughter. This is a very distinguished party, where people do not -dance for amusement. Every one is doing his best and no one expects to -be laughed at. It is extremely rude. Besides, this is a mourning feast, -on a very melancholy occasion. You must behave suitably, and not as if -you were among men and women.'</p> - -<p>Johannes was quite alarmed. On every side he met disapproving looks; his -intimacy with the King had already made him some enemies. Windekind led -him aside.</p> - -<p>'We shall do better to go, Johannes,' he whispered. 'You have spoilt it -all. Yes, yes; that comes of having been brought up among men.'</p> - -<p>They hastily slipped out under the wings of the porter bat, into the -dark passage. The glow-worm in waiting attended them to the door.</p> - -<p>'Have you been amused?' he asked. 'Did King Oberon speak to you?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes; it was a beautiful party,' replied Johannes. 'Must you stay -here in the dark passage all the time?'</p> - -<p>'It is my own free choice,' said the glow-worm in a tone of bitter -melancholy. 'I have given up all such vanities.'</p> - -<p>'Come,' said Windekind; 'you do not mean that.'</p> - -<p>'Indeed I do. Formerly—formerly—there was a time when I too went to -banquets, and danced and cared for such frivolities. But now I am -crushed by suffering—now-'</p> - -<p>And he was so much overcome that his light went out. Fortunately they -were close to the opening, and the rabbit, who heard them coming, stood -a little on one side so that the moonlight shone in.</p> - -<p>As soon as they were outside with the rabbit, Johannes said—</p> - -<p>'Tell us your history, Glow-worm.'</p> - -<p>'Alas!' sighed the glow-worm,' it is simple and sad. It will not amuse -you.'</p> - -<p>'Tell it, tell it all the same,' they all cried.</p> - -<p>'Well—you all know of course, that we glow-worms are very remarkable -creatures. Yes, I believe that no one will venture to dispute that we -are the most gifted creatures in existence.'</p> - -<p>'Pray why? I do not see that!' said the rabbit.</p> - -<p>'Can you give light?' asked the glow-worm contemptuously.</p> - -<p>'No, certainly not,' the rabbit was forced to admit.</p> - -<p>'Well, <i>we</i> give light! all of us. And we can let it shine or extinguish -it at will. Light is the best of nature's gifts, and to give light is -the highest function to which a living creature can attain. Can any one -now doubt our pre-eminence? Besides, we, the males, have wings and can -fly for miles.'</p> - -<p>'That I cannot do,' the rabbit humbly owned.</p> - -<p>'For the divine gift of light which we possess, all other creatures look -up to us; no bird may attack us. One animal alone, the lowest of them -all, seeks us out and carries us off. That is man—the vilest monster in -creation!'</p> - -<p>At this Johannes looked round at Windekind as though he did not -understand the meaning of it. But Windekind smiled and nodded to him to -say nothing.</p> - -<p>'Once I flew gaily about the world like a bright will-o'-the-wisp among -the dark bushes. And in a lonely damp meadow, on the bank of a stream, -dwelt she whose existence was inseparably bound up with my happiness. -She glittered in exquisite emerald green light as she crept among the -grass stems, and she entirely possessed my youthful heart. I fluttered -round her and did my utmost to attract her attention by changing my -light. I gladly perceived that she noticed my salutation and eclipsed -her own light. Tremulous with devotion, I was about to fold my wings and -drop in ecstasy at the side of my radiant and adored one, when a -tremendous noise filled the air. Dark figures were approaching: they -were men. I fled in terror. They rushed after me and struck at me with -great black tilings, but my wings were swifter than their clumsy -legs.—When I returned—'</p> - -<p>Here the narrator's voice failed him. It was only after a pause of -silent meditation, while his three hearers reverently kept silence, that -he went on: 'You have guessed the rest. My gentle bride, the brightest -and most sparkling of her kind, had disappeared, carried away by cruel -men. The peaceful, moist grass plot was trodden down, and her favourite -place by the stream was dark and desolate. I was alone in the world.'</p> - -<p>Here the tender-hearted rabbit again used his ear to wipe a tear from -his eyes.</p> - -<p>'From that night I am an altered creature. I have a horror of all vain -amusements. I think only of her whom I have lost, and of the time when I -may see her again.'</p> - -<p>'What, have you still a hope?' asked the rabbit in surprise.</p> - -<p>'I have more than hope; I have assurance. Up there I shall see my -beloved once more.'</p> - -<p>'But—' the rabbit put in.</p> - -<p>'Rab,' said the glow-worm solemnly, 'I can understand the doubts of -those who must feel their way in the dark. But to those who can see with -their own eyes!—then all doubt is to me incomprehensible. There!' cried -the glow-worm, looking reverently up at the twinkling, starry sky, 'I -see them there! All my ancestors, all my friends,—and she among -them—they shine up there in still greater radiance than here on earth. -Ah! when shall I be released from this lower life and fly to her who -twinkles at me so tenderly. When, ah! when?'</p> - -<p>The glow-worm turned away with a sigh, and crept back into the dark -again.</p> - -<p>'Poor fellow!' said the rabbit, 'I hope he may be right.'</p> - -<p>'I hope so too,' added Johannes.</p> - -<p>'I have my fears,' said Windekind. 'But it was very interesting.'</p> - -<p>'Dear Windekind,' Johannes began, 'I am very tired and sleepy.'</p> - -<p>'Come close to me, then, and I will cover you with my cloak.'</p> - -<p>Windekind took off his blue mantle and spread it over Johannes and -himself. So they lay down together in the sweet moss on the down, their -arms round each other's necks.</p> - -<p>'Your heads lie rather low,' cried the rabbit. 'Will you rest them -against me?' And so they did.</p> - -<p>'Good-night, mother!' said Windekind to the Moon.</p> - -<p>And Johannes shut his hand tight on the little golden key, laid his head -on the downy fur of the good-natured rabbit, and slept soundly.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_6" id="Footnote_1_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_6"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The child of the bindweed.</p></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a id="III"></a>III</h3> - - -<p>'Well, where is he, Presto? Where is your little master then?' How -alarming to wake in the boat among the reeds—quite alone—the master -vanished entirely! this is something indeed to be frightened at.</p> - -<p>And now run about, hunting on all sides with timid little whinings, poor -Presto! How could you sleep so soundly as not to notice when your master -left the boat? Generally you are wont to wake if only he moves a little. -Here—you can see here where your master landed; but now you are on land -the track is very much confused. All your busy snuffing is in vain! What -a misfortune! The little master gone, quite lost! Seek, Presto, seek him -then!</p> - -<p>'Look! There, against that low mound just before you—Is there not a -little dark figure lying? Look at it closely!'</p> - -<p>For a moment the dog stood motionless, looking eagerly into the -distance. Then he suddenly stretched out his head and flew as fast as -his four slender legs could carry him to the dark object on the mound. -And when he found that it really was the little master he had so sorely -missed, all his powers were too feeble to express his joy and -thankfulness. He wagged his tail, his whole body wriggled with glee, he -leaped, barked, yelped, and laid his cold nose against his re-found -friend, licking and sniffing all over his face.</p> - -<p>'Down, Presto! Go to your basket!' cried Johannes, but half awake. How -stupid of master! There was no basket to be seen, look where he might.</p> - -<p>Slowly, slowly, light began to dawn on the little sleeper's mind. -Presto's sniffing!—he was used to that, every morning. Faint images -still floated before his soul, dream-pictures of elves and moonlight, -like morning mists over a landscape of sand-hills. He feared that the -cold breath of day would waft them away. 'Keep your eyes shut,' said he -to himself, 'or you will see the clock against the wall where it always -hangs!'</p> - -<p>But there was something strange about his bed. He felt that he had no -bed-clothes over him. Gently and warily he opened his eyes, just a -little way.</p> - -<p>Bright daylight. Blue sky. Clouds.</p> - -<p>Then Johannes opened his eyes very wide and said: 'Then it was true?'</p> - -<p>Yes. He was lying among the sand-hills. The cheerful sunshine warmed -him; he breathed the fresh morning air; a filmy mist hung over the woods -beyond. He saw the tall beech-tree by the pool, and the roof of his own -home rising above the shrubbery. Bees and beetles were buzzing around -him, overhead a lark was singing; in the distance he could hear dogs -barking and the hum of the neighbouring town. It was all real, beyond a -doubt.</p> - -<p>What then had he dreamed, and what was true? Where was Windekind? And -the rabbit? He saw nothing of either. Only Presto, who sat as close to -him as possible and looked at him expectantly.</p> - -<p>'Can I have been walking in my sleep?' Johannes murmured softly to -himself.</p> - -<p>By his side there was a rabbit's burrow; but there were so many in the -down. He sat up to see more plainly. What was this in his tightly -clasped fingers? A glow flashed through him from head to foot as he -opened his hand. In it lay a bright little gold key.</p> - -<p>For a few moments he sat silent.</p> - -<p>'Presto,' said he then, and the tears almost came into his eyes, -'Presto. Then it <i>was</i> true!'</p> - -<p>Presto sprang up, and tried by barking to make his master understand -that he was hungry and wanted to go home.</p> - -<p>Home? To be sure. Johannes had not thought of that, and he did not -particularly care to go. However, he presently heard his name called by -loud voices. Then he began to understand that his proceedings would -certainly not be regarded as right and satisfactory, and that far from -kindly words awaited him on his return.</p> - -<p>For a moment he could hardly be sure whether his tears of joy had not, -in vexation, turned to tears of fear and contrition; but then he -remembered Windekind, who was now his friend, his friend and ally; and -the Elfin King's gift; and the splendid, indisputable reality of all -that had happened;—and so he made his way homeward calmly, and prepared -for whatever might betide.</p> - -<p>It fell out as he had anticipated. But he had not imagined that the -distress and alarm of the house-hold could be so serious a matter. He -must solemnly promise never again to be so naughty and heedless. This -quite restored his presence of mind.</p> - -<p>'That I cannot promise,' he said very resolutely.</p> - -<p>They looked at him in amazement. He was questioned, coaxed, threatened. -But he thought of Windekind and was firm. What did he care for -punishment so long as he had Windekind for his friend—and what would he -not endure for Windekind's sake? He clutched the little key tightly to -his breast and shut his mouth firmly, answering every question with a -shrug of his shoulders.</p> - -<p>'I cannot promise,' was all he replied.</p> - -<p>But his father said: 'Leave him in peace; he is quite in earnest about -it. Something strange must have happened to him. He will tell us all -about it some day.'</p> - -<p>Johannes smiled, ate his breakfast in silence, and crept up to his -little room. There he nipped off a bit of the blind-cord, slipped it -through his precious little key and hung it round his neck next to his -breast. Then he very contentedly went to school.</p> - -<p>Things went ill with him at school that day. He knew none of his lessons -and paid no attention at all. His thoughts were constantly wandering to -the pool, and the wonderful things which had happened last evening. He -could scarcely believe that a friend of the fairy king's could be -expected and required to do sums and conjugate verbs. But it had all -been true, and no one there knew anything about it, or would believe it -or understand it; not even the master, however cross he might be, -calling Johannes an idle little boy in a tone of great contempt. He took -the bad marks he had earned with a light heart, and did the task set him -as a punishment for his inattention.</p> - -<p>'You, none of you understand anything about it. You may scold me as much -as you please. I am Windekind's friend, and Windekind is worth more to -me than all of you put together. Ay, with the master into the bargain!'</p> - -<p>This was not respectful of Johannes. But his estimation of his -fellow-creatures had not been raised by all the evil he had heard said -of them the evening before.</p> - -<p>But, as is often the case, he was not yet wise enough to use his wisdom -wisely, or, better still, to keep it to himself.</p> - -<p>When the master went on to say that man alone of all creatures was -endowed by God with speech, and appointed lord over all other animals, -Johannes began to laugh. This cost him a bad mark and serious reproof. -And when his next neighbour read the following sentence out of an -exercise-book: 'The age of my wilful aunt is great, but not so great as -that of the Sun'—parsing 'the Sun' correctly as feminine, Johannes -shouted out loudly, correcting him: 'Masculine, masculine!'</p> - -<p>Every one laughed excepting the master, who was amazed at such utter -stupidity as he thought it, and he desired Johannes to remain in school -and write out a hundred times: 'The age of my wilful aunt is great, but -not so great as that of the Sun (feminine), and greater still is my -arrogant stupidity.'</p> - -<p>His school-fellows had departed, and Johannes sat alone writing, in the -great empty school-room. The sun shone in brightly, making the -dust-motes glitter in its beams, and painting the wall with patches of -light which crept round as time went on. The master, too, was gone, -slamming the door behind him. Johannes had just got to the fifty-second -'wilful aunt' when a tiny, brisk mouse, with black, beady little eyes -and erect ears, came out of the farthest corner of the room and ran -noiselessly along by the wall. Johannes kept as still as death, not to -scare the pretty little thing; but it was not shy and came close to -where he was sitting. It looked sharply about for a minute or two, with -its small, bright eyes; then with one spring leaped on to the bench, and -with a second on to the desk on which Johannes was writing.</p> - -<p>'Well done!' said he half to himself, 'you are a very bold little -mouse.'</p> - -<p>'I ought to know whom I should be afraid of,' said a wee-wee voice, and -the mouse showed his little white teeth as if he were laughing.</p> - -<p>Johannes was by this time quite used to marvels; still, this made him -open his eyes very wide. Here, in school, in the middle of the day—it -was incredible.</p> - -<p>'You need not be afraid of me,' said he, very gently for fear of -frightening the mouse. 'Did Windekind send you?'</p> - -<p>'I am sent to tell you that the master was quite right, and that you -thoroughly deserved your extra task.'</p> - -<p>'But it was Windekind who told me that the sun was masculine. He said he -was his father.'</p> - -<p>'Yes; but no one else need know it. What have men to do with that? You -must never discuss such delicate matters with men; they are too gross to -understand them. Man is an astonishingly perverse and stupid creature -that only cares to catch or kill whatever comes within his reach. Of -that we mice have ample experience.'</p> - -<p>'But why then, little mouse, do you live among men? Why do you not run -away to the woods?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, that we cannot do now. We are too much accustomed to town living. -And so long as we are prudent, and always take care to avoid their traps -and their heavy feet, we get on very well among men. Fortunately we are -very nimble. The worst of it is, that man ekes out his own slowness by -an alliance with the cat; that is a great grievance. But in the woods -there are owls and hawks, and we should all be starved. Now, Johannes, -mind my advice—here comes the master.'</p> - -<p>'Mouse, mouse; do not go away. Ask Windekind what I am to do with my -little key. I have tied it round my neck, next my skin. But on Saturday -I am tubbed, and I am so afraid that it will be found. Tell me, where -can I hide it?'</p> - -<p>'Underground, always underground, that is always safest. Shall I keep it -for you?'</p> - -<p>'No, not here in school.'</p> - -<p>'Then bury it out in the sand-hills. I will tell my cousin the -field-mouse that he must take care of it.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you, little mouse.'</p> - -<p>Tramp, tramp! In came the master. While Johannes was dipping his pen the -mouse had vanished. The master, who wanted to go home, let Johannes off -the other forty-eight lines.</p> - -<p>For two days Johannes lived in constant dread. He was kept strictly -within sight, and had no opportunity of slipping off to the sand-hills. -It was already Friday, and still the precious key was about his neck. -The following evening he would inevitably be stripped; the key would be -discovered and taken from him—his blood turned cold at the thought. He -dared not hide it in the house or garden—no place seemed to him safe -enough.</p> - -<p>Friday afternoon, and dusk was creeping down! Johannes sat at his -bedroom window, gazing with longing at the distance, over the green -shrubs in the garden to the downs beyond.</p> - -<p>'Windekind, Windekind, help me!' he whispered anxiously.</p> - -<p>He heard a soft rustling of wings close at hand, he smelt the scent of -lilies of the valley, and suddenly heard the sweet, well-known voice. -Windekind sat by him on the window-sill, waving the bells of a lily of -the valley on their slender stems.</p> - -<p>'Here you are at last!' cried Johannes; 'I have longed for you so much!'</p> - -<p>'Come with me, Johannes, we will bury your little key.'</p> - -<p>'I cannot,' said Johannes sadly.</p> - -<p>But Windekind took him by the hand and he felt himself wafted through -the still evening air, as light as the wind-blown down of a dandelion.</p> - -<p>'Windekind,' said Johannes, as they floated on, 'I love you so dearly. I -believe I would give all the people in the world for you, and Presto -into the bargain.'</p> - -<p>'And Simon?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, Simon does not care whether I love him or not. I believe he thinks -it too childish. Simon loves no one but the fish-woman, and that only -when he is hungry. Do you think that Simon is a common cat, Windekind?'</p> - -<p>'No, formerly he was a man.'</p> - -<p>Whrrr—bang! There went a fat cockchafer buzzing against Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Can you not look where you are going?' grumbled the cockchafer, 'those -Elves fly abroad as though the whole air were theirs by right. That is -always the way with idlers who go flitting about for pleasure; those -who, like me, are about their business, seeking their food and eating as -hard as they can, are pushed out of their road.' And he flew off, -scolding loudly.</p> - -<p>'Does he think the worse of us because we do not eat?' asked Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Yes, that is the way of cockchafers. According to them, the highest -duty is to eat a great deal. Shall I tell you the history of a young -cockchafer?'</p> - -<p>'Ay, do,' said Johannes.</p> - -<p>'There was a pretty young cockchafer who had just crept out of the -earth. That was a great surprise. For a whole year he had sat waiting in -the dark earth, watching for the first warm summer evening. And when he -put his head out of the clod, all the greenery, and the waving grass, -and the singing-birds quite bewildered him. He had no idea what to be -about. He touched the blades of grass with his feelers, spreading them -out in a fan. Then he observed that he was a male cockchafer, very -handsome in his way, with shining black legs, a large, fat body, and a -breastplate that shone like a mirror. As luck would have it, he at once -saw, not far off, another cockchafer, not indeed so handsome as himself, -but who had come out the day before and who was quite old. Very -modestly, being still so young, he crept towards the other.</p> - -<p>'What do you want, my friend?' said the second cockchafer rather -haughtily, seeing that the other was a youngster, 'do you wish to ask me -the way?'</p> - -<p>'No, I am obliged to you,' said the younger one civilly, 'but I do not -know what I ought to be doing. What is there for cockchafers to do?'</p> - -<p>'Dear me,' said the other, 'do not you know that much? Well, I cannot -blame you, for I was young myself once. Listen, then, and I will tell -you. The principal thing in a cockchafer's life is to eat. Not far from -this is a delicious lime-walk which was placed there for us, and it is -our duty to eat there as diligently as we can.'</p> - -<p>'Who put the lime-walk there?' asked the younger beetle.</p> - -<p>'Well, a great being who means very kindly to us. He comes down the -Avenue every morning, and those who have eaten most he takes away to a -splendid house where a beautiful light shines, and where chafers are all -happy together. Those, on the other hand, who, instead of eating, spend -the night in flying about are caught by the Bat.'</p> - -<p>'What is that?' asked the young one.</p> - -<p>'A fearful monster with sharp teeth who comes flying down on us all on a -sudden and eats us up with a horrible crunch.</p> - -<p>As the chafer spoke they heard a shrill squeak overhead which chilled -them to the very marrow.</p> - -<p>'Hark! There he is!' cried the elder, 'beware of him, my young friend, -and be thankful that I have given you timely warning. You have the whole -night before you. Make good use of your time. The less you eat, the -greater the risk of the bat's seizing you. And none but those who choose -a serious vocation in life ever go to the house where the beautiful -light is. Mark that; a serious vocation.'</p> - -<p>Then the chafer, who was by a whole day the elder, disappeared among the -blades of grass, leaving the other greatly impressed.</p> - -<p>'Do you know what a vocation is, Johannes? No? Well, the young chafer -did not know. It had something to do with eating—he understood that. -But how was he to find the lime-walk? Close at hand stood a slender but -stalwart grass-stem, waving softly in the evening air. This he firmly -clutched with his six crooked legs. It seemed a long journey up to the -top, and very steep. But the cockchafer was determined to reach it. -'This is a vocation!' he thought to himself, and began to climb with -much toil. He went but slowly and often slipped back; but he got on, and -when at last he found himself on the slender tip, and rocked with its -swaying, he felt triumphant and happy. What a view he had from thence! -It seemed to him that he could see the whole world. How blissful it was -to be surrounded by air on all sides! He eagerly breathed his fill. What -a wonderful feeling had come over him! Now he craved to go higher!'</p> - -<p>'In his rapture he raised his wing-cases and quivered his gauzy wings. -Higher! and yet higher I His wings fluttered, his legs released the -grass-stem, and then—oh joy! Whoo-oo I He was flying—freely and -gladly, in the still, warm evening air!'</p> - -<p>'And then?' said Johannes.</p> - -<p>'The end is not happy. I will tell it you some day later.'</p> - -<p>They were hovering over the pool. A pair of white butterflies fluttered -to meet them.</p> - -<p>'Whither are you travelling, elves?' they asked.</p> - -<p>'To the large wild rose-tree which blooms by yonder mound.'</p> - -<p>'We will go with you; we will go too!'</p> - -<p>The rose-bush was already in sight in the distance, with its abundance -of pale-yellow sheeny blossoms. The buds were red and the open flowers -were dashed with red, as if they remembered the time when they were -still buds.</p> - -<p>The wild down-rose bloomed in peaceful solitude, and filled the air with -its wonderfully sweet odours. They are so fine that the down-elves live -on nothing else. The butterflies fluttered about and kissed flower after -flower.</p> - -<p>'We have come to place a treasure in your charge,' cried Windekind. -'Will you keep it safe for us?'</p> - -<p>'Why not—why not?' whispered the rose. 'It is no pain to me to keep -awake—and I have no thought of going away unless I am dragged away. And -I have sharp thorns.'</p> - -<p>Then came the field-mouse—the cousin of the school-mouse—and burrowed -quite under the roots of the rose-tree. And there he buried the little -key.</p> - -<p>'When you want it again you must call me; for you must on no account -hurt the rose.'</p> - -<p>The rose twined its thorny arms thickly over the entrance and took a -solemn oath to guard it faithfully. The butterflies were witnesses.</p> - -<p>Next morning Johannes awoke in his own little bed, with Presto, and the -clock against the wall. The cord with the key was gone from round his -neck.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="IV" id="IV">IV</a></h3> - - -<p>'Children! children! A summer like this is a terrible infliction!' -sighed one of three large stoves which stood side by side to bewail -their fate in a garret of the old house. 'For weeks I have not seen one -living soul or heard one rational remark. And always that hollow within! -It is fearful!'</p> - -<p>'I am full of spiders' webs,' said the second. 'And that would never -happen in the winter.'</p> - -<p>'And I am so dry and dusty that I shall be quite ashamed when, as winter -comes on, the Black Man appears again, as the poet says.'</p> - -<p>This piece of learning the third stove had of course picked up from -Johannes, who had repeated some verses last winter, standing before the -hearth.</p> - -<p>'You must not speak so disrespectfully of the smith,' said the first -stove, who was the eldest. 'It annoys me.'</p> - -<p>A few shovels and tongs which lay on the floor, wrapped in paper to -preserve them from rust, also expressed their opinion of this frivolous -mode of speech.</p> - -<p>But suddenly they were all silent, for the shutter in the roof was -raised; a beam of light shone in on the gloomy place, and the whole -party lapsed into silence under their dust and confusion.</p> - -<p>It was Johannes who had come to disturb their conversation. This loft -was at all times a delightful spot to him, and now, after the strange -adventures of the last few days, he often came here. Here he found peace -and solitude. There was a window, too, closed by a shutter, which looked -out towards the sand-hills. It was a great delight to open the shutter -suddenly, and, after the mysterious twilight of? the garret, to see all -at once the sunlit landscape shut in by the fair, rolling <i>dimes</i>.</p> - -<p>It was three weeks since that Friday evening, and Johannes had seen -nothing of his friend since. The key was gone, and there was nothing now -to assure him that he had not dreamed it all. Often, indeed, he could -not conquer a fear that it was all nothing but fancy. He grew very -silent, and his father was alarmed, for he observed that since that -night out of doors Johannes had certainly had something the matter with -him. But Johannes was only pining for Windekind.</p> - -<p>'Can he be less fond of me than I of him?' he murmured, as he stood at -the garret window and looked out over the green and flowery garden. 'Why -is it that he never comes near me now? If I could—but perhaps he has -other friends, and perhaps he loves them more than me. I have no other -friend, not one. I love no one but him! I love him so much—oh so much!'</p> - -<p>Then, against the deep blue sky he saw a flight of six white doves, who -wheeled, flapping their wings, above the roof over his head. It seemed -as though they were moved by one single impulse, so quickly did they -veer and turn all together, as if to enjoy to the utmost the sea of -sunshine and summer air in which they were flying.</p> - -<p>Suddenly they swept down towards Johannes' window in the roof, and -settled with much flapping and fussing on the water-pipe, where they -pattered to and fro with endless cooings. One of them had a red feather -in his wing. He plucked and pulled at it till he had pulled it out, and -then he flew to Johannes and gave it to him.</p> - -<p>Hardly had Johannes taken it in his hand when he felt that he was as -light and swift as one of the doves. He stretched out his arms, the -doves flew up, and Johannes found himself in their midst, in the -spacious free air and glorious sunshine. There was nothing around him -but the pure blue, and the bright shimmer of fluttering white wings.</p> - -<p>They flew across the great garden, towards the wood, where the thick -tree-tops waved in the distance like the swell of a green sea. Johannes -looked down and saw his father through the open window, sitting in the -house-place,—Simon was lying in the window seat with his crossed -forepaws, basking in the sun.</p> - -<p>'I wonder if they see me!' thought he; but he dared not call out to -them.</p> - -<p>Presto was trotting about the garden walks, sniffing at every shrub and -behind every wall, and scratching against the door of every shed or -greenhouse to find his master.</p> - -<p>'Presto, Presto!' cried Johannes. The dog looked up and began to wag his -tail and yelp most dolefully.</p> - -<p>'I am coming back, Presto! only wait,' cried Johannes, but he was too -far away.</p> - -<p>They soared over the wood, and the rooks flew cawing out of the top -branches where they had built their nests. It was high summer, and the -scent of the blossoming limes came up in steamy gusts from the green -wood.</p> - -<p>In an empty nest, at the top of a tall lime-tree, sat Windekind, with -his wreath of bindweed. He nodded to Johannes.</p> - -<p>'There you are! that is good,' said he. 'I sent for you; now we can -remain together for a long time—if you like.'</p> - -<p>'I like it very much,' said Johannes.</p> - -<p>Then he thanked the friendly doves who had brought him hither, and went -down with Windekind into the woods. There it was cool and shady. The -oriole piped his tune, almost always the same, but still a little -different.</p> - -<p>'Poor bird!' said Windekind. 'He was once a bird of Paradise. That you -still may see by his strange yellow feathers; but he was transformed -and turned out of Paradise. There is a word which can restore him to his -former splendid plumage, and open Paradise to him once more; but he has -forgotten the word; and now, day after day, he tries to find his way -back there. He says something like the word, but it is not quite right.'</p> - -<p>Numberless insects glittered like dancing crystals in the sun's rays -where they pierced between the thick leaves. When they listened sharply -they could hear a humming, like a great concert on one string, filling -the whole wood. This was the song of the sunbeams.</p> - -<p>The ground was covered with deep dark-green moss, and Johannes had again -grown so tiny that it appeared to him like another wood on the ground, -beneath the greater wood. What elegant little stems! and how closely -they grew! It was difficult to make a way between them, and the moss -forest seemed terribly large.</p> - -<p>Presently they crossed an ants' track. Hundreds of ants were hurrying up -and down, some dragging chips of wood or little blades of grass in their -jaws. There was such a bustle that Johannes was almost bewildered.</p> - -<p>It was a long time before one of the ants would spare them a word. They -were all too busy. At last they found an old ant who was set to watch -the plant-lice from which the ants get honeydew. As his herd was a very -quiet one he could very well give a little time to the strangers, and -let them see the great nest. It was situated at the foot of an old -tree-trunk, and was very large, with hundreds of passages and cells. The -plant-louse herd led the way, and conducted the visitors into every part -of it, even into the nurseries where the young larvæ were creeping out -of their cocoons. Johannes was amazed and delighted.</p> - -<p>The old ant told them that every one was very busy by reason of the -campaign which was immediately at hand. Another colony of ants, dwelling -not far off, was to be attacked by a strong force, their nest destroyed -and the larvæ carried off or killed; and as all the strength at their -command must be employed, all the most necessary tasks must be got -through beforehand.</p> - -<p>'What is the campaign about?' said Johannes. 'I do not like fighting.'</p> - -<p>'Nay, nay!' replied the herdsman. 'It is a very grand and praiseworthy -war. You must remember that it is the soldier-ants we are going to -attack; we shall exterminate the race, and that is a very good work.'</p> - -<p>'Then you are not soldier-ants?'</p> - -<p>'Certainly not. What are you thinking about? We are the peace-loving -ants.'</p> - -<p>'What do you mean by that?'</p> - -<p>'Do not you know? Well, I will explain. Once upon a time all ants were -continually fighting, not a day passed without some great battle. Then -there came a good, wise ant, who thought that he should save much sorrow -if he could persuade them all to agree among themselves to fight no -more. But when he said so every one thought him very odd, and for that -reason they proceeded to bite him in pieces. Still, after this, other -ants came who said the same thing, and they too were bitten to pieces. -But at last so many were of this opinion that biting them to pieces was -too hard work for the others. So then they called themselves the -Peaceful Ants, and they did everything which their first teacher had -done, and those who opposed them they, in their turn, bit in pieces. In -this way almost all the ants at the present time have become Peaceful -Ants, and the fragments of the first Peaceful Ant are carefully and -reverently preserved. We have his head—the genuine head. We have -devastated and annihilated twelve other colonies who pretended to have -the True Head. Now there are but four who dare to do so. They call -themselves Peaceful Ants, but in fact they are Fighting Ants by -nature—but we have the True Head, and the Peaceful Ant had but one -head. Now we are going to-morrow to destroy the thirteenth colony. So -you see it is a good work.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, yes,' said Johannes. 'It is very strange!'</p> - -<p>He was in fact a little uneasy, and felt happier when, after thanking -the herd-keeper, they had taken their leave, and were sitting far from -the Ant colony, rocked on the top of a tall grass-stem, under the shade -of a graceful fern.</p> - -<p>'Hooh!' sighed Johannes, 'that was a bloodthirsty and stupid tribe!'</p> - -<p>Windekind laughed, and swung up and down on the grass haulm.</p> - -<p>'Oh!' said he, 'you must not call them stupid. Men go to the ants to get -wisdom.'</p> - -<p>Then Windekind showed Johannes all the wonders of the wood; they flew up -to visit the birds in the tree-tops and in the thick shrubs, went down -into the moles' clever dwellings, and saw the bees' nest in the old -hollow tree.</p> - -<p>At last they came out on an open place surrounded by brushwood. -Honeysuckle grew there in great abundance. Its luxuriant trails climbed -over everything, and the scented flowers peeped from among the greenery. -A swarm of tomtits hopped and fluttered among the leaves with a great -deal of twittering and chirping.</p> - -<p>'Let us stay here a little while,' said Johannes; 'this is splendid.'</p> - -<p>'Very well,' said Windekind. 'And you shall see something very droll.'</p> - -<p>There were blue-bells in the grass. Johannes sat down by one of them and -began to talk with the bees and the butterflies. They were friends of -the blue-bells', so the conversation went on at a great rate.</p> - -<p>What was that? A huge shadow came across the grass, and something like a -white cloud fell down on the blue-bell—Johannes had scarcely time to -get away,—he flew to Windekind who was sitting high up in a honeysuckle -flower. Then he saw that the white cloud was a pocket-handkerchief, and -bump! A sturdy damsel sat down on the handkerchief and on the poor -blue-bell which was under it.</p> - -<p>He had not time to bewail it before the sound of voices and the cracking -of branches filled the glade in the forest. A crowd of men and women -appeared.</p> - -<p>'Now we shall have something to laugh at,' said Windekind.</p> - -<p>The party came on, the ladies with umbrellas in their hands, the men -with tall chimney-pot hats, and almost all in black, completely black. -In the green sunny wood they looked like great, ugly ink-spots on a -beautiful picture. The brushwood was broken down, flowers trodden -underfoot; many white handkerchiefs were spread, and the yielding grass -and patient moss sighed as they were crushed under the weight they had -to bear, fearing much that they might never recover from the blow. The -smoke of cigars curled among the honeysuckle wreaths, and enviously -supplanted the delicate odour of their blossoms. Sharp voices scared the -gleeful tomtits, who, with terrified and indignant piping, took refuge -in the nearest trees.</p> - -<p>One man rose and went to stand on a little mound. He had long light -hair, and a pale face. He said something, and then all the men and women -opened their mouths very wide and began to sing so loud, that the rooks -flew cawing out of their high nests, and the inquisitive little rabbits, -who had come from the sand-hills to see what was going on, ran off in -alarm, and were still running fully a quarter of an hour after they were -safe at home again in the dunes.</p> - -<p>Windekind laughed and fanned away the cigar-smoke with a fern leaf; but -there were tears in Johannes' eyes, though not from the tobacco.</p> - -<p>'Windekind,' said he, 'I want to go. This is all so ugly and so rude.'</p> - -<p>'No, no, we must stay. You will laugh; it will be more amusing.'</p> - -<p>The singing ceased and the pale man began to speak. He shouted hard, -that every one might hear him; but what he said sounded very kind. He -called them all his brothers and sisters, spoke of the glories of nature -and the wonders of creation, of God's sunshine and the dear little birds -and flowers.</p> - -<p>'What is this?' asked Johannes. 'How can he talk of these things? Does -he know you? Is he a friend of yours?'</p> - -<p>Windekind shook his flower-crowned head disdainfully.</p> - -<p>'He does not know me, and the sun and the birds and the flowers even -less. What he says is all lies.'</p> - -<p>The people listened very attentively. The stout lady who sat on the -blue-bell began to cry several times, and wiped her eyes on her skirt, -as she could not get at her handkerchief.</p> - -<p>The pale man said that God had made the sun shine so brightly for the -sake of their meeting here, and Windekind laughed and threw an acorn -down from the thick leaves, which hit the tip of his nose.</p> - -<p>'He shall learn to know better,' said he; 'my father shines for him, -indeed! a fine idea!'</p> - -<p>But the pale man was too much excited to pay any heed to the acorn, -which seemed to have dropped from the sky; he talked a long time, and -the longer the louder. At last he was red and purple in the face, -doubled his fists, and shouted so loud that the leaves quivered and the -grass stems were dismayed, and waved to and fro. When at last he came to -an end they all began to sing again.</p> - -<p>'Well, fie!' said a blackbird, who was listening from the top of a high -tree, 'that is a shocking noise to make! I had rather the cows should -come into our wood. Only listen. Well, for shame!'</p> - -<p>Now the blackbird knows what he is talking about, and has a fine taste -in music.</p> - -<p>After singing, the folks brought all sorts of eatables out of baskets, -boxes and bags. Sheets of paper were spread out; cakes and oranges were -handed round. And bottles and glasses also made their appearance.</p> - -<p>Then Windekind called his allies together, and they began to attack the -feasters.</p> - -<p>A smart frog leaped up into an old maid's lap, flopped on to the bread -she was just about to put into her mouth, and sat there as if amazed at -his own audacity. The lady gave a fearful yell, and stared at the -intruder without daring to stir. This bold beginning soon found -imitators. Green caterpillars crept fearlessly over hats, handkerchiefs -and rolls, inspiring terror and disgust; fat field-spiders let -themselves down on glittering threads into beer glasses, and on to heads -or necks, and a loud shriek always followed their appearance; endless -winged creatures fairly attacked the human beings in the face, -sacrificing their lives for the good cause by throwing themselves on the -food and in the liquor, making them useless by their corpses. Finally -the ants came in innumerable troops and stung the enemy in the most -unexpected places, by hundreds at once. This gave rise to the greatest -consternation and confusion. Men and women alike fled from the long -crushed moss and grass. The poor blue-bell, too, was released in -consequence of a well-directed attack by two ear-wigs on the stout -maiden's legs. The men and women grew desperate; by dancing and leaping -with the most extraordinary gestures, they tried to escape their -persecutors. The pale man stood still for a long time, hitting about -him with a small black stick; but a few audacious tomtits, who were not -above any form of attack, and a wasp, who stung him in the calf through -his black trousers, placed him <i>hors de combat</i>.</p> - -<p>Then the sun could no longer keep his countenance, and hid his face -behind a cloud. Large drops of rain fell on the antagonistic parties. It -looked as though the shower had suddenly made a forest of great black -toadstools spring out of the ground. These were the umbrellas, which -were hastily opened. The women turned their skirts over their heads, -thus displaying their white petticoats, white-stockinged legs, and shoes -without heels. Oh, what fun for Windekind! He had to hold on to a -flower-stem to laugh.</p> - -<p>The rain fell more and more heavily; the forest was shrouded in a grey -sparkling veil. Streams of water ran off the umbrellas, tall hats and -black overcoats, which shone like the shell of a water-snail; their -shoes slopped and smacked in the soaking ground. Then the people gave it -up, and dropped off doubtfully in twos and threes, leaving behind them a -litter of papers, empty bottles and orange peel, the hideous relics of -their visit. The open glade in the forest was soon deserted once more, -and ere long nothing was to be heard but the monotonous rush of the -rain.</p> - -<p>'Well, Johannes! now we have seen what men are like. Why do you not -laugh at them?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, Windekind! Are all men like these?'</p> - -<p>'Indeed, there are worse and uglier. Sometimes they shout and rave, and -destroy everything that is pretty or good. They cut down trees and stick -their horrible square houses in their place; they wilfully crush the -flowers, and kill every creature that comes within their reach, merely -for pleasure. In their dwellings, where they crowd one upon another, it -is all dirty and black, and the air is tainted and poisoned by the smell -of smoke. They are complete strangers to nature and their -fellow-creatures. That is why they cut such a foolish, miserable figure -when they come forth to see them.'</p> - -<p>'Oh dear! Windekind, Windekind.'</p> - -<p>'Why do you cry, Johannes? You must not cry because you were born to be -a man. I love you all the same and choose you out of them all. I have -taught you to understand the language of the butterflies and birds, and -the faces of the flowers. The moon knows you, and the good kind earth -regards you as her dearest child. Why should you not be glad since I am -your friend?'</p> - -<p>'You are, Windekind, you are!—still I cannot help crying over men.'</p> - -<p>'Why? You need not remain among them if it vexes you. You can live here -with me, and always keep me company. We will make our home in the -thickest of the wood, in the solitary, sunny downs, or among the reeds -by the pool. I will take you everywhere, down under the water among the -water-plants, in the palaces of the elves and in the earth-spirits' -homes. I will waft you over fields and forests, over strange lands and -seas. I will make the spiders spin fine raiment for you, and give you -wings such as I have. We will live on the scent of flowers, and dance -with the elves in the moonlight. When autumn comes we will follow the -summer, to where the tall palm-trees stand, where gorgeous bunches of -flowers hang from the cliffs, and the dark blue ocean sparkles in the -sun. And I will always tell you fairy tales. Will you like that, -Johannes?'</p> - -<p>'And I shall never live among men any more?'</p> - -<p>'Among men, endless vexations await you, weariness, troubles and sorrow. -Day after day you will toil and sigh under the burden of life. Your -tender soul will be wounded and tortured by their rough ways. You will -be worn and grieved to death. Do you love men more than you love me?'</p> - -<p>'No, no! Windekind, I will stay with you.'</p> - -<p>Now he could prove how much he cared for Windekind. Yes, he would -forsake and forget everybody and everything for his sake: his little -room, and Presto, and his father. He repeated his wish, full of joy and -determination.</p> - -<p>The rain had ceased. A bright smile of sunshine gleamed through the grey -clouds on the wet sparkling leaves, on the drops which hung twinkling -from every twig and blade of grass, and gemmed the spiders' webs spread -among the oak leaves. A filmy mist rose slowly from the moist earth and -hung over the underwood, bringing up a thousand warm, sleepy odours. The -blackbird flew to the topmost bough and sang a short, passionate melody -to the sinking sun—as though he would show what kind of singing -befitted the spot—in the solemn evening stillness, to the soft -accompaniment of falling drops.</p> - -<p>'Is that not more lovely than the noises of men, Johannes? Ah, the -blackbird knows exactly the right thing to sing! Here all is harmony; -you will find none so perfect among men.'</p> - -<p>'What is harmony, Windekind?'</p> - -<p>'It is the same thing as happiness. It is that which all agree in -striving after. Men too, but they do so like children trying to catch a -butterfly. Their stupid efforts are just what scare it away.'</p> - -<p>'And shall I find it with you?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, Johannes. But you must forget men and women. It is a bad beginning -to have been born to be a man; but you are still young. You must put -away from you all remembrance of your human life; among them you would -go astray, and fall into mischief and strife and wretchedness—it would -be with you as it was with the young cockchafer of whom I told you.'</p> - -<p>'What happened to him afterwards?'</p> - -<p>'He saw the beautiful light of which the old chafer spoke; he thought he -could do no better than fly towards it at once. He flew straight into a -room, and into a human hand. For three days he lived in torture; he was -shut up in a cardboard box; they tied a thread to his feet and let him -fly at the end of it; then they untied him, with one wing and one leg -torn off; and at last, helplessly creeping round and round on a carpet, -trying to feel his way back to the garden, a heavy foot crushed him to -death.</p> - -<p>'All the creatures, Johannes, which come out and about at night are just -as much children of the Sun as we are. And although they have never seen -their glorious father, still an obscure remembrance always tempts them -wherever a light is beaming. And thousands of poor creatures of the -darkness find a miserable end through their love for the Sun, from which -they were so long since parted, and to which they have become strangers. -And in the same way a vague and irresistible attraction brings men to -ruin in the false image of that Great Light whence they proceeded, but -which they no longer know.'</p> - -<p>Johannes looked inquiringly into Windekind's eyes, but they were as deep -and mysterious as the dark sky between the stars.</p> - -<p>'Do you mean God?' he timidly asked.</p> - -<p>'God?' There was a soft smile in the deep eyes. 'I know, Johannes, what -you are thinking of when you speak that word,—of the chair by your -bed-side where you knelt to say your long prayers last evening—of the -green serge curtains in front of the church window, which you gaze at by -the hour on Sunday mornings—of the capital letters in your little -Bible—of the church-bag with its long pole—of the stupid singing and -the stuffy atmosphere. All that you mean by the word, Johannes, is a -monstrous, false image. In place of the sun a huge petroleum lamp, to -which thousands and thousands of flies are helplessly and hopelessly -stuck fast!'</p> - -<p>'But what then is the name of that Great Light, Windekind? And to whom -must I pray?'</p> - -<p>'Johannes, it is as though a patch of mould should ask me what was the -name of the earth which bears it round in space. Even if there were any -answer to your question you would no more understand it than an -earthworm can hear the music of the stars. Still, I will teach you to -pray.'</p> - -<p>And while Johannes was still silently wondering over Windekind's reply, -the elf flew out of the wood with him, high up, so high that beyond the -edge of the down a long narrow line was visible, gleaming like gold. -They flew on and on, the undulating sand-hills beneath them gliding -away, and the streak of light growing broader and broader. The green hue -faded, the wild broom was grey and thin, and strange bluish-green plants -grew among the bushes. Then another range of hills—a long narrow strip -of sand—and beyond, the wide unresting sea.</p> - -<p>The vast expanse was blue to the very horizon; but out there, under the -sun, a small streak shone in blinding red fire. An endless fringe of -downy-looking white foam edged the waters, as ermine borders blue -velvet. On the horizon a wonderful, fine line divided the air from the -ocean. It was indeed a marvel; straight yet curved; sharply defined yet -non-existent; visible yet intangible. It was like the vibration of a -harp-string, which thrills dreamily for a long time, seeming to die away -and yet still be there.</p> - -<p>Then little Johannes sat down on the sand-hill and gazed—gazed -long—motionless and silent; till he felt as though he were about to -die,—as though the great golden gates of the Infinite had opened -majestically before him, and his little soul were soaring forth towards -the first light of eternity; until the tears, which welled up to his -wide-open eyes, had dimmed the radiance of the sun, and the splendour of -sky and earth floated off into soft tremulous light.</p> - -<p>'That is the way to pray!' said Windekind.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="V" id="V">V</a></h3> - - -<p>Have you ever loitered in the woods on a fresh autumn day? When the sun -shines calmly and clearly on the richly-tinted foliage; when the boughs -creak, and the dry leaves rustle under foot. The forest seems weary of -life; it can merely think, and lives in its memories of the past. A blue -mist hangs about it like a dream, full of mysterious splendour, and the -glistening gossamers float on the air with slow undulations—a sweet -aimless musing.</p> - -<p>And now from the moist ground among the mosses and withered leaves -suddenly and inexplicably the strange forms of toadstools spring into -being. Some sturdy, deformed and fleshy; others slim and tall with -ringed stems and gaily painted hats. These are the quaint dream-figures -of the forest. On the decayed tree-trunks, too, there are little white -columns in numerable, with black heads as though they had been burnt. -Certain learned men regard them as a sort of fungus. But Johannes knew -better:—</p> - -<p>'They are little tapers. In the still autumn nights they burn while the -boguey-sprites sit near them, reading their little books.'</p> - -<p>Windekind had told him this one such tranquil autumn day, and Johannes -dreamily drank in the faint earthy smell which came up from the -mouldering ground.</p> - -<p>'How is it that the leaves of the ash-trees are so speckled with black?'</p> - -<p>'Ah! the boguey-sprites do that too,' said Windekind. 'When they have -been busy writing at night, in the morning they throw out what is left -in their ink-bottles over the leaves. They do not love the ash-trees; -crosses are made of ash-wood, and poles for church bags.'</p> - -<p>Johannes was curious to know all about the busy little sprites, and he -made Windekind promise to take him to see one of them. He had now stayed -some time with Windekind, and he was so happy in his new life that he -felt very little regret for his promise to forget all he had left -behind him. And he had no hours of loneliness or terror, when repentance -is always apt to intrude. Windekind never quitted him, and with him he -felt everywhere at home. He slept soundly in the swinging nest, where it -hung between the green reeds, however ominously the bittern might boom -or the raven croak. He knew no fear of the pelting rain or howling -storm—he could creep into a hollow tree or a rabbit's burrow, and hide -close under Windekind's cloak, and listen to his voice as he told him -tales.</p> - -<p>And now he was to see the Wood-Sprites.</p> - -<p>It was a good day for such a visit. So calm, so still, Johannes fancied -he could already hear tiny voices and the rustle of little feet, though -it was mid-day. The birds had almost all fled; only the thrushes were -feasting on the scarlet berries. One was caught in a snare. There he -hung with flapping wings, struggling till his sharp clenched claws were -almost torn away. Johannes made haste to set him free, and he flew off -with a happy chirp.</p> - -<p>The toadstools had a great deal to say.</p> - -<p>'Only look at me!' said a fat puffy Toadstool.</p> - -<p>'Did you ever see the like? See how thick and white my stem is, and how -my hat shines. I am the biggest of you all. And that in one night!'</p> - -<p>'Pooh!' said the red spotted toadstool. 'You are most vulgar!—so brown -and clumsy. Now, I sway on a tall stem like a reed; I am of a splendid -red like the rowan berries, and most elegantly speckled. I am the -handsomest of you all.'</p> - -<p>'Hush!' said Johannes, who knew them both of old. 'You are both -poisonous.'</p> - -<p>'That is a virtue,' said the red fellow.</p> - -<p>'Or are you a man by chance?' retorted the fat toadstool. 'Then indeed I -wish you would eat me.'</p> - -<p>But Johannes did not eat him; he took some dry twigs and stuck them into -his round hat. That looked funny, and all the others laughed; even a -swarm of slender toadstools with little brown heads who had only come up -a few hours since, and pushed themselves everywhere to look out on the -world. The fat toadstool turned blue with spite, thus displaying his -venomous nature. Earth-stars raised their little pert heads on angular -stems. Now and then a little cloud of the finest brown powder puffed -out of the opening in a round head. Wherever that dust fell on the moist -soil, threads would tangle and plait beneath the dark earth, and next -year myriads of fresh stars would come up.</p> - -<p>'What a beautiful existence!' they said to each other.</p> - -<p>'The happiest lot in life is to shed dust. What joy to think we may do -it as long as we live!' And they puffed the little smoke-like cloud into -the air with the deepest concentration.</p> - -<p>'Are they really happy, Windekind?'</p> - -<p>'Why not? What higher joy can they know? They are happy, for they ask no -better because they know no better.'</p> - -<p>When night fell, and the shadows of the trees were merged in uniform -gloom, the mysterious vitality of the forest knew no rest. The branches -snapped and cracked, the dry leaves rustled hither and thither among the -grass and in the underwood. Then Johannes felt the touch of invisible -wings and was aware of the presence of invisible beings. He could -plainly hear the murmur of little voices and tripping of little feet. -There! there in the darkest depth of the thicket, a tiny blue spark -glowed and vanished. There was another and another!—Hark! When he -listened attentively he could hear a rustling in the leaf-strewn floor -near him, close to the black tree-trunk. The blue lights again were -visible and then stood still on the top.</p> - -<p>Now Johannes saw such lights all about him; they flitted among the brown -leaves, dancing along with airy leaping; and in one place a large -sparkling mass beamed like a blue bonfire.</p> - -<p>'What fire is that?' asked Johannes. 'It burns splendidly.'</p> - -<p>'That is a rotten tree-stump,' replied Windekind.</p> - -<p>They went towards a bright light which remained steady.</p> - -<p>'Now I will introduce you to Wistik.<a name="FNanchor_1_7" id="FNanchor_1_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_7" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> He is the oldest and wisest of -the Wood-Sprites.</p> - -<p>As they approached Johannes saw him sitting by his candle. The wrinkled -little face with its grey beard could be plainly seen by the blue light; -he was reading diligently with knitted brows. On his head he wore an -acorn-cup with a tiny feather in it. Before him sat a wood-spider -listening to his reading.</p> - -<p>When the pair went near him, the little boguey, without raising his -head, looked up from his book and lifted his eyebrows.</p> - -<p>The spider crept away.</p> - -<p>'Good-evening,' said he. 'I am Wistik. Who are you?'</p> - -<p>'My name is Johannes. I should like to make acquaintance with you. What -are you reading?'</p> - -<p>'It is not meant for your ears,' said Wistik. 'It is only for -wood-spiders.'</p> - -<p>'Just let me once look at it, dear Wistik,' begged Johannes.</p> - -<p>'I cannot. This is the sacred book of the spiders, and is in my charge. -I may not let it out of my own hands. I have the keeping of the sacred -books of the snails, and the butterflies, and the hedge-hogs, and the -moles, and all the creatures that live here. They cannot all read, and -when they want to know anything I read it to them. This is a great -honour for me, a post of trust, you understand.'</p> - -<p>The sprite nodded very gravely several times, and pointed with his tiny -forefinger.</p> - -<p>'And what were you studying just now?'</p> - -<p>'The history of Kribbelgauw, the great hero among spiders, who lived -very long ago and had a net which spread over three trees, and in which -he caught millions of flies every day. Before the time of Kribbelgauw -spiders made no nets, but lived on grass and dead creatures; but -Kribbelgauw was a very clever fellow, and proved that all living insects -were created on purpose for food for spiders. Then, by the most -laborious calculation, Kribbelgauw discovered the art of making nets, -for he was very learned. And to this day the wood-spiders make their -nets exactly as he taught them, thread for thread, only much smaller. -For the spider race is greatly degenerate. Kribbelgauw caught great -birds in his net, and murdered thousands of his own children—he was -something like a spider! At last there came a great storm and carried -away Kribbelgauw and his net, with the three trees it was made fast to, -through the air to a distant wood, where he is now perpetually honoured -for his great achievements and sagacity.'</p> - -<p>'Is that all true?' asked Johannes.</p> - -<p>'It is all in this book,' said Wistik.</p> - -<p>'Do you believe it?'</p> - -<p>The boguey shut one eye and laid his forefinger to his nose.</p> - -<p>'The sacred books of other creatures, when they mention Kribbelgauw, -speak of him as a hateful and contemptible monster. But that is no -concern of mine.'</p> - -<p>'And is there a Sprites' Book, Wistik?'</p> - -<p>Wistik looked at Johannes rather suspiciously.</p> - -<p>'What sort of creature are you really, Johannes? There is -something—just something—human about you, so to speak.'</p> - -<p>'No, no; be easy, Wistik,' said Windekind, 'we are elves. But formerly -Johannes saw a good deal of men and their doings. You may trust him -entirely. It can do him no harm.'</p> - -<p>'Ay, ay, well and good. But I am called the wisest of the sprites—and I -studied long and hard before I knew what I know. So now I must be -cautious with my learning. If I tell you too much, I shall lose my -reputation.'</p> - -<p>'But in what book do you think that the truth is to be found?'</p> - -<p>'I have read a great deal, but I do not believe that I have ever read -that book. It is not the Elves' Book nor the Sprites'. Yet it must -exist.'</p> - -<p>'The Men's Book perhaps?'</p> - -<p>'That I do not know, but I do not think it. For the True Book must bring -with it great peace and great happiness. In it there must be an exact -explanation of why everything is as it is, so that no one need ever ask -or inquire any more. Now men, I believe, have not got so far as that.'</p> - -<p>'Oh dear, no!' said Windekind, laughing.</p> - -<p>'Is there anywhere such a book?' said Johannes eagerly.</p> - -<p>'Yes, yes,' whispered the sprite. 'I know there is, from very ancient -legends. And—hush!—I know where it is, and who can find it.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, Wistik! Wistik!'</p> - -<p>'Why then have you not yet got it?' asked Windekind.</p> - -<p>'Patience, patience,—it will be found. I know as yet no -particulars,—but I shall soon find it. I have toiled for it and sought -it all my life. For to him who finds it life shall be one perpetual -autumn day—blue air above and blue mists all round,—only no falling -leaves shall rustle, no twigs shall snap, no raindrops patter, the -shadows shall not change, the sun-gold on the tree-tops shall not fade. -What seems to us now to be light shall be darkness; what seems to us now -to be joy shall be woe by comparison, to those who read that book! Ay! I -know this much, and some day I shall find it.'</p> - -<p>The Wood-Sprite raised his eyebrows very much and laid his finger on his -lips.</p> - -<p>'Wistik, if you could but teach me——' Johannes began; but before he -could say more he felt a strong gust of wind and saw a great, broad -black shroud overhead, which silently and swiftly swept by. When he -looked for Wistik again he saw one little foot just vanishing into the -hollow tree. Whisk! the sprite had leapt into his cave, book and all. -The candles burnt paler and paler and suddenly went out. Those were very -strange little candles.</p> - -<p>'What was that?' asked Johannes, clinging in terror to Windekind in the -darkness.</p> - -<p>'An owl,' said Windekind. Then they were both silent for some time. -Presently Johannes said:—</p> - -<p>'Do you believe what Wistik said?'</p> - -<p>'Wistik is not so wise as he thinks himself. He will never find such a -book, nor you either.'</p> - -<p>'But does it exist?'</p> - -<p>'It exists, as your shadow exists, Johannes. However fast you run, -however cautiously you seize it, you can never overtake it or hold it. -And at last you discover that you are trying to catch yourself. Do not -be foolish; forget the sprite's chatter. I can tell you a hundred finer -tales. Come along! We will go to the outskirts of the wood and see how -our good father draws off the white woollen coverlets of dew from the -sleeping meadows. Come.'</p> - -<p>Johannes went; but he did not understand Windekind's words, nor did he -follow his counsel. And while he watched the dawn of the glorious autumn -morning, he was meditating over the book in which it is written why -everything is as it is, and repeating to himself in a low tone, -'Wistik!'</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="VI" id="VI">VI</a></h3> - - -<p>It seemed to him, all the next few days, as though it was no longer so -delightful or so beautiful to be with Windekind in the wood or on the -sand-hills. His thoughts were no onger wholly occupied with all that -Windekind told him or showed him. He could not help thinking of that -Book, but he dared not speak of it. The things he saw seemed to him less -fine and wonderful than before. The clouds were so black and heavy, he -was afraid lest they should fall upon him. It distressed him when the -unresting autumn wind shook and bowed the poor weary trees, so that the -sallow under side of the leaves was seen, and yellow leaves and dry -twigs were swept before the gale.</p> - -<p>What Windekind told him had ceased to interest him. A great deal of it -he did not understand, and he never got a perfectly clear and -satisfactory answer when he asked one of his old questions.</p> - -<p>And this again made him think of that Book in which everything was set -forth so plainly and simply; and of that everlasting still and sunny -autumn day which would ensue.</p> - -<p>'Wistik! Wistik!' he murmured.</p> - -<p>Windekind heard him.</p> - -<p>'Johannes, I am afraid you ought to have remained a human being. Even -your friendship is as that of men—the first person who has spoken to -you after me has won all your confidence from me. Ah! my mother was -right after all!'</p> - -<p>'No, Windekind. But you are much wiser than Wistik—as wise as that -Book. Why do you not tell me everything? See now! Why does the wind blow -through the trees so that they bend and bow? Look, they can bear it no -longer; the boughs snap and the leaves are flying by hundreds on all -sides, though they are still green and fresh. They are so tired they can -no longer hold on, and yet they are constantly shaken and thrashed by -the rude, spiteful wind. Why is it so? What does the wind mean?'</p> - -<p>'My poor Johannes, you are talking as men talk.'</p> - -<p>'Make it stop, Windekind. I want calm and sunshine.'</p> - -<p>'You question and want as a man; there is no answer, no fulfilment. If -you cannot learn to ask or wish better, the autumn day will never dawn -for you, and you will be like the thousands of human beings who have -talked to Wistik.'</p> - -<p>'What, so many?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, thousands. Wistik affects great mystery, but he is a chatterbox -who cannot keep his own secrets. He hoped to find the Book among men, -and communicates his knowledge to every one who might be able to help -him. And he has made many as unhappy as himself. They believe in him, -and go forth to seek the Book with as much zeal as some use in seeking -the art of making gold. They sacrifice everything, give up their calling -and their happiness, and shut themselves up among big volumes or strange -matters and instruments. They risk their lives and health, they forget -the blue sky and kindly gentle Nature—nay, even their fellow-creatures. -Some find good and useful things, as it were gold nuggets, which they -throw out of their holes on to the bright sunlit surface of the earth; -but they do not themselves care for these; they leave them for others to -enjoy, while they dig and grub on in the dark without cessation or rest. -They are not seeking gold but the Book. Some lose their wits over the -work, forgetting their object and aim, and becoming mere miserable -dotards. The sprite has made them quite childish. You may see them -building up little castles of sand, and calculating how many grains more -are needed to make them fall in; they make little watercourses, and -estimate precisely the bends and bays the water will make; they dig -trenches, and devote all their patience and reason to making them very -smooth and free from stones. If these poor idiots are interrupted in -their work and asked what they are doing, they look up with great -importance, shake their heads and mutter, 'Wistik, Wistik!' Yes, it is -all the fault of that little foolish Wood-Sprite. Have nothing to say to -him, Johannes.'</p> - -<p>But Johannes stared before him at the swaying, creaking trees. The -smooth brow above his clear childish eyes puckered into furrows. He had -never before looked so grave.</p> - -<p>'And yet—you yourself said—that there is such a Book! And oh! I am -quite sure that in it there is all about the Great Light, whose name you -will not tell me.'</p> - -<p>'Poor, poor little Johannes!' said Windekind, and his voice rose above -the dizzy clamour of the storm like a peaceful hymn, sounding very far -away. 'Love me, only love me with all your might. In me, you will find -even more than you wish. You shall understand that which you cannot -conceive of, and be, yourself, what you desire to know. Earth and heaven -shall be familiar to you, the stars shall be your neighbours, infinitude -shall be your dwelling-place. Love me! only love me! Cling to me as the -hop-bine to the tree, be true to me as the lake is to its bed—in me -alone shall you find rest, Johannes.'</p> - -<p>Windekind ceased speaking, but the choral psalm still went on. It seemed -to float at an immense distance, in solemn rhythm, through the raging -and sighing of the wind—as tranquil as the moonlight shining between -the driving clouds. Windekind opened his arms and Johannes fell asleep -on his breast, under the shelter of the blue cloak.</p> - -<p>But in the night he awoke. Peace had suddenly and imperceptibly fallen -on the world; the moon was below the horizon; the leaves hung limp and -motionless; the forest was full of silence and darkness.</p> - -<p>And questions came back on Johannes' mind, in swift spectral succession, -dislodging all his newly-born confidence. Why were men thus made? Why -must he come away from them and lose their love? Why must the winter -come? Why must the leaves fall and the flowers die? Why—why?</p> - -<p>Down in the thicket the blue lights were dancing again. They came and -went. Johannes gazed at them with eager attention. He saw the larger, -brighter light shining on the dark tree-trunk. Windekind was sleeping -soundly and peacefully.</p> - -<p>'Just one more question!' thought Johannes, creeping out from under the -blue mantle.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>'So, here you are again!' cried Wistik, with a friendly nod, 'I am very -pleased to see you. And where is your friend?'</p> - -<p>'Out yonder. But I wanted to ask you one more question—alone. Will you -answer it?'</p> - -<p>'You have lived among men, I am sure. Has it anything to do with my -secret?'</p> - -<p>'Who will find the Book, Wistik?'</p> - -<p>'Ay, ay! That's it, that's it. If I tell you, will you help me?'</p> - -<p>'If I can—certainly.'</p> - -<p>'Then listen, Johannes.' Wistik opened his eyes astonishingly wide, and -raised his eyebrows higher than ever. Then he whispered behind his -little hand. 'Men have the golden casket; elves have the golden key; the -foe of the elves can never find it, the friend of men alone can open it. -The first night of Spring is the right time, and Robin Redbreast knows -the way.'</p> - -<p>'Is that true, quite true?' cried Johannes, remembering his little key.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' said Wistik.</p> - -<p>'How is it that no one has found it yet?' asked Johannes, 'so many men -are seeking for it.'</p> - -<p>'I have never confided to any man, never to any man, what I have told -you. I never before knew a friend of the Elves.'</p> - -<p>'I have it, Wistik, I can help you!' Johannes leaped and clapped his -hands. 'I will ask Windekind about it.'</p> - -<p>Away he flew over the moss and dry leaves. But he stumbled now and then -and his feet were heavy. Stout twigs snapped under his tread, while -before, it had not even bent the blades of grass. There was the shady -fern under which they had been sleeping. Their bed was empty.</p> - -<p>'Windekind!' he called. But he started at the sound of his own voice. -'Windekind!' It sounded like a human voice.</p> - -<p>A scared night-bird flew up with a shriek.</p> - -<p>There was no one under the fern. Johannes could see no one. The blue -lights had vanished. It was very cold and perfectly dark on all sides. -Overhead, he saw the black tree-tops against the starry sky.</p> - -<p>Once more he called. Then he dared no more; his voice was an insult to -the silence, and Windekind's name a mockery. Poor Johannes fell on the -ground and sobbed in helpless grief.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_7" id="Footnote_1_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_7"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> 'Wistik' means, Could I but know.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="VII" id="VII">VII</a></h3> - - -<p>The morning was cold and grey. The black shining boughs, swept bare by -the storm, dripped in the fog. Little Johannes ran as fast as he could -over the wet, down-beaten grass, looking before him in the distance -where the wood was thinnest, as though he had some goal beyond. His eyes -were red with crying, and dazed with fear and grief. He had been -wandering about all night, seeking some light,—the feeling of being -safe and at home had vanished with Windekind. The spirit of loneliness -lurked in every dark corner; he dared not look round.</p> - -<p>At last he came out of the wood; he looked over a meadowland, and fine -close rain was pouring steadily. A horse was standing out in the rain -close to a bare willow tree. It stood motionless, with bowed head, and -the water trickled slowly off its shining flanks and plaited mane. -Johannes ran on, along the skirt of the wood. He looked with dim, timid -eyes at the lonely beast, and the grey drizzle, and he softly groaned.</p> - -<p>'Now it is all over,' thought he. 'Now the sun will never come again. -Now everything will always look the same to me as it does here.'</p> - -<p>But he dared not stand still in his despair; something most dreadful -would befall him, he thought. Then he espied the high wall of a garden, -and a little house, under a lime-tree with faded yellow leaves. He went -into the enclosure and ran along broad paths where the brown and gold -lime-leaves thickly covered the ground. Purple asters and other gay -autumn flowers grew by the grass plots in wild abundance. Then he came -to a pond. By the side of it was a large house, with windows and doors -all opening down to the ground. Climbing roses and other creepers grew -against the walls. But it was all shut up and deserted. Half-stripped -chestnut trees stood about the house, and on the earth, among the fallen -leaves Johannes saw the shining brown chestnuts.</p> - -<p>The cold, dead feeling about his heart disappeared. He thought of his -own home—there two chestnut-trees grew, and at this season he always -went out to pick up chestnuts. He suddenly longed to be there, as though -an inviting voice had called him. He sat down on a bench close to the -big house and cried himself to rest.</p> - -<p>A peculiar smell made him look up. A man was standing by him, with a -white apron on and a pipe in his mouth. Round his waist he had a wisp of -bast with which he tied up the flowers. Johannes knew that smell so -well! It reminded him of his own garden, and the gardener who brought -him pretty caterpillars and showed him starling's eggs.</p> - -<p>He was not frightened,—though it was a man who stood before him. He -told the man that he had got lost and did not know his way, and -thankfully followed him to the little cottage under the lime-tree.</p> - -<p>Indoors, the gardener's wife sat knitting black stockings. A large -kettle of water was hung to boil over the turf-fire in the hearth-place. -On the mat by the fire lay a cat with her forepaws crossed, just as -Simon had been lying when Johannes left home.</p> - -<p>Johannes was made to sit down by the fire to dry his feet. 'Tick-tick, -tick-tick,' said the great hanging clock. Johannes looked at the steam -which came singing out of the kettle, and at the little flames which -skipped and jumped fantastically about the peat blocks.</p> - -<p>'Here I am among men,' thought he.</p> - -<p>It was not alarming. He felt easy and safe. They were kind and friendly, -and asked him what he would like to do.</p> - -<p>'I would rather stay here,' he replied.</p> - -<p>Here he was at peace, and if he went home there would be scolding and -tears. He would have to listen in silence, and he would be told that he -had been very naughty. He would be obliged to look back on the past, and -think everything over once more.</p> - -<p>He longed, to be sure, for his little room, for his father, for -Presto—but he could better endure the quiet longing for them here than -the painful, miserable meeting. And he felt as though here he could -still think of Windekind, while at home he could not. Windekind was now -certainly quite gone. Gone far away to the sunny land where palm-trees -bend over the blue sea. He would do penance here and await his friend's -return.</p> - -<p>So he begged the two good folks to let him live with them. He would be -obedient and work for them. He would help to take care of the garden and -the flowers, at any rate through this winter; for he hoped in his heart -that Windekind would return with the Spring.</p> - -<p>The gardener and his wife supposed that Johannes had run away from home -because he had been hardly treated. They pitied him, and promised to let -him stay. So he remained and helped to work in the garden and attend to -the flowers. They gave him a little room to sleep in with a bedstead -painted blue. Out of it, in the morning, he could see the wet yellow -lime-leaves flutter past the window, and at night the black boughs -waving to and fro, and the stars playing hide-and-seek between them. And -he gave names to the stars, and the brightest of them he called -Windekind.</p> - -<p>He told his history only to the flowers, most of which he had known -before at home; to the large, solemn asters, the many-hued zinnias, and -the white chrysanthemums which bloom on so late into the blustering -autumn. When all the rest of the flowers were dead the chrysanthemums -still stood upright—even when one morning the first snow had fallen and -Johannes came to see how they were getting on, they held up their -cheerful faces and said: 'Yes, we are still here. You would never have -thought it!' And they looked very brave; but two days later they were -all dead.</p> - -<p>But palms and tree-ferns were still thriving in the hot-house, and the -strange blossoms of orchids hung in the damp heat. Johannes peeped with -amazement into their gorgeous cups, and thought of Windekind. How cold -and colourless everything seemed then when he came out again—the sloppy -snow with black footmarks, and the sighing, dripping branches of the -trees!</p> - -<p>But when the snow-flakes had been noiselessly falling hour after hour so -that the boughs bent under the growing burthen, Johannes ran off -gleefully into the purple twilight of the snow-laden wood. That was -silence—but not death. It was almost more lovely than summer verdure, -as the dazzling whiteness of the tangled twigs made lace-work against -the light-blue sky, or as one of the over-weighted boughs shook off its -load of snow, which fell in a cloud of glittering powder.</p> - -<p>Once in the course of such a walk, when he had gone so far that all -round him there was nothing to be seen but snow and snow-wrapped woods, -half white and half black, and every sound of life seemed stifled under -the glistening downy shroud, it happened that he thought he saw a tiny -white creature running swiftly in front of him. He followed it—it -resembled no animal that he knew; but when he tried to catch it, it -promptly vanished into a hollow trunk. Johannes stared into the hole -where it had disappeared and thought to himself: 'I wonder if it was -Wistik?'</p> - -<p>But he did not think much about him. He fancied it was wrong, and he -would not spoil his fit of repentance. And his life with these two kind -people left him little to ask for. In the evenings he had indeed to read -aloud out of a thick book in which a great deal was said about God; but -he was familiar with the book, and read unheeding.</p> - -<p>That night, however, after his walk in the snow, he lay awake in his -bed, looking at the cold gleam of the moonlight on the floor. All at -once he saw two tiny hands which came out from below the bedstead and -firmly clutched the edge. Then the top of a little white fur cap came -into sight between the two hands, and at last he saw a pair of grave -eyes under uplifted eyebrows.</p> - -<p>'Good-evening, Johannes!' said Wistik. 'I am come to remind you of your -promise. You cannot yet have found the Book, for it is not yet Spring -time. But do you ever think it over? What is that thick book which you -are made to read? But that cannot be the right book. Do not imagine -that.'</p> - -<p>'I do not imagine that, Wistik,' said Johannes.</p> - -<p>He turned over to go to sleep again; but he could not get the gold key -out of his head. Before now, when reading the big Book, he had thought -of that, and he saw plainly that it could not be the right Book.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="VIII" id="VIII">VIII</a></h3> - - -<p>'Now he will come back,' thought Johannes, the first time the snow had -melted here and there, and the snowdrops peeped out in bunches. 'Will he -come now?' he asked of the snowdrops. But they did not know, and stood -there with hanging heads, looking down at the earth as if they were -ashamed of their haste to come out, and would gladly creep back again.</p> - -<p>If only they could have done so! The numbing east wind soon began to -blow again, and the snow drifted deep over the foolish, forward little -things. Some weeks later came the violets; their sweet smell betrayed -them among the brushwood; and when the sun had shone warmly on the mossy -ground the pale primroses came out by hundreds and thousands.</p> - -<p>The shy violets with their fine fragrance were the mysterious harbingers -of coming splendour, but the glad primroses were the glorious reality. -The waking earth had caught and captured the first sunbeams and turned -them into a golden jewel.</p> - -<p>'Now—now he will certainly come!' thought Johannes. He eagerly watched -the leaf-buds on the trees as they slowly swelled day by day and freed -themselves from the bark, till the first pale-green tips peeped out -between the brown scales. Johannes would stand gazing for long at the -little young leaves—he could never see them move, but if he only turned -round, they seemed to have grown bigger. 'They dare not, so long as I am -looking at them,' thought he.</p> - -<p>The shade had already begun to be green. Still Windekind did not come, -no dove had settled near him, no little mouse had spoken to him. When he -spoke to the flowers they merely nodded and never answered.</p> - -<p>'My punishment is not yet ended,' thought he.</p> - -<p>One sunny spring morning he went to the pond by the great house. The -windows were all wide open. Had the people who lived there come back?</p> - -<p>The bird-cherry which grew by the water-side was entirely covered with -fresh leaves; every twig had a crop of delicate green winglets. On the -grass by the tree lay a young girl; Johannes could only see that she had -a light-blue dress and fair hair. A robin, sitting on her shoulder, fed -out of her hand. She suddenly turned her head and looked at Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Good-day, little man!' said she, with a friendly nod.</p> - -<p>Johannes felt a glow from head to foot. Those were Windekind's eyes; -that was Windekind's voice.</p> - -<p>'Who are you?' he asked. His lips trembled with excitement.</p> - -<p>'I am Robinetta, and this is my bird. He will not be afraid of you. Are -you fond of birds?'</p> - -<p>The Redbreast was not afraid of Johannes; it flew on to his arm. This -was just as it used to be. The being in blue must be Windekind.</p> - -<p>'And tell me what your name is, boy,' said Windekind's voice.</p> - -<p>'Do you not know me? Do you not know that my name is Johannes?'</p> - -<p>'How should I know that?'</p> - -<p>What did this mean? For it was the sweet familiar voice, and those were -the same dark, heavenly-deep blue eyes.</p> - -<p>'Why do you look at me so, Johannes? Have you ever seen me before?'</p> - -<p>'Yes I have, indeed.'</p> - -<p>'You must surely have dreamed it.'</p> - -<p>'Dreamed it?' thought Johannes. 'Can I have dreamed it? Or can I be -dreaming now?'</p> - -<p>'Where were you born?' he inquired.</p> - -<p>'A long way from hence, in a great town.'</p> - -<p>'Among human beings?'</p> - -<p>Robinetta laughed—it was Windekind's laugh. 'Why, I should think so. -Were not you?'</p> - -<p>'Oh yes, I was too.'</p> - -<p>'Do you object to that? Do you not like human beings?'</p> - -<p>'No. Who could?'</p> - -<p>'Who?—Well, Johannes, you are a very strange little boy. Do you like -beasts better?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, much better,—and flowers.'</p> - -<p>'So do I myself sometimes; just for once in a while. But it is not -right. We ought to love our fellow-men, my father says.'</p> - -<p>'Why is it not right? I love whom I choose, whether it is right or not.'</p> - -<p>'Fie, Johannes! Have you no parents or any one to take care of you? And -do you not love them?'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' said Johannes thoughtfully, 'I love my father. But not because it -is right—nor yet because he is a man.'</p> - -<p>'Why then?'</p> - -<p>'That I do not know,—because he is not like other men; because he too -is fond of birds and flowers.'</p> - -<p>'And so am I, Johannes, as you may see.' And Robinetta called the robin -to sit on her hand and talked to him fondly.</p> - -<p>'That I know,' replied Johannes, 'and I love you very much.'</p> - -<p>'Already? That is quick work!' laughed the girl. 'And whom, then, do you -love best?'</p> - -<p>Johannes hesitated. Should he utter Windekind's name? The fear that he -might accidentally speak it in the presence of other persons was never -out of his thoughts. And yet, was not this fair-haired creature in blue -Windekind in person? How else could she give him such a sense of rest -and gladness?</p> - -<p>'You,' he suddenly replied, looking full into those deep blue eyes. He -boldly made a complete surrender; but he was a little alarmed -nevertheless, and anxiously awaited her reception of his precious -offering.</p> - -<p>Robinetta laughed again, a light clear laugh; but she took his hand and -her look was no colder nor her voice less full of feeling.</p> - -<p>'Why, Johannes,' said she, 'what have I done to deserve it all at once?'</p> - -<p>Johannes made no reply, but stood looking at her with trustful eyes. -Robinetta rose and laid her arm on his shoulder. She was taller than he. -Thus they wandered on through the wood, gathering great bunches of -cowslips till they could have hidden under the mass of bright yellow -blossoms. The robin flew, as they went on, from branch to branch, and -watched them with his glittering little black eyes.</p> - -<p>They did not talk much, but looked at each other now and then, with a -side glance. They were both embarrassed by this meeting and did not know -what to think of each other.</p> - -<p>But Robinetta had soon to turn back. It was growing late.</p> - -<p>'I must go now, Johannes. But will you come and walk with me again? I -think you are a nice little boy,' she said as they turned round.</p> - -<p>'Weet, weet!' piped the robin, and flew after her.</p> - -<p>When she was away and he had only her image left to think of, he had not -a moment's doubt as to who she was. She it was to whom he had given his -friendship: the name of Windekind faded from his mind, and that of -Robinetta took its place.</p> - -<p>And now everything was the same to him again as it had formerly been. -The flowers nodded gaily, and their scent drove away the melancholy -home-sickness which he had felt and encouraged now and then. Amid the -tender greenery, in the warm, soft breeze of spring, he all at once felt -himself at home, like a bird that has found its nest. He spread out his -arms and drew a deep breath; he was so happy. As he went homewards the -figure in light blue with yellow hair, floated before him whichever way -he turned his gaze. It was as though he had looked on the sun, and its -image danced before his eyes where-ever he looked.</p> - -<p>From that day forward Johannes found his way to the pond every fine -morning. He went early, as soon as he was roused by the squabbling of -the sparrows in the ivy round his window, and by the twitter and wheeze -of the starlings as they fluttered on the roof and wheeled in the early -sunshine. Then he flew off through the dewy grass, to wait close by the -house, behind a lilac-bush, till he heard the glass door open and saw -the light figure come out.</p> - -<p>Away they went, wandering through the wood and over the sand-hills which -skirted it. They talked of all they saw, the trees, and the plants and -the downs. Johannes had a strange bewildered feeling as he walked by her -side; sometimes he felt so light that he fancied he could fly through -the air. But that never happened. He told her all the stories of the -flowers and animals that he had heard from Windekind. But he had -forgotten who had told them to him, and Windekind did not now stand -before him, only Robinetta. He was happy when she smiled at Mm and he -saw her friendship for him in her eyes; and he would talk to her as of -old he had talked to his little dog, telling her everything that came -into his head, without reserve or timidity. During the hours when he -could not see her he thought of her; and in everything he did he asked -himself whether Robinetta would think it right or nice. She herself -seemed no less pleased to see him; she smiled and ran quicker to meet -him. She told him indeed that there was no one she was so glad to walk -with as with him.</p> - -<p>'But, Johannes,' said she one day, 'how do you know all these things? -How do you know what the cockchafers think about, what the thrushes -sing, what the inside of the rabbit-holes is like, and how things look -at the bottom of the water?'</p> - -<p>'I have been told,' answered Johannes, 'and I have myself been inside a -rabbit-burrow, and down to the bottom of the water.'</p> - -<p>Robinetta knit her pretty eyebrows and looked at him half mockingly. -But he looked as if he were speaking the truth. They were sitting under -lilac-trees covered with large bunches of purple blossoms. In front of -them was the pond with its reeds and duck-weed. They saw the black -water-snails gliding below the surface, and red spiders busily swinging -up and down. It was swarming with life and movement. Johannes, lost in -remembrance, gazed down into the depths and said—</p> - -<p>'I went down there once. I slipped down a reed to the very bottom. It is -covered all over with dead leaves which fall so lightly and softly. It -is always twilight there—green twilight, because the light comes -through the green duck-weed. And over my head I saw the long white -rootlets of the duck-weed hanging down. Newts came and swam round me; -they are very inquisitive. It is strange to see such great creatures -swimming overhead; and I could not see far before me, it was too dark, -and all green. In that darkness, the creatures appeared like black -shades. Water-snails with their swimming-foot and flat shells, and -sometimes a little fish. I went a long way, for hours, I believe, and in -the middle was a great forest of water-plants, where snails were -creeping and water-spiders wove their glistening nets. Sticklebacks shot -in and out, and sometimes paused to stare at me, with open mouth and -quivering fins—they were so much astonished. I made friends there with -an eel, whose tail I unfortunately trod on. He told me the history of -his travels; he had been as far as the sea, he said. For this, he had -been chosen king of the pool, for no one else had ever been so far. He -always lay sleeping in the mud, except when he got something to eat -which the others brought him. He ate a terrible quantity. That was -because he was king; they like to have a very fat king; it looks grand. -Oh! it was lovely down in that pool.'</p> - -<p>'They why do you not go down there again now?'</p> - -<p>'Now?' repeated Johannes, looking at her with wide, bewildered eyes. -'Now? I can never go again now. I should be drowned. But I do not care. -I had rather stay here, by the lilac-bush, with you.'</p> - -<p>Robinetta shook her yellow head, much puzzled, and stroked Johannes's -hair. Then she looked at her bird, which seemed to be finding all sorts -of delicious morsels by the edge of the pond. It glanced up at that -moment, and watched the pair for a moment with its bright little eyes.</p> - -<p>'Do you understand anything of all this, Dicky-bird?'</p> - -<p>The Robin looked very knowing and went on hunting and pecking.</p> - -<p>'Tell me something more, Johannes, of the things you have seen.'</p> - -<p>This Johannes was very glad to do, and Robinetta listened with attentive -belief in all he said.</p> - -<p>'But where did this all happen? Why cannot you go now with me? -Everywhere—all about? I should like it so much.'</p> - -<p>Johannes did his best to remember, but a sunlit mist covered the dim -landscape where he had once wandered. He could not quite make out how it -was that his former happiness had deserted him.</p> - -<p>'I do not know exactly—you must not ask about that. A foolish little -being spoiled it all. But it is all right now—better even than before.'</p> - -<p>The scent of the lilac poured down on them from the bushes, and the -humming of the insects on the pool, and the peaceful sunshine filled -them with pleasant drowsiness, till a bell rang at the great house with -a swinging clang, and Robinetta flew off.</p> - -<p>When Johannes went into his little room that evening, as he looked at -the moon-shadows of the ivy leaves which stole across the brick floor, -he fancied he heard a tap at the window. He thought it was an ivy leaf -shaken by the wind. But it was such a distinct knocking, three taps each -time, that Johannes softly opened the window and cautiously peeped out. -The ivy against the wall glistened in the blue gleam—the dark world -below was full of mystery; there were hollows and caves, where the moon -lighted up small blue sparks, which made the darkness behind seem deeper -still. After staring for a long time into the marvels of the -shadow-world, Johannes discerned the form of a tiny mannikin, close to -the window, screened by a large ivy leaf. He at once recognised Wistik -by his large wondering eyes and uplifted eyebrows. The moon had set a -spark of light on the tip of Wistik's long nose.</p> - -<p>'Have you forgotten me, Johannes? Why do you never think of me? It is -the right time of year. Have you asked Robin Redbreast to show you the -way?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, Wistik, why should I ask? I have all I can wish for. I have -Robinetta.'</p> - -<p>'But that cannot last long. And you might be happier still—and -certainly Robinetta might. And is the little key to lie there? Only -think how splendid it would be if you two were to find the Book! Ask -Robin Redbreast about it, and I will help as far as I can.'</p> - -<p>'I can ask about it at any rate,' said Johannes.</p> - -<p>Wistik nodded, and nimbly scrambled down to the ground; and Johannes -looked at the deep shadows and the shining ivy leaves for a long time -before he went to bed.</p> - -<p>Next day he asked the Redbreast whether he knew the way to the golden -chest. Robinetta listened in surprise. Johannes saw the Robin nod his -head and give a side-glance at Robinetta.</p> - -<p>'Not here! not here!' piped the little bird.</p> - -<p>'What are you asking, Johannes?' said Robinetta.</p> - -<p>'Do you know anything about it, Robinetta? Do you know where it is to be -found? Are you not waiting for the little golden key?'</p> - -<p>'No, no. Tell me, what is it?'</p> - -<p>Johannes told her all he knew about the Book. 'And I have the key, and I -thought that you must have the little golden chest. Is it not so, -Dicky-bird?'</p> - -<p>But the bird pretended not to hear, and flew about among the young -pale-green birch boughs. They were sitting under a sand-hill, on which -little birches and broom shrubs grew. A grassy path ran up the slope, -and they sat at the edge of it, on the thick, dark, green moss. They -could see over the tops of the low shrubs, a green sea of leaves with -waves in light and shade.</p> - -<p>'I believe,' said Robinetta, after thinking for some time, 'that I can -find what you want before you do. But what do you mean about the little -key? How did you come by it?'</p> - -<p>'Ah!—how did I?—How was that?' muttered Johannes to himself, staring -across the green landscape into the distance.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, as though they had come into being under the sunny blue sky, a -pair of white butterflies met his sight. They flitted and wheeled, and -shone in the sunshine with purposeless giddy flutterings; but they came -close to him.</p> - -<p>'Windekind! Windekind!' The name came back to Johannes, and he spoke it -in a whisper.</p> - -<p>'What is Windekind?' asked Robinetta. The Redbreast flew chirping up, -and the daisies in the grass at their feet seemed all at once to be -staring at Johannes in alarm with their round white eyes.</p> - -<p>'Did he give you the little key?' the girl went on.</p> - -<p>Johannes nodded; still he said nothing, but she wanted to know more -about it.</p> - -<p>'Who was it? Did he tell you all these things? Where is he?'</p> - -<p>'He is gone.—Now it is Robinetta—no one but Robinetta—only -Robinetta.'</p> - -<p>He took her arm and laid his head against it.</p> - -<p>'Silly boy!' she said, laughing, 'I will make you find the Book; I know -where it is.'</p> - -<p>'But then I must go to fetch the key, and it is a long way off.'</p> - -<p>'No, no, you need not. I can find it without the key.—To-morrow, I -promise you, to-morrow.'</p> - -<p>And as they walked homewards, the butterflies flitted in front of them.</p> - -<p>That night, Johannes dreamed of his father, of Robinetta, and of many -others. They were all good friends; they stood round him and looked at -him kindly and trustfully. But on a sudden, their faces were changed, -they looked coldly and laughed at him. He gazed about him in terror—on -all sides there were none but angry, unfriendly faces. He felt a -nameless misery, and awoke with a cry.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="IX" id="IX">IX</a></h3> - - -<p>Johannes had sat waiting for a long time. The air was chill, and heavy -clouds swept over the scene in endless succession. They spread a dark -grey mantle in wide folds, and lifted their proud heads to the bright -light which shone above them. Sunshine and shadow chased each other with -wonderful swiftness across the trees, like a fitfully blazing fire. -Johannes was uneasy in his mind; he was thinking of the Book, not really -believing that he should ever find it. Between the clouds very, very -high up, he saw the clear, deep blue strewn with fleecy white clouds, -soft and feathery, floating in calm and motionless rest.</p> - -<p>'It must be like that!' thought he. 'So high, so bright, so still!'</p> - -<p>Then came Robinetta. Her bird was not with her.</p> - -<p>'It is all right, Johannes!' she cried out. 'You may come and see the -Book.'</p> - -<p>'Where is Robin Redbreast?' said Johannes doubtfully.</p> - -<p>'He did not come; as we are not going for a walk.'</p> - -<p>So he went with her, still thinking to himself: 'It cannot be.—It will -not be like this,—it must be quite different.' However, he followed the -shining golden hair which lighted up the way.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Alas! Sad things now befell little Johannes. I wish that his history -ended here. Did you ever have a beautiful dream of an enchanted garden, -with flowers and beasts who loved you and talked to you? And have you in -your dream had the consciousness that you would presently awake, and all -the glory of it vanish? Then you try with all your might to hold it -fast, and not to see the cold light of morning.</p> - -<p>Johannes had just such a feeling as he followed Robinetta.</p> - -<p>She led him into the big house, into a passage where his steps echoed. -He could smell the scent of clothes and food; he thought of the long -days when he had been kept indoors—of his school-days—and of -everything in his life which had been cold and gloomy.</p> - -<p>They went into a room full of men and women; how many, he could not see. -They were talking, but as he went in they were silent. He noticed that -the carpet had a pattern of huge, impossible flowers in gaudy colours. -They were as strange and monstrous as those on the curtains in his -bedroom at home.</p> - -<p>'So that is the gardener's little boy?' said a voice opposite him. 'Come -here, my little friend; there is nothing to be afraid of.'</p> - -<p>And another voice close to him said—</p> - -<p>'Well, Robbie, you have found a nice little companion.'</p> - -<p>What did it all mean? The deep lines gathered again above Johannes's -dark childlike eyes, and he looked about him in bewilderment and alarm. -A man dressed in black sat near him, looking at him with cold, grey -eyes.</p> - -<p>'So you want to see the Book of Books? I am surprised that your father, -whom I know for a pious man, should not have put it into your hands -before now.'</p> - -<p>'You do not know my father; he is far, far away.'</p> - -<p>'Indeed! Well, it is the same thing. Look here, my little friend! Read -this diligently; it shall show you the way of life——'</p> - -<p>But Johannes had already recognised the Book. This was not what he -wanted. No, something very different. He shook his head.</p> - -<p>'No, no! that is not what I mean. I know this Book. This is not it.'</p> - -<p>He heard exclamations of surprise, and felt the looks which were fixed -on him from all sides.</p> - -<p>'What? What do you mean, little man?'</p> - -<p>'I know this book. It is the book men believe in. But there is not -enough in it—if there were, there would be peace and goodwill among -men. And there is none. I mean something different—something which no -one can doubt who sees it; in which it is written, precisely and -clearly, why everything is as it is.'</p> - -<p>'How is that possible? Where can the boy have picked up such a notion?'</p> - -<p>'Who taught you that, my little friend?'</p> - -<p>'I am afraid that you have read some wicked books, child, and are -talking like them.'</p> - -<p>Thus spoke the various voices. Johannes felt his cheeks burning—his -eyes were dim and dazzled—the room turned round, and the huge flowers -on the carpet swayed up and down. Where was the little mouse who had so -faithfully helped him that day in the school-room? He wanted her badly.</p> - -<p>'I am not talking like any book, and he who taught me what I know is -worth more than all of you together. I know the language of flowers and -animals, and am friends with them all. And I know too what men are, and -how they live. I know all the fairies' secrets and the wood-sprites'; -for they all love me—more than men do.'</p> - -<p>Oh Mousey, Mousey!</p> - -<p>Johannes heard sounds of disapprobation and laughter behind him, and all -sides. There was a singing and roaring in his ears.</p> - -<p>'He seems to have read Hans Andersen's tales.'</p> - -<p>'He is not quite right in his head.'</p> - -<p>The man opposite to him said: 'If you know Andersen, my little man, you -ought to have more of his reverence for God and His Word.'</p> - -<p>'For God!' He knew that word, and he remembered Windekind's teaching.</p> - -<p>'I have no reverence for God. God is a great Petroleum-lamp which leads -thousands to misery and misfortune.'</p> - -<p>There was no laughter now, but a terrible silence, in which horror and -amazement might be felt on all sides. Johannes was conscious of piercing -looks, even at his back. It was like his dream of the night before. The -man in black stood up and took him by the arm. This hurt him and almost -crushed his courage.</p> - -<p>'Listen to me, youngster: I do not know whether you are utterly ignorant -or utterly depraved, but I suffer no ungodly talk here. Go away, and -never come in my sight again, I advise you. I will keep an eye on what -becomes of you, but you never more set foot in this house. Do you -understand?'</p> - -<p>Every face was cold and hostile as he had seen them in his dream. -Johannes looked about him in anguish.</p> - -<p>'Robinetta—where is Robinetta?'</p> - -<p>'Ay indeed! You would contaminate my child! Beware if you ever dare to -come here again!' And the cruel grip led him down the echoing -passage—the glass door slammed—and Johannes found himself outside, -under the black driving clouds.</p> - -<p>He did not turn round, but stared straight before him as he slowly -walked away. The sad furrows above his eyes were deeper, and did not -smooth out again.</p> - -<p>The Redbreast sat in a lime hedge looking after him. He stopped and -gazed back, but did not speak; but there was no longer any confidence in -the bird's timid sharp little eyes, and when Johannes took a step -nearer, the quick little creature shot away in hasty flight.</p> - -<p>'Away, away! Here is a man!' piped the sparrows who were sitting in a -row on the garden path, and they fluttered away in all directions. Even -the open blossoms laughed no more, but looked grave and indifferent, as -they do to all strangers. Still Johannes did not heed these signs, but -only thought how cruelly he had been hurt by those men; it was as -though a cold hard hand had been laid on his inmost secret soul. 'They -shall believe me yet!' thought he. 'I will fetch my little key and show -it to them.'</p> - -<p>'Johannes, Johannes!' called a tiny voice. There was a bird's nest in a -holly bush and Wistik's big eyes peeped out over the edge of it. 'Where -are you off to?'</p> - -<p>'It is all your fault!' said Johannes. 'Leave me in peace.'</p> - -<p>'What took you to talk with men? Men can never understand you. Why do -you tell men such things? It is most foolish.'</p> - -<p>'They laughed at me, and hurt me. They are detestable creatures! I hate -them.'</p> - -<p>'No, Johannes; you love them.'</p> - -<p>'No, no!'</p> - -<p>'If you did not, it would not vex you so much to find yourself different -from them; it could not matter to you what they say. You must learn to -care less.'</p> - -<p>'I want my key. I want to show it to them.'</p> - -<p>'You must not do that; and they would not even then believe you. Of what -use would it be?'</p> - -<p>'I want my little key from under the rose-bush. Do you know where to -find it?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, certainly; by the pool you mean? Yes, I know it.'</p> - -<p>'Then take me there, Wistik.'</p> - -<p>Wistik clambered up on Johannes's shoulder and showed him the way. They -went on and on, all the day; the wind blew, and heavy rain fell from -time to time, but towards evening the clouds ceased driving, and packed -into long grey and gold bars. When they reached the sand-hills which -Johannes knew so well, his heart was sad within him, and he whispered -again and again, 'Windekind, Windekind!'</p> - -<p>There was the rabbit-hole, and the sand-hill where he had fallen asleep. -The grey reindeer-moss was soft and damp, and did not crack under his -feet. The roses were all over, and the yellow evening-primroses with -their faint oppressive scent opened their cups by hundreds. Higher yet -grew the tall mulleins with their thick woolly leaves. Johannes looked -carefully to espy the small russet leaves of the wild rose.</p> - -<p>'Where is it, Wistik? I do not see it.'</p> - -<p>'I know nothing of it,' said Wistik. 'You buried the key, not I.'</p> - -<p>Where the rose-tree had stood there was a plot covered with yellow -Oenotheras staring heedlessly at the sky. Johannes questioned them, and -the mullein too; but they were much too proud, for their tall stems rose -far above his head; so he asked the little three-coloured pansies on the -sandy ground. However, no one knew anything of the wild rose. They were -all new-comers this summer, even the mullein, arrogant and tall as it -was.</p> - -<p>'Oh! where is it? where is it?'</p> - -<p>'Have you too deceived me?' cried Wistik. 'I expected it; it is always -so with men.'</p> - -<p>And he let himself slip down from Johannes's shoulder, and ran away -among the broom. Johannes looked about him in despair—there stood a -tiny wild rose-bush.</p> - -<p>'Where is the big rose-bush?' asked Johannes; 'the big one which used to -stand here?'</p> - -<p>'We never talk with human creatures,' said the shrub.</p> - -<p>That was the last thing he heard; everything remained silent. Only the -broom-shrubs sighed in the light evening breeze.</p> - -<p>'Am I then a man?' thought Johannes. 'No! it cannot be, it cannot be! I -will not be a man! I hate men!'</p> - -<p>He was tired and sick at heart. He lay down at the edge of the meadow, -on the soft grey moss which gave out a strong, damp scent.</p> - -<p>'Now I cannot find my way back, and shall never see Robinetta again. -Shall I not die if I have not Robinetta? Shall I live and grow to be a -man—a man like those others who laughed at me?'</p> - -<p>On a sudden he saw once more the two white butterflies which came flying -towards him from the side where the sun was setting. He watched them -anxiously; would they show him the way? They fluttered over his head, -sometimes close together and sometimes far apart, flitting about as if -in whimsical play. By degrees they went farther and farther from the -sun, and vanished at last over the ridge of the sand-hills towards the -wood, where only the topmost boughs were now red in the evening glow -which blazed out brightly from beneath the long dark levels of cloud.</p> - -<p>Johannes rose and went after them, but as they flew up over the first -trees he saw that a black shadow followed them and overtook them with -noiseless flight. The next instant they were gone. The black shade -pounced swiftly down on them, and Johannes in terror covered his face -with his hands.</p> - -<p>'Well, my little friend, what have you to cry about?' said a sharp -mocking voice close at hand. Johannes had seen a big bat coming towards -him, but when he now looked up a little black dwarf not much taller than -himself was standing on the sand-hill. He had a large head with big ears -which stuck out dark against the bright evening sky; a lean shape and -thin legs. Johannes could see nothing of his face but the small -twinkling eyes.</p> - -<p>'Have you lost anything, my little fellow? Can I help you seek it?' said -he. But Johannes shook his head in silence.</p> - -<p>'Look here. Would you like to have these?' he began again, opening his -hand. In it Johannes saw something white which still moved a little. -This was the two white butterflies, their crushed and broken wings -quivering in their death-struggle. Johannes shuddered as though some one -had blown against the nape of his neck, and he looked up in alarm at the -strange being.</p> - -<p>'Who are you?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'You would like to know my name? Well, call me Pluizer<a name="FNanchor_1_8" id="FNanchor_1_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_8" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>—simply -Pluizer. I have other prettier names, but you would not understand them -yet.'</p> - -<p>'Are you a man?'</p> - -<p>'Better and better! Well, I have arms and legs and a head—see what a -head—and the boy asks me whether lama man! Why, Johannes, Johannes!' -And the mannikin laughed with a shrill piercing note.</p> - -<p>'How do you know who I am?' asked Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Oh, that, to me, is a mere trifle. I know a great deal more than that. -I know whence you have come and what you came to do. I know a wonderful -deal—almost everything.'</p> - -<p>'Ah, Master Pluizer——'</p> - -<p>'Pluizer, Pluizer—without any fine words.'</p> - -<p>'Then do you know anything——' but Johannes was suddenly silent. 'He is -a man,' thought he.</p> - -<p>'Of the little key, do you mean? Why, to be sure!'</p> - -<p>'But I did not think that any man could know about that.'</p> - -<p>'Foolish boy! Besides, Wistik has told me all about it.'</p> - -<p>'Then do you know Wistik too?'</p> - -<p>'Oh yes! One of my best friends—and I have many friends. But I know it -without Wistik. I know a great deal more than Wistik. Wistik is a very -good fellow—but stupid, uncommonly stupid. Now, I am not! Far from it!'</p> - -<p>And Pluizer tapped his big head with his lean little hand. 'Do you know, -Johannes,' he went on, 'what Wistik's great defect is?—but you must -never tell him, for he would be very angry.'</p> - -<p>'Well, what is it?' said Johannes.</p> - -<p>'He does not exist. That is a great defect, but he does not admit it. -And he says the same of me, that I do not exist. But that is a lie. I -not exist, indeed! What next, I wonder?'</p> - -<p>And Pluizer put the butterflies into his satchel, and suddenly turning a -somersault stood before Johannes on his head. Then, with a hideous -grin, he stuck out a vile long tongue. Johannes, who did not feel at all -at his ease alone with this strange being in the growing dusk on the -deserted sand-hills, now fairly quaked with fear.</p> - -<p>'This is a delightful manner of surveying the world,' said Pluizer, -still upside down. 'If you like I will teach you to do it. You see -everything much clearer, and more life-like.' And he flourished his -little legs in the air and waltzed round on his hands. As the red light -fell on his inverted face Johannes thought it perfectly horrible; those -little eyes twinkled in the glow and showed the whites at the lower edge -where it is not generally visible.</p> - -<p>'You see, in this position the clouds seem to be the ground and the -earth the top of the world. It is just as easy to maintain that as the -converse. There is really no above or below. A very pretty place to walk -on those clouds must be!'</p> - -<p>Johannes looked up at the long stretches of cloud. They looked to him -like a ploughed land, with red furrows, as though blood welled up from -it. Just over the pool yawned the gate of the cloud-grotto.</p> - -<p>'Can any one go there and enter in?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'What nonsense!' said Pluizer, suddenly standing on his feet again, to -Johannes's great relief, 'Nonsense! If you were there you would find it -just the same as here, and it would look as beautiful as that further on -again. But in those lovely clouds it is all foggy and grey and cold.'</p> - -<p>'I do not believe you,' cried Johannes. 'Now I see you really are a -man.'</p> - -<p>'Come, come! You do not believe me, my little friend, because I am a -man? And what sort of creature are you then, I should like to know?'</p> - -<p>'O Pluizer! Am I, too, really a man?'</p> - -<p>'What do you suppose? An elf? Elves are never in love.' And Pluizer -unexpectedly sat down on the ground at Johannes's feet with his leg -crossed under him, staring at him with a villainous grin. Johannes was -unutterably embarrassed and uncomfortable under his gaze, and wished he -could escape or become invisible. But he could not even take his eyes -off him. 'Only men fall in love, Johannes, d'ye hear! And so much the -better, or there would be none left by this time. And you are in love -like the best of them, although you are but a little fellow. Of whom -are you thinking at this moment?'</p> - -<p>'Of Robinetta,' whispered Johannes, hardly above his breath.</p> - -<p>'Whom do you most long for?'</p> - -<p>'Robinetta.'</p> - -<p>'Without whom do you think you could not live?' Johannes's lips moved -silently: 'Robinetta.'</p> - -<p>'Well then, youngster,' grinned Pluizer, 'what made you fancy that you -could be an elf? Elves do not love the daughters of men.'</p> - -<p>'But it was Windekind,' Johannes stammered out in his bewilderment. But -Pluizer flew into a terrible rage and his bony fingers gripped Johannes -by the ears.</p> - -<p>'What folly is this? Would you try to frighten me with that -whippersnapper thing? He is a greater simpleton than Wistik—much -greater. He knows nothing at all. And what is worse, he does not exist -in any sense, and never has existed. I only exist, do you understand? -And if you do not believe me, I will let you feel what I am.' And he -shook the hapless Johannes by the ears.</p> - -<p>Johannes cried out—</p> - -<p>'But I have known him such a long time, and have travelled such a long -way with him!'</p> - -<p>'You dreamed it, I tell you. Where are the rose bush and the little key, -hey? But you are not dreaming now. Do you feel that?'</p> - -<p>'Oh!' cried Johannes, for Pluizer nipped him.</p> - -<p>It was by this time dark, and the bats flew close over their heads and -piped shrilly. The air was black and heavy, not a leaf was stirring in -the wood.</p> - -<p>'May I go home?' asked Johannes,—'home to my father?'</p> - -<p>'To your father! What to do there?' said Pluizer. 'A warm reception you -will get from him after staying away so long.'</p> - -<p>'I want to get home,' said Johannes, and he thought of the snug room -with the bright lamp light where he would sit so often by his father's -side, listening to the scratching of his pen. It was quiet there, and -not lonely.</p> - -<p>'Well then, you would have done better not to come away, and stayed so -long for the sake of that senseless jackanapes who has not even any -existence. Now it is too late, but it does not matter in the least; I -will take care of you. And whether I do it or your father, comes to -precisely the same in the end. Such a father—it is a mere matter of -education. Did you choose your own father? Do you suppose that there is -no one so good or so clever as he? I am just as good, and cleverer—much -cleverer.'</p> - -<p>Johannes had no heart to answer; he shut his eyes and nodded feebly.</p> - -<p>'And it would be of no use to look for anything from Robinetta,' the -little man went on. He laid his hands on Johannes's shoulders and spoke -close into his ear. That child thought you just as much a fool as the -others did. Did you not observe that she sat in the corner and never -spoke a word when they all laughed at you? She is no better than the -rest. She thought you a nice little boy, and was ready to play with -you—as she would have played with a cockchafer. She will not care that -you are gone away. And she knows nothing of that Book. But I do; I know -where it is, and I will help you to find it. I know almost everything.'</p> - -<p>And Johannes was beginning to believe him.</p> - -<p>'Now will you come with me? Will you seek it with me?'</p> - -<p>'I am so tired,' said Johannes, 'let me sleep first.'</p> - -<p>'I have no opinion of sleep,' replied Pluizer, 'I am too active for -that. A man must always be wide awake and thinking. But I will grant you -a little time for rest. Till to-morrow morning!' And he put on the -friendliest expression of which he was capable.</p> - -<p>Johannes looked hard into his little twinkling eyes till he could see -nothing else. His head was heavy and he lay down on the mossy knoll. The -little eyes seemed to go further and further from him till they were -starry specks in the dark sky; he fancied he heard the sound of distant -voices, as though the earth beneath him were going away and away—and -then he ceased to think at all.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_8" id="Footnote_1_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_8"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The plucker, the spoiler.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="X" id="X">X</a></h3> - - -<p>Even before he was fairly awake, he was vaguely conscious that something -strange had happened to him while he slept. Still he was not anxious to -know what, or to look about him. He would rather return to the dream -which was slowly fading like a rising mist—Robinetta had come to be -with him again, and had stroked his hair as she used to do—and he had -seen his father once more, and Presto, in the garden with the pool.</p> - -<p>'Oh! That hurt! Who did that?' Johannes opened his eyes, and in the grey -morning light, he saw a little man standing at his side who had pulled -his hair. He himself was in bed, and the light was dim and subdued, as -in a room.</p> - -<p>But the face which bent over him at once carried him back to all the -misery and distress of the past evening. It was Pluizer's face, less -boguey-like and more human, but as ugly and terrifying as ever.</p> - -<p>'Oh, no! Let me dream!' cried Johannes.</p> - -<p>But Pluizer shook him. 'Are you crazy, sluggard? Dreaming is folly; you -will never get any further by that. A man must work and think and -search; that is what you are a man for.'</p> - -<p>'I do not want to be a man. I want to dream.'</p> - -<p>'I cannot help that; you must. You are now in my charge, and you must -work and seek with me. With me alone can you ever find the thing you -want. And I will not give in till we have found it.'</p> - -<p>Johannes felt a vague dismay; still, a stronger will coerced and drove -him. He involuntarily submitted.</p> - -<p>The sand-hills, trees, and flowers had vanished. He was in a small -dimly-lighted room; outside, as far as he could see, there were houses, -and more houses, dingy and grey, in long dull rows. Smoke rose from -every one of them in thick wreaths, and made a sort of brown fog in the -streets. And along those streets men were hurrying, like great black -ants. A mingled, dull clamour came up from the throng without ceasing.</p> - -<p>'Look, Johannes,' said Pluizer. 'Now is not that a fine sight? Those are -men, and all the houses, whichever way you look, and as far as you can -see—even beyond the blue towers there—are full of men—quite full from -top to bottom. Is not that wonderful? That is rather different from a -sand-hill!'</p> - -<p>Johannes listened with alarmed curiosity, as though some huge and -hideous monster had risen up before him. He felt as if he stood on the -creature's back, and could see the black blood flowing through its great -arteries, and the murky breath streaming from its hundred nostrils. And -the portentous hum of that terrible voice filled him with fears.</p> - -<p>'Look how fast the men walk,' Pluizer went on. 'You can see that they -are in a hurry and are seeking something, cannot you? But the amusing -thing is, that not one of them knows exactly what he is seeking. When -they have been seeking for some little time, some one comes to meet -them—his name is Hein.'</p> - -<p>'Who is he?' asked Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Oh, a very good friend of mine. I will introduce you to him some day. -Then Hein says to them, "Are you looking for me?" To which most of them -reply, "Oh no. I do not want you!" But then Hein says again, "But there -is nothing to be found but me." So they have to be satisfied with Hein.'</p> - -<p>Johannes understood that he meant death.</p> - -<p>'And is it always, always so?'</p> - -<p>'To be sure, always. And yet, day after day, a new crowd come on, who -begin forthwith to seek they know not what, and they seek and seek till -at last they find Hein. This has been going on for a good while already, -and so it will continue for some time yet.'</p> - -<p>'And shall I never find anything, Pluizer—nothing but—?'</p> - -<p>'Ay, you will find Hein some day, sure enough! but that does not matter; -seek all the same—for ever be seeking.'</p> - -<p>'But the Book, Pluizer, you were to make me find the Book.'</p> - -<p>'Well who knows? I have not taken back my word. We must seek it -diligently. At any rate we know where to look for it; Wistik taught us -that. And there are folks who spend all their lives in the search -without even knowing so much as that. Those are the men of science, -Johannes. But then Hein comes and it is all over with their search.'</p> - -<p>'That is horrible, Pluizer!'</p> - -<p>'Oh no, not at all! Hein is a very kind creature; but he is -misunderstood.'</p> - -<p>Some one was heard on the staircase outside the bedroom door. Tramp, -tramp, up the wooden steps—tramp, tramp,—nearer and nearer. Then some -one tapped at the door, and it was as though iron rapped against the -panel.</p> - -<p>A tall man came in. He had deep-set eyes and long lean hands. A cold -draught blew into the room.</p> - -<p>'Good-day,' said Pluizer, 'so it is you! Sit down. We were just speaking -of you. How are you getting on?'</p> - -<p>'Busy, busy!' said the tall man, and he wiped the cold dews from his -bald, bony forehead.</p> - -<p>Without moving Johannes looked timidly into the deep-set eyes which were -fixed on his. They were grave and gloomy, but not cruel, not angry. -After a few minutes he breathed more freely and his heart beat less -wildly.</p> - -<p>'This is Johannes,' said Pluizer. 'He has heard of a certain book in -which it is written why everything is as it is, and we are now going to -seek it together, are we not?' And Pluizer laughed significantly.</p> - -<p>'Ay, indeed? That is well!' said Death kindly, and he nodded to -Johannes.</p> - -<p>'He is afraid he will not find it, but I tell him first to seek it -diligently.'</p> - -<p>'To be sure,' said Death. 'Seek diligently, that is the best way.'</p> - -<p>'He thought, too, that you were very dreadful. But you see, Johannes, -that you were mistaken.'</p> - -<p>'Oh yes,' said Death good-humouredly, 'men speak much evil of me. I am -not attractive to look upon, but I mean well, nevertheless.'</p> - -<p>He smiled faintly, as one who is occupied with more serious matters than -those he is speaking of. Then he took his dark gaze from Johannes's -face, and looked out thoughtfully over the great city.</p> - -<p>For a long time Johannes dared not speak; but at last he said in a low -voice—</p> - -<p>'Are you going to take me with you?'</p> - -<p>'What do you mean, my child?' said Death, roused from his meditations. -'No, not now. You must grow up and become a good man.'</p> - -<p>'I will not grow to be a man like all the rest.'</p> - -<p>'Come, come,' said Death, 'there is no help for it.'</p> - -<p>And it was easy to hear that this was a frequent phrase with him. He -went on—</p> - -<p>'My friend Pluizer can teach you how to become a good man. There are -various ways of being good, but Pluizer can teach you admirably. It is a -very fine and noble thing to be a good man. You must never look down on -a good man, my little fellow.'</p> - -<p>'Seek, think, look about you,' said Pluizer.</p> - -<p>'To be sure, to be sure,' said Death. And then he inquired of Pluizer: -'To whom will you take him?'</p> - -<p>'To Doctor Cypher, my old pupil.'</p> - -<p>'Ah yes,—a very good pupil. A very capital example of a man! Almost -perfect in his own way.'</p> - -<p>'Shall I see Robinetta again?' asked Johannes, trembling.</p> - -<p>'What does the boy mean?' asked Death.</p> - -<p>'Oh, he was in love, and fancied that he was an elf. Ha, ha, ha!' -laughed Pluizer spitefully.</p> - -<p>'No, no, my little man, that will never do,' said Death. 'You will soon -forget all that when you are with Doctor Cypher. Those who seek what you -seek must give up everything else. All or nothing.'</p> - -<p>'I shall make a real man of him. I will let him see some day what being -in love really means, and then he will cast it from him altogether.'</p> - -<p>And Pluizer laughed heartily. Death again fixed his black eyes on poor -Johannes, who had some difficulty in refraining from sobbing. But he was -ashamed to cry in the presence of Death.</p> - -<p>Death suddenly rose. 'I must be going,' said he. 'I am wasting my time -in talk, and there is much to be done. Good-bye, Johannes!—We shall -meet again. But you must not be afraid of me.'</p> - -<p>'I am not afraid of you; I wish you would take me with you.'</p> - -<p>But Death gently pushed him away; he was used to such entreaties.</p> - -<p>'No, Johannes.—Go now to your work in life; seek and see! Ask me no -more. <i>I</i> will ask you some day, and that will be quite soon enough.'</p> - -<p>When he had disappeared Pluizer again began to behave in the wildest -fashion. He leaped over the seats, turned somersaults, climbed up the -cupboard and chimney-shelf, and played break-neck tricks at the open -window.</p> - -<p>'Well, that was Hein, my good friend Hein!' said he. 'Did you not like -him greatly? A little unattractive and bony-looking, perhaps. But he can -be very jolly too, when he takes pleasure in his work. Sometimes it -bores him; it is rather monotonous.'</p> - -<p>'Pluizer, who tells him where he is to go next?'</p> - -<p>Pluizer stared at Johannes with a look of cunning inquiry.</p> - -<p>'What makes you ask?—He goes where he pleases—He takes those he can -catch.'</p> - -<p>Later, Johannes came to see that it was not so. But as yet he knew no -better, and thought that Pluizer was always right.</p> - -<p>They went out and up the street, moving among the swarming throng. The -men in their black clothes bustled about, laughing and talking so gaily -that Johannes could not help wondering. He saw how Pluizer nodded to -several, but no one returned the greeting; they all looked in front of -them as if they did not even see him.</p> - -<p>'They go by and laugh now,' said Pluizer, 'as if they none of them knew -me. But that is only make-believe. When I am alone with one of them they -cannot pretend not to know me, and then they are not so light-hearted.'</p> - -<p>And as they went on Johannes was presently aware of some one following -them. When he looked round he saw that the tall pale figure was striding -on among the people, with long noiseless steps. He nodded to Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Do the people see him too?' asked Johannes of Pluizer.</p> - -<p>'Certainly, but they do not choose to know him. Well, I pardon them for -their arrogance!'</p> - -<p>The crowd and the turmoil produced a sort of bewilderment which made -Johannes forget his woes. The narrow streets and the high houses, which -cut the blue heavens above into straight strips, the people going up and -down them, the shuffling of feet and the clatter of vehicles, ousted -the visions and dreams of the night, as a storm dissipates the images in -a pool of water. It seemed to him that there was nothing in the world -but walls, and windows, and men. He felt as if he too must do the same, -and rush and push in the seething, breathless whirl.</p> - -<p>Presently they came to a quieter neighbourhood, where a large house -stood, with plain grey windows. It looked stern and unkindly. Everything -was silent within, and Johannes smelt a mixture of sour, unfamiliar -odours, with a damp, cellar-like atmosphere for their background. In a -room filled with strange-looking instruments sat a lonely man. He was -surrounded by books, and glass and copper objects, all unknown to -Johannes. A single ray of sunshine fell into the room above his head, -and sparkled on flasks full of bright-coloured liquids. The man was -gazing fixedly through a copper tube and did not look up.</p> - -<p>As Johannes approached he could hear him murmuring, 'Wistik, Wistik!'</p> - -<p>By the man's side, on a long black board, lay something white and furry -which Johannes could not see very clearly.</p> - -<p>'Good-morning, doctor,' said Pluizer; but the doctor did not move.</p> - -<p>But Johannes was startled, for the white object which he was watching -intently, suddenly began to move convulsively. What he had seen was the -white fur of a rabbit lying on its back. The head, with the mobile nose, -was fixed in an iron clamp, and its four little legs were firmly bound -to its body. The hopeless effort to get free was soon over, then the -little creature lay still again, and only the rapid movement of its -bleeding throat showed that it was still alive. And Johannes saw its -round, gentle eye staring wide in helpless terror, and he felt as if he -recognised the poor little beast. Was not that the soft little body -against which he had slept that first delightful night with the elves? -Old memories crowded in his mind; he flew to the rabbit.</p> - -<p>'Wait, wait! Poor rabbit! I will release you!' and he hastily tried to -cut the cords which bound the tender little paws. But his hands were -tightly clutched, and a sharp laugh sounded in his ear.</p> - -<p>'What do you mean by this, Johannes? Are you still such a baby? What -must the doctor think of you?'</p> - -<p>'What does the boy want? What brings him here?' asked the doctor in -surprise.</p> - -<p>'He wants to become a man, so I have brought him to you. But he is still -young and childish. That is not the way to find what you are seeking, -Johannes.'</p> - -<p>'No, that is not the way,' said the doctor. 'Doctor, set the rabbit -free!'</p> - -<p>But Pluizer held him by both hands till he hurt him.</p> - -<p>'What did we agree on, little man?' he whispered in his ear. 'To seek -diligently, was it not? We are not on the sand-hills now, with Windekind -and the dumb brutes. We are to be men—men. Do you understand? If you -mean to remain a child, if you are not strong enough to help me, I will -send you about your business and you may seek by yourself.'</p> - -<p>Johannes was silent, and believed him. He would be strong. He shut his -eyes so that he might not see the rabbit.</p> - -<p>'My dear boy,' said the doctor, 'you seem still too tender-hearted to -begin. To be sure—the first time it is horrible to look on. I myself, -for some time, was most averse to it, and avoided it as far as -possible. But it is indispensable; and you must remember we are men and -not brutes, and the advancement of mankind and of science is of more -importance than a few rabbits.'</p> - -<p>'Do you hear?' said Pluizer,—'science and mankind.'</p> - -<p>'The man of science,' the doctor went on, 'stands far above all other -men. But he must make all the smaller feelings which are common to the -vulgar give way to the one grand idea of science. Will you be such a -man? Is that your vocation, my boy?'</p> - -<p>Johannes hesitated; he did not know justly what a vocation might be—any -more than the cockchafer.</p> - -<p>'I want to find the book of which Wistik spoke,' said he.</p> - -<p>The doctor looked surprised and asked, 'Wistik?'</p> - -<p>Pluizer hastened to reply. 'He will, doctor; I know he really will. He -desires to seek the highest wisdom and to understand the true nature of -tilings.'</p> - -<p>Johannes nodded, 'Yes!' So far as he understood the matter, that was -what he meant.</p> - -<p>'Very well; but then you must be strong, Johannes, and not timid and -soft-hearted. Then I can help you. But remember: all or nothing.'</p> - -<p>And with trembling fingers Johannes helped to tighten the relaxed cords -round the rabbit's little paws.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="XI" id="XI">XI</a></h3> - - -<p>'Now we shall see,' said Pluizer, 'whether I cannot show you just as -pretty things as Windekind did.'</p> - -<p>And when they had taken leave of the doctor, promising to return soon, -he led Johannes into every nook and corner of the great town; he showed -him how the Monster lived, how he breathed and took in food, how he -digested within and expanded without. But what he liked best were the -gloomy back slums, where men sat closely packed, where everything was -grey and grizzly, and the air black and heavy. He took him into one of -the great buildings from which the smoke rose which Johannes had seen -the first day. The place was filled with deafening noise—thumping, -rattling, hammering and droning—great wheels were turning and long -belts sliding endlessly onward; the walls and floors were black, the -windows broken and murky. The towering chimneys rose high above the -dingy structure, and poured forth thick wreaths of smoke. Amid the -turmoil of wheels and axles, Johannes saw numbers of men with pale faces -and blackened hands and clothes, working busily without a word.</p> - -<p>'Who are they?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'Wheels, wheels too,' said Pluizer with a laugh, 'or men, if you choose -to call them so. And what you see them doing, they do from morning to -night. Even so, they can be men—after their own fashion, of course.'</p> - -<p>Then they passed along filthy streets, where the strip of heavenly blue -seemed no more than a finger's breadth wide, and was still more shut out -by clothes hung out to air. These alleys were swarming with people, who -jostled each other, shouted, laughed and sometimes even sang. In the -houses here, the rooms were so small, so dark and foul, that Johannes -could scarcely breathe. He saw squalid children crawling about on the -bare floor, and young girls with tangled hair crooning songs to pale, -hungry babies. He heard quarrelling and scolding, and every face he -looked upon was weary, or stupid and indifferent.</p> - -<p>It filled Johannes with a strange sudden pang. It had nothing in common -with any former pain, and he felt ashamed of it.</p> - -<p>'Pluizer,' said he, 'have men always lived here in such grief and -misery? And when I—' he dared not finish the question.</p> - -<p>'To be sure, and a happy thing too. They are not in such grief and -misery; they are used to it and know no better. They are mere animals, -ignorant and indifferent. Look at those two women sitting in front of -their door; they look out on the dirty street as contentedly as you used -to gaze at the sand-hills. You need not worry yourself about the lot of -man. You might as well cry over the lot of the moles who never see -daylight.'</p> - -<p>And Johannes did not know what to answer, nor what, then, he ought to -weep over. And ever through the noisy throng and bustle, he still saw -the pale, hollow-eyed figure marching on with noiseless steps.</p> - -<p>'A good man, don't you think?' said Pluizer. 'He takes them away from -this at any rate. But even here men are afraid of him.'</p> - -<p>When night had fallen and hundreds of lights flared in the wind, casting -long, straggling reflections in the black water, they made their way -down the quiet streets. The tall old houses seemed tired out, and asleep -as they leaned against each other. Most of them had their eyes shut; but -here and there a window still showed a pale gleam of yellow light.</p> - -<p>Pluizer told Johannes many a long tale of those who dwelt within, of the -sufferings which were endured there, and the struggle waged between -misery and the love of life. He spared him nothing: he sought out the -gloomiest, the lowest, the most dreadful facts, and grinned with delight -as Johannes turned pale and speechless at his horrible tales.</p> - -<p>'Pluizer,' Johannes suddenly asked, 'do you know anything about the -Great Light?' He thought the question might deliver him from the -darkness which grew thicker and more oppressive about him.</p> - -<p>'All nonsense!' said Pluizer. 'Windekind's nonsense! Mere visions and -dreams! Men alone exist—and I myself. Do you suppose that a God, or -anything at all like one, could take pleasure in governing such a muddle -as prevails on this earth? And such a Great Light would not shine here -in the dark.'</p> - -<p>'But the stars, what about the stars?' asked Johannes as if he expected -that the visible Splendour would raise up the squalor before him.</p> - -<p>'The stars! Do you know of what you are talking, boy? There are no -lights up there like the lamps you see about you here below. The stars -are nothing but worlds, a great deal larger than this world with its -thousand cities, and we move among them like a speck of dust; and there -is no "above" or "below," but worlds all round, and on every side more -worlds, and no end of them anywhere.'</p> - -<p>'No, no!' cried Johannes in horror. 'Do not say so, do not say so! I can -see the lights against a great dark background overhead.'</p> - -<p>'Very true. You cannot see anything but lights. If you stared up at the -sky all your life long you would still see nothing but lights against a -dark background overhead. But, you know, you must know, that there is no -above nor beneath. Those are worlds, amid which this clod of earth, with -its wretched, struggling mass of humanity, is as nothing—and will -vanish into nothing. Do not ever speak of "the stars" in that way, as -though there were but a few dozen of them. It is foolishness.'</p> - -<p>Johannes said no more. The immensity which ought to have elevated the -squalor had crushed it.</p> - -<p>'Come along,' said Pluizer. 'Now we will go to see something amusing.'</p> - -<p>At intervals bursts of delightful, soft music were wafted to their ears. -On a dark slope in front of them stood a large building with lamps -blazing in its numerous long windows. A row of carriages was in waiting -outside; the pawing of the horses rang hollow through the silent night, -and as they shook their heads, sparks of light shone on the silver -fittings of their harness, and on the varnish of the coaches.</p> - -<p>Inside, everything was a blaze of light. Johannes was half blinded as he -gazed, by the hundreds of candles, the bright colours, the glitter of -mirrors and flowers. Gay figures flitted across the windows, bowing to -each other, with laughter and gestures. Beyond, at the other side of the -room, richly dressed persons were moving about with slow dignity or -spinning with swift, swaying motion. A confused sound of laughter and -merry voices, of shuffling feet and rustling dresses came through the -front door, mingling with the waves of that soft bewitching music which -Johannes had already heard from afar. In the street, close to the -windows, stood a few dark figures, their faces only strangely lighted up -by the illumination within, at which they stared with avidity.</p> - -<p>'That is pretty! That is splendid!' cried Johannes, delighted at the -sight of so much light and colour, and so many flowers. 'What is going -on in there? May we go in?'</p> - -<p>'Indeed! So you really think that pretty? Or do you not prefer a -rabbit-hole? Look at the people as they laugh, and bow, and glitter. See -how stately and polite the men are; and how gay and fine the ladies! And -how solemnly they dance, as if it were the most important thing on -earth.'</p> - -<p>Johannes recalled the ball in the rabbit-burrow, and he saw a great deal -which reminded him of it. But here, everything was much grander and more -brilliant. The young ladies in their beautiful array seemed to him as -lovely as elves, as they raised their long, bare arms, and bent their -heads on one side in the dance. The servants moved about incessantly, -offering elegant refreshments with respectful bows.</p> - -<p>'How splendid! How splendid!' cried Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Very pretty, is it not?' said Pluizer. 'But now you must learn to look -a little further than the end of your nose. You see nothing there but -happy smiling faces? Well, the greater part of all that mirth is -falsehood and affectation. The friendly old ladies in the corner sit -there like anglers round a pond; the young girls are the bait, the men -are the fish. And affectionately as they gossip together, they envy and -grudge each other every fish that bites. If either of the young ladies -feels some pleasure, it is because she has a prettier dress than the -rest, or secures more partners; the pleasure of the men chiefly consists -in the bare shoulders and arms of the ladies. Behind all these bright -eyes and pleasant smiles there lurks something quite different. Even the -thoughts of the respectful servants are very far from respectful. If -suddenly every one should give utterance to his real thoughts the party -would soon be at an end.'</p> - -<p>And when Pluizer pointed it ail out to him, Johannes could plainly see -the insincerity of the faces and manners of the company, and the vanity, -envy, and weariness which showed through the smiling mask, or were -suddenly revealed as though it had just been taken off.</p> - -<p>'Well,' said Pluizer, 'they must do things in their own way. Human -creatures must have some amusement, and they know no other way.'</p> - -<p>Johannes was aware of some one standing just behind him. He looked -round; it was the well-known tall figure. The pale face was strangely -lighted up by the glare, so that the eyes showed as large dark caverns. -He was muttering softly to himself and pointed with one finger into the -splendid ball-room.</p> - -<p>'Look,' said Pluizer, 'he is seeking out some one.'</p> - -<p>Johannes looked where the finger pointed, and he saw how the old lady -who was speaking closed her eyes and put her hand to her head; and how a -fair young girl paused in her slow walk, and stared before her with a -slight shiver.</p> - -<p>'How soon?' Pluizer asked of Death.</p> - -<p>'That is my affair,' was the answer.</p> - -<p>'I should like to show Johannes this same company once more,' said -Pluizer with a grin and a wink, 'can I do it?'</p> - -<p>'This evening?' asked Death.</p> - -<p>'Why not?' said Pluizer. 'There, time and the hour are no more. What now -is has always been, and what shall be, is now already.'</p> - -<p>'I cannot go with you,' said Death. 'I have too much to do. But speak -the name we both know and you can find the way without me.'</p> - -<p>Then they went a little way along the deserted streets where the gas was -flaring in the night wind, and the dark cold water plashed against the -sides of the canals. The soft music grew fainter and fainter, and at -last died away in the hush which lay over the town.</p> - -<p>Presently, from high above them, a loud and festal song rang out with a -deep, echoing, metallic ring. It came down suddenly from the tall church -tower on the sleeping city, and into little Johannes' sad and gloomy -soul. He looked up much startled. The chime rang on with clear, steady -tones, rising joyfully in the air, and boldly scaring the death-like -silence. The glad strain struck him as strange—a festal song in the -midst of noiseless sleep and blackest woe.</p> - -<p>'That is the clock,' said Pluizer, 'it is always cheerful, year in, year -out. It sings the same song every hour, with the same vigour and -vivacity; and it sounds more gleeful by night than even by day, as if -the clock rejoiced that it has no need of sleep, that it can sing at all -times with equal contentment, while thousands, just below, are weeping -and suffering. But it sounds most gladly when some one is just dead.'</p> - -<p>Again the jubilant peal rang out.</p> - -<p>'One day, Johannes,' Pluizer went on,' a dim light will be burning in a -quiet room, behind just such a window as that yonder; a melancholy -light, flickering pensively, and making the shadows dance on the wall. -There will be no sound in that room but now and then a low, suppressed -sob. A bed will be standing there, with white curtains, and long shadows -in their folds. In the bed something will be lying—white and still. -That will have been little Johannes. And then, how loud and joyful will -that chime sound, breaking into the room, and singing out the first hour -after his death!'</p> - -<p>Twelve was striking, booming through the air with long pauses between -the strokes. At the last stroke, Johannes, all at once, had a strange -feeling as though he were dreaming; he was no longer walking, but -floating along a little way above the ground, holding Pluizer's hand. -The houses and lamps sped past him in swift flight. And now the houses -stood less close together. They formed separate rows, with dark, -mysterious gaps between them, where the gas lamps lighted up trenches, -puddles, scaffoldings and woodwork. At last they reached a great gate, -with heavy pillars and a tall railing. In a winking, they had floated -over it and come down again on some soft grass by a high heap of sand. -Johannes fancied he must be in a garden, for he heard the rustling of -trees hard by.</p> - -<p>'Now pay attention, and then confess whether I cannot do greater things -than Windekind.'</p> - -<p>Then Pluizer shouted aloud a short and awful name which made Johannes -quake. The darkness on all sides echoed the sound, and the wind bore it -up in widening circles till it died away in the upper air.</p> - -<p>And Johannes saw the grass blades growing so tall that they were above -his head, and a little pebble which but just now was under his feet, -seemed to be close to his face. Pluizer, by his side, and no bigger than -he was, picked up the stone with both hands and threw it away with all -his might. A confused noise of thin, shrill voices rose up from the spot -he had cleared.</p> - -<p>'Hey day! who is doing that? What is the meaning of it? Lout!' they -could hear said.</p> - -<p>Johannes saw black objects running in great confusion. He recognised the -quick, nimble ground-beetle, the shining, brown ear-wig with his fine -nippers, the millipede with its round back and thousand tiny feet, in -the midst of them a long earthworm shrank back as quick as lightning -into its burrow! Pluizer made his way through the angry swarm of -creatures to the worm's hole.</p> - -<p>'Hey there! you long, naked crawler! come up and show yourself once more -with your sharp red nose!' he cried.</p> - -<p>'What do you want?' asked the worm from below.</p> - -<p>'You must come out, because I want to go in; do you hear, you -bare-skinned sand-eater!'</p> - -<p>The worm cautiously put his pointed head out of the hole, felt all round -it two or three times, and then slowly dragged his naked ringed body up -to the surface. Pluizer looked round at the other creatures who had -crowded curiously about them.</p> - -<p>'One of you must go first with a light—no, Master Beetle, you are too -stout, and you with your thousand feet would make me giddy. Hey, you -ear-wig! I like your looks. Come with me and carry a light in your -nippers. You, beetle, must look about for a will-o'-the-wisp, or fetch a -chip of rotten wood.'</p> - -<p>The creatures were scared by his commanding tones and obeyed him.</p> - -<p>Then they went down into the worm's burrow; the ear-wig first, with the -shining wood, then Pluizer, and then Johannes. It was a narrow passage -and very dark down there. Johannes saw the grains of sand glittering in -the dim blue gleam. They looked like large stones, half transparent and -built up into a smooth firm wall by the worm's body. The worm himself -followed, full of curiosity. Johannes saw the pointed head come close up -behind him, and then stop till the long body had been dragged after it. -Down they went, without speaking, far and deep. When the path was too -steep for Johannes, Pluizer helped him. They seemed never to be coming -to an end; still fresh galleries of sand, and still the ear-wig crept -on, turning and bending with the sinuosities of the passage. At last -this grew broader, and the walls opened out. The grains of sand were -black and wet, forming a vault overhead, down which driblets of water -made shining streaks, while the roots of trees came through in coils -like petrified snakes.</p> - -<p>And suddenly there rose before Johannes's eyes an upright wall, black -and high, cutting off all space beyond. The ear-wig turned round.</p> - -<p>'Here we are. The next question is how to get any further. The worm -ought to know; he is at home here.'</p> - -<p>'Come on; show us the way,' said Pluizer.</p> - -<p>The worm slowly dragged his jointed body up to the black wall and felt -it inquisitively. Johannes could see that it was of wood. Here and there -it had fallen into brownish powder. The worm bored his way into one such -place and the long, wriggling body vanished with three pushes and -pauses.</p> - -<p>'Now for you,' said Pluizer, pushing Johannes into the little round -opening. For a moment he thought he should be suffocated in the soft -damp stuff, but he soon felt his head free, and with some trouble worked -his way completely through. A large room seemed to lie open before him; -the floor was hard and moist, the air thick and intolerably oppressive. -Johannes could scarcely breathe, and stood waiting in mortal terror.</p> - -<p>He heard Pluizer's voice, which sounded hollow, as in some vast cellar.</p> - -<p>'Here, Johannes, follow me.'</p> - -<p>He felt the ground before him rise to a hill—and he climbed it, -clutching Pluizer's hand in the darkness. He trod, as it were, on a -carpet which yielded under his foot. He trampled over hollows and -ridges, following Pluizer who led him on to a level spot where he held -on by some long stems which bent in his hand like reed-grass.</p> - -<p>'Here we can stand very comfortably. Bring a light,' said Pluizer.</p> - -<p>The dim light came on from a distance, up and down with its bearer. The -nearer it approached, and the more its pale gleam spread in the place -they were in, the more terrible became Johannes's anguish of mind. The -eminence on which he stood was long and white; the support he clung to -was brown, and lay about in glistening waves and curls.</p> - -<p>He recognised the features of a human being, and the icy level on which -he stood was the forehead. Before him lay the sunken eyes, two deep, -dark hollows, and the blue gleam fell on the pinched nose and ashy lips -which were parted in the hideous, rigid smile of death.</p> - -<p>Pluizer laughed sharply, but the sound seemed smothered by the damp, -wooden walls.</p> - -<p>'Is not this a surprise, Johannes?'</p> - -<p>The worm crept up along the plaits of the shroud: he glided over the -chin and the stiffened lips and into the mouth.</p> - -<p>'This was the beauty of the ball, whom you thought lovelier even than an -elf. Then her hair and dress shed sweet fragrance; then her eyes -sparkled and her lips smiled. Now,—look at her!'</p> - -<p>With all his horror there was doubt in Johannes's eyes. So soon? The -splendour was but now—and already——?</p> - -<p>'Do you not believe me?' grinned Pluizer. 'Half a century lies between -now and then. Time and the hour are no more. What has been shall always -be, and what shall be has ever been. You could not conceive of it, but -you must believe it. Everything here is the truth. All I tell you is -true! True!—and Windekind could not say that.'</p> - -<p>With a nod and a grimace he leaped round the dead face, and played the -most horrible antics. He sat on the eyebrows and raised the eyelids by -the long lashes. The eye, which Johannes had seen bright with gladness, -stared dull and white in the pale light.</p> - -<p>'Now onwards!' cried Pluizer. 'There is more yet to be seen.'</p> - -<p>The worm came creeping up from a corner of the mouth, and the dreadful -march began once more. Not back again, but along new paths, no less long -and gloomy.</p> - -<p>'This is much older,' said the earthworm as he made his way through -another black wall. 'This has been here a very long time.'</p> - -<p>It was less dreadful here than before. Johannes saw nothing but a -confused mass, out of which brown bones projected. Hundreds of insects -were silently busy here. The light startled and alarmed them.</p> - -<p>'Where do you come from? Who brings a light here? We want no light.' And -they hastily vanished into the folds and crevices. But they recognised a -fellow-creature.</p> - -<p>'Have you been in the next one?' asked the worms. 'The wood is still -hard.'</p> - -<p>The first worm denied it. 'He wants to keep the find to himself,' said -Pluizer to Johannes in a low voice.</p> - -<p>Then they went forward again; Pluizer explained everything, and pointed -out persons whom Johannes had known. They came to an ugly face with -prominent, staring eyes, and thick dark lips and cheeks.</p> - -<p>'This was a very fine gentleman,' said he in high glee. 'You should have -seen him—so rich, so fashionable, so arrogant. He is as much puffed up -as ever!'</p> - -<p>And so they went on. There were lean and haggard faces with white hair -that shone blue in the feeble light, and little children with large -heads and old-looking, anxious features.</p> - -<p>'These, you see, died first and grew old afterwards,' said Pluizer.</p> - -<p>They came to a man with a flowing beard and parted lips, showing -glistening white teeth. There was a round black hole in the middle of -his forehead.</p> - -<p>'This one lent Death a helping hand. Why had he not a little patience? -He would have come here in the end.'</p> - -<p>Through passage after passage, one after another, they passed, no end of -them—straight-laid figures, with rigid, grinning faces, and motionless -hands laid one over the other.</p> - -<p>'Now I can go no further,' said the ear-wig. 'I do not know my way -beyond this.'</p> - -<p>'Let us turn back,' said the worm.</p> - -<p>'One more, one more!' cried Pluizer.</p> - -<p>So on they went.</p> - -<p>'Everything you see here, actually exists,' said Pluizer, as they made -their way forward. 'It is all real. One thing only is not real, and that -is yourself, Johannes. You are not here; you cannot come here.'</p> - -<p>And he laughed maliciously as he saw Johannes's terrified and bewildered -face at these words.</p> - -<p>'This is the last, positively the last.'</p> - -<p>'The way stops here. I am going no further,' said the ear-wig crossly.</p> - -<p>'I will go further,' said Pluizer; and where the path ended he began -grubbing the earth with both hands.</p> - -<p>'Help me, Johannes.'</p> - -<p>And Johannes, submissive with wretchedness, obeyed, scratching away the -fine damp soil. Silent and breathless they worked away till they came to -the black wood.</p> - -<p>The worm had drawn back his ringed head and disappeared. The ear-wig -dropped the light and turned away.</p> - -<p>'It is impossible to get in, the wood is new,' said he as he withdrew.</p> - -<p>'I will do it!' said Pluizer, and with his clawed fingers he tore long -white splinters cracking out of the wood.</p> - -<p>A fearful anguish came over Johannes. But he could not help himself; -there was no escape.</p> - -<p>At last the dark thing was opened. Pluizer seized the light and hurried -in.</p> - -<p>'Here, here!' he cried, running to the head.</p> - -<p>But when Johannes came as far as the hands, which lay quietly folded -over the breast, he stopped. He gazed at the thin white fingers, dimly -lighted from above. On a sudden, he recognised them,—he knew the shape -and turn of the fingers, the look of the long nails, now blue and dull. -He recognised a brown spot on one of the forefingers. These were his own -hands.</p> - -<p>'Here, this way!' Pluizer called from the head. 'Only look, do you know -him?'</p> - -<p>Hapless Johannes tried to stand up and go towards the light which winked -at him; but he could not. The gleam died into total darkness and he fell -senseless.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="XII" id="XII">XII</a></h3> - - -<p>He had sunk into deep sleep—that sleep which is too deep for dreams.</p> - -<p>When he came out of the darkness—very slowly—into the cool grey light -of dawn, he passed through varied and peaceful dreams of an early time. -He woke up, and they glided off his soul, like dew-drops off a flower. -The look in his eyes was calm and sweet as they still gazed on the crowd -of lovely images.</p> - -<p>But he closed them again quickly as though the glare were painful, to -shut out the pale daylight. He saw just what he had seen the morning -before. It seemed to him far away and a long time ago. Still, hour by -hour, he remembered it all, from the dreary day-break to the terrible -night. He could not believe that all these horrors had come upon him in -a single day. The beginning of his wretchedness seemed so remote, lost -in grey mist.</p> - -<p>The sweet dreams vanished, and left no trace on his spirit; Pluizer -shook him, and the dreadful day began, gloomy and colourless; the first -of many, many more. But all he had seen last night in that terrible walk -dwelt in his mind. Had it been no more than a fearful vision?</p> - -<p>When he asked Pluizer doubtfully, he looked at him with mockery and -amazement.</p> - -<p>'What do you mean?' he said.</p> - -<p>But Johannes did not see the sarcasm in his eyes, and asked whether all -this, which he still saw so plainly and clearly, had not indeed been -true.</p> - -<p>'Why, Johannes, how silly you are! Such a thing could never happen at -all.'</p> - -<p>And Johannes did not know what to think.</p> - -<p>'We must set you to work at once, and then you will ask no more such -foolish questions.'</p> - -<p>So they went to Doctor Cypher, who was to help Johannes to find what he -sought.</p> - -<p>But as they went along the crowded street, Pluizer suddenly stood still, -and pointed out a man in the throng.</p> - -<p>'Do you remember him?' asked Pluizer, and he laughed aloud when -Johannes turned pale and stared at the man in terror. He had seen him -last night, deep under ground.</p> - -<p>The doctor received them kindly and imparted his learning to Johannes, -who listened to him for hours that day—and for many days after. The -doctor had not found what they sought; but was very near it, he said. He -would lead Johannes as far as he himself had gone, and then, together, -they would be sure to achieve to it.</p> - -<p>Johannes learned and listened, diligently and patiently—day after day, -and month after month. He had very little hope, but he understood that -he must go on now, as far as possible. He thought it strange that the -longer he sought the light the darker it grew around him. The beginning -of everything, he learned, was the best part of it, but the deeper he -got the duller and more obscure it became. He began with the study of -plants and animals, of everything about him, and when he had studied -these a long time they all turned to numbers. Everything resolved itself -into numbers—pages of figures. This Doctor Cypher thought quite -splendid; he said that light would come to them as the numbers came, -but to Johannes it was darkness.</p> - -<p>Pluizer never left him, and drove and urged him on when he was -disheartened or weary. His presence marred every moment of enjoyment and -admiration. Johannes was amazed and delighted when he learnt and saw how -exquisitely flowers were constructed, how the fruit was formed, and how -insects unconsciously helped in the process.</p> - -<p>'That is beautiful!' he exclaimed. 'How exactly it is all arranged, and -how delicately and accurately contrived!'</p> - -<p>'Yes, amazingly contrived,' said Pluizer. 'The pity is that the greater -part of this ingenuity and accuracy comes to nothing. How many flowers -produce fruit, and how many seeds become trees?'</p> - -<p>'But still, it seems to be all wrought by some grand plan,' said -Johannes. 'Look, the bees seek honey for their own ends and do not know -that they are serving the flowers, and the flowers attract the bees by -their colours. That is a scheme, and they both work it out without -knowing it.'</p> - -<p>'That all looks very pretty, but it fails in many ways. When the bees -have a chance, they bite a hole through the flower and make the whole -internal structure useless. He is a clever Contriver indeed who can be -laughed to scorn by a bee!'</p> - -<p>And when he came to study the organism of men and beasts, matters were -even worse. Whenever Johannes thought anything beautiful or well -adapted, Pluizer would demonstrate its imperfections and inefficiency. -He expatiated on the host of ills and woes to which every living -creature is liable, selecting by preference the most disgusting and -terrible.</p> - -<p>'The Contriver, Johannes, was very shrewd, but in everything he made he -forgot something, and men have as much as they can do to patch up these -defects as best they may. You have only to look about you. An umbrella, -a pair of spectacles—for shelter and better sight—these are specimens -of man's patching. They are no part of the original plan. But the -Contriver never considered that men would have colds, and read books, -and do a thousand other things for which his plan was inadequate. He -gave his children clothes without reflecting that they would outgrow -them. Almost all men have by this time long outgrown their natural -outfit. Now they do everything for themselves, and never trouble -themselves at all about the Contriver and his schemes. What he failed to -give them, they simply take by brute force; and when the obvious result -is that they must die, they evade death, sometimes for a long period, by -a variety of devices.'</p> - -<p>'But it is men's own fault,' said Johannes. 'Why do they wilfully -deviate from the laws of nature?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, silly Johannes! If a nursemaid lets an innocent child play with -fire and it is burned, whose fault is it? The child's, who knew nothing -about fire; or the nurse's, who knew that it would burn itself? And who -is to blame if men pine in misery and disobedience to nature—they or -the all-wise Contriver, compared with whom we are ignorant children?'</p> - -<p>'But they are not ignorant, they know—'</p> - -<p>'Johannes, if you say to a child: Do not touch that fire, it will hurt -you—and if the child touches it all the same because it does not know -what pain is, can you then plead your own innocence and say: The child -was not ignorant? Did you not know that it would not heed your advice? -Men are as foolish as children. Glass is brittle and clay is soft. And -He who made men and did not take their folly into account, is like a man -who should make weapons of glass and not expect them to break, or arrows -of clay and not expect them to bend.'</p> - -<p>His words fell like drops of liquid fire on Johannes's soul, and his -heart swelled with a great grief to which his former woes were as -nothing, and which often made him weep in the silent, sleepless hours of -the night.</p> - -<p>Oh, for sleep! sleep! There came a time after long days, when nothing -was so dear to him as sleep. Then he neither thought nor suffered; in -his dreams he was always carried back to his old life. It seemed to him -beautiful as he dreamed of it, but day by day he could never remember -exactly how things had then been. He only knew that the vexations and -cravings of that former time were better than the vacant, stagnant -feeling of the present. He once had longed bitterly for Windekind; he -once had waited hour after hour on Robinetta. How delightful that had -been!</p> - -<p>Robinetta! Did he still long for her? The more he learnt the feebler -that craving became. For that too was dissected, and Pluizer showed him -what love really was. Then he felt ashamed, and Doctor Cypher said that -he could not as yet express it in numbers, but that he should soon -accomplish this. Then things grew darker and darker round little -Johannes. He had an obscure feeling of thankfulness that he had not seen -Robinetta in the course of that fearful expedition with Pluizer.</p> - -<p>When he spoke of it to Pluizer he made no reply but a sly laugh; but -Johannes understood that this was from no desire to spare him.</p> - -<p>Those hours which Johannes did not spend in study or work Pluizer took -advantage of to show him the life of men. He managed to take him -everywhere—into the hospitals where sick people lay in great -numbers—long ranks of pale, haggard faces with a dull, suffering -expression—and where unearthly silence reigned, broken only by coughing -and groaning. And Pluizer showed him how many of them could never leave -the place. And when at a fixed hour streams of men and women came -pouring into the place to visit their sick relations, Pluizer said: 'You -see, they all know that they too must some day find their way into this -house and these gloomy rooms, only to be carried out in a black chest.'</p> - -<p>'Then how can they ever be so light-hearted?' thought Johannes.</p> - -<p>And Pluizer took him up to a little attic-room where a dismal twilight -reigned, and where the distant tinkle of a piano in a neighbouring house -made an incessant dreamy noise. Here they found, among others, one man -who lay staring helplessly before him at a narrow sunbeam which slowly -crept up the wall.</p> - -<p>'He has lain there for seven years,' said Pluizer. 'He was a sailor, and -has seen the palms of India, the blue seas of Japan, the forests of -Brazil; and now, for seven long years, he has amused himself all day and -every day with the sunbeams and the sound of the piano. He will never -leave this room again; but it cannot last much longer now.'</p> - -<p>After this day Johannes had his worst dream; he fancied himself in that -little room, listening to the feeble music, in the melancholy -half-light, with nothing to look at but the rising and waning sunbeams -—never more till the end.</p> - -<p>Pluizer took him, too, to the great churches to listen to what was said -there. He took him to festivals and grand ceremonies, and made him -intimate in many houses. Johannes learnt to study men, and it sometimes -happened that he could not help thinking of his past life, of the tales -Windekind had told him and of his own disappointments. There were men -who reminded him of the glow-worm, who fancied that the stars were his -departed friends; or of the cockchafer who was one day older than his -comrade, and who had said so much about a vocation; and he heard tales -which made him think of Kribbelgauw, the Spider-Hero, and of the eel who -did nothing, but was fed because it was a grand thing to have a fat -king. Himself, he could only compare to the younger cockchafer, who did -not know what a vocation was, and flew to the light. He felt that he in -the same way was creeping, helpless and crippled, over the carpet with a -string round his body, a cruel string which Pluizer tugged and twitched.</p> - -<p>Ah! he should never see the garden again! When would the heavy foot come -and crush him to death?</p> - -<p>Pluizer laughed at him if he ever spoke of Windekind; and by degrees he -began to think that Windekind had never existed.</p> - -<p>'But, Pluizer, then the little key does not exist—nothing is real!'</p> - -<p>'Nothing, nothing. Men and numbers—those are real and exist, endless -numbers!'</p> - -<p>'Then you deceived me, Pluizer. Let me go away—let me seek no -more—leave me alone.'</p> - -<p>'Have you forgotten what Death told you? That you are to become a man, a -complete man?'</p> - -<p>'I will not! it is horrible!'</p> - -<p>'You must. You wished it once. Look at Doctor Cypher, does he think it -horrible? Become like him——'</p> - -<p>It was very true. Doctor Cypher seemed always content and happy. -Unwearied and imperturbable, he pursued his way, studying and teaching, -satisfied and equable.</p> - -<p>'Look at him,' Pluizer went on, 'he sees everything, and yet sees -nothing. He looks on men as though he himself were a being apart, having -nothing to do with their sufferings. He moves among griefs and -wretchedness as though he were invulnerable, and meets Death face to -face as though he were immortal. All he aims at is to understand what -he sees, and everything is good in his eyes that comes in the way of -knowledge. He is satisfied with everything so long as he understands it. -That is what you must be.'</p> - -<p>'But that I can never be.'</p> - -<p>'Well, I cannot help that.'</p> - -<p>This was the hopeless conclusion of all their discussions. Johannes grew -dull and indifferent, and searched and searched, knowing no longer why, -or for what. He had become like the multitudes of whom Wistik had -spoken.</p> - -<p>It was now winter, but he scarcely observed it.</p> - -<p>One chill and misty morning, when the snow lay wet and dirty on the -roads, and fell from the trees and roofs, he went with Pluizer for his -daily walk. In a public garden he met a party of young girls, in a row, -and carrying school-books. They pelted each other with snow, and laughed -and gambolled; their voices rang out clearly over the snowy plain. There -was no sound of feet or wheels to be heard; nothing but the tinkling -bells of the horses, or the latch of a shop door. Their merry laughter -sounded distinctly through the silence.</p> - -<p>Johannes noted that one of these damsels looked at him and stared back -after him. She wore a coloured cloak and a black hat. He knew her face -very well, but he could not think who she was. She nodded to him once -and again.</p> - -<p>'Who is that? I know her.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, very likely. Her name is Maria, some persons call her Robinetta.'</p> - -<p>'No, that cannot be. She is not like Windekind. She is a girl like any -other.'</p> - -<p>'Ha, ha, hah! She cannot be like Nobody. But she is what she is. You -have longed to see her so much; now I will take you to see her!'</p> - -<p>'No, I do not want to see her. I would rather see her dead like the -others.'</p> - -<p>And Johannes would not look round again, but hurried on, murmuring: -'This is the last! There is nothing—nothing!'</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="XIII" id="XIII">XIII</a></h3> - - -<p>The clear warm sunshine of an early spring morning shone down on the -great city. Its bright rays fell into the room where Johannes lived, and -on the low ceiling danced and flickered a large patch of light reflected -from the rippling water in the canal. Johannes sat by the window in the -sunshine, looking out over the town. Its aspect was completely changed. -The grey fog was now a sheeny blue sun-mist, veiling the end of the long -streets and the distant towers. The slopes of the slate roofs shone like -silver. All the houses showed clear outlines and bright surfaces in the -sunshine; the pale blue atmosphere was full of glittering warmth. The -water seemed alive. The brown buds of the elm-trees were swollen and -shiny, and loudly-chirping sparrows fluttered among the branches. A -strange feeling came over Johannes as he sat looking out on it all. The -sunshine filled him with sweet vague emotion, a mixture of oblivion and -ecstasy. He gazed dreamily at the dancing ripples, the bursting -leaf-buds; he listened to the chirping of the birds. There was gladness -in their tune.</p> - -<p>He had not for a long time felt so soft at heart, nor for many a day -been so happy.</p> - -<p>This was the sunshine of old; he knew it well. This was the sun which of -yore called him forth—out into the garden where, under the shelter of a -low wall, he would stretch himself on the warm ground, where he might -for hours enjoy the light and heat, gazing before him at the grasses and -sods basking in the glow.</p> - -<p>He was glad in that light; it gave him a safe home-like feeling, such as -he remembered long ago when his mother held him in her arms. He thought -of all he had gone through, but without either grieving or longing. He -sat still and mused, wishing nothing more than that the sun might -continue to shine.</p> - -<p>'What are you about, mooning there?' cried Pluizer. 'You know I do not -approve of dreaming.'</p> - -<p>Johannes looked up with absent, imploring eyes. 'Leave me alone for a -little longer,' said he; 'the sun is so good!'</p> - -<p>'What can you find in the sun?' said Pluizer. 'It is nothing, after all, -but a big candle—sunlight or candlelight, it is all the same in the -end. Look at the patches of light and shadow in the street—they are -nothing more than the effect of a light which burns steadily and does -not nicker. And that light is really quite a small flame shining on a -quite small speck of the universe. Out there, beyond the blue, above and -beneath, it is dark,—cold and dark! It is night there, now and always.'</p> - -<p>But his words had no effect on Johannes. The calm warm sunbeams had -penetrated him, bathed his whole soul—he was full of light and peace.</p> - -<p>Pluizer carried him off to Doctor Cypher's cold house. For some time yet -the sunny images floated before his brain; then they slowly faded away, -and by the middle of the day all was dark again within him.</p> - -<p>But when evening came he made his way through the town once more, the -air was soft and full of the vapourous odours of the past. Only the -fragrance was ten times stronger, and oppressed him in the narrow -streets. But as he crossed the open square he smelt the grass and leaves -from the country beyond. And overhead he saw the spring in the tranquil -little clouds and the tender rose of the western sky. The twilight shed -a soft grey mist, full of delicate tints, over the town. The streets -were quiet, only a grinding organ in the distance played a love-sick -tune; the houses stood out black against the crimson heavens, their -fantastic pinnacles and chimneys stretching up like numberless arms.</p> - -<p>To Johannes it was as though the sun were giving him a kind smile as he -shed his last beams over the great city—kind, like the smile which -seals a pardon. And the warmth stroked Johannes's cheek with a caress.</p> - -<p>Deep tenderness came over his soul, so great that he could walk no -farther, but lifted up his face to the wide heavens with a deep sigh. -The Spring was calling to him and he heard it. He longed to answer—to -go. His heart was full of repentance and love and forgiveness. He gazed -up with longing tears flowing from his sad eyes.</p> - -<p>'Come, Johannes! do not behave so strangely; people are staring at you!' -cried Pluizer.</p> - -<p>The long monotonous rows of houses stretched away on each side, gloomy -and repulsive—an offence in the soft atmosphere, a discord in the -voices of the Spring.</p> - -<p>The folk were sitting at their doors and on the steps, to enjoy the -warmth. To Johannes this was a mockery. The squalid doors stood open and -the stuffy rooms within awaited their inhabitants. The organ was still -grinding out its melancholy tune in the distance.</p> - -<p>'Oh, if I could but fly away—far away! To the sand-hills and the sea!'</p> - -<p>But he must needs go home to the little garret room; and that night he -could not sleep.</p> - -<p>He could not help thinking of his father, and of the long walks he had -been used to take with him, when he trotted ten yards behind, or his -father traced letters for him in the sand. He thought of the spots where -the violets grew under the brushwood, and of the days when he and his -father had hunted for them. All the night he saw his father's face just -as he had seen him in the evenings when he sat by his side in the -silence and lamplight, watching him and listening to the scratching of -his pen.</p> - -<p>Every morning now he asked Pluizer when he might once more go home to -his father, and see the garden and the sand-hills again. And he -perceived now that he had loved his father more than Presto, or his -little room, for it was of him that he asked—</p> - -<p>'Tell me how he is, and if he is not angry with me for staying away so -long.'</p> - -<p>Pluizer shrugged his shoulders. 'Even if I could tell you, what good -would it do you?'</p> - -<p>But the spring still called him, louder and louder. Night after night he -dreamed of the dark green moss and the downs, and the sunbeams falling -through the fine, fresh verdure.</p> - -<p>'I can bear it no longer,' thought Johannes. 'I cannot stay.'</p> - -<p>And as he could not sleep he softly got out of bed, went to the window, -and looked out on the night. He saw the drowsy, fleecy clouds slowly -sailing beneath the full moon, peacefully floating in a sea of pale -light. He thought of the downs far away, sleeping through the warm -night; how beautiful it must be in the low woods where none of the baby -leaves would be stirring, and where the air was smelling of damp moss -and young birch sprouts! He fancied he could hear the rising chorus of -frogs, sounding mysteriously from afar over the meadows, and the pipe of -the only bird which accompanies the solemn stillness—which begins its -song with such soft lament and breaks off so suddenly that the silence -seems more still than before. And it called to him—everything called to -him. He bowed his head on the window-sill and sobbed in his sleeve.</p> - -<p>'I cannot, I cannot bear it! I shall die soon, if I do not get away!'</p> - -<p>When Pluizer came to call him next day he was still sitting by the -window, where he had fallen asleep with his head on his arm.</p> - -<p>The days went by, longer and warmer, and still there was no change. But -Johannes did not die, and had to bear his troubles.</p> - -<p>One morning Doctor Cypher said to him—</p> - -<p>'Come with me, Johannes; I have to visit a sick man.'</p> - -<p>Doctor Cypher was well known as a learned man, and many appealed to him -for help against disease and death. Johannes had already gone with him -on such errands now and then. Pluizer was unusually cheerful that -morning. He would at times stand on his head, dance and leap, and play -all sorts of impudent tricks. He wore a constant mysterious grin, as -though he had a surprise in store for some one. Johannes dreaded him -most in this mood.</p> - -<p>Doctor Cypher was as grave as ever. They went a long way that morning, -in a train, and on foot. They went farther than Johannes had ever been -before outside the town.</p> - -<p>It was a fine hot day. Johannes, looking out from the train, saw the -broad green fields fly past, with tall feathery grasses and grazing -kine. He saw white butterflies flitting over the flowery land where the -air quivered with the heat of the sun.</p> - -<p>But suddenly he saw a gleam in the distance.—There lay the long -undulating stretch of sand-hills.</p> - -<p>'Now, Johannes,' said Pluizer with a grin, 'now you have your wish, you -see.'</p> - -<p>Johannes, half incredulous, sat gazing at the sand-hills. They came -nearer and nearer. The long ditches on each side of the railway seemed -to whirl round a distant centre, and the little houses flew swiftly past -and away down the road.</p> - -<p>Then came some trees: thickly green horse-chestnut trees, covered with -thousands of spikes of pink and white blossoms—dark, blue-green -pines—tall, spreading lime-trees. It was true, then,—he was going to -see his sand-hills once more. The train stopped; they all three jumped -out, under verdurous shade.</p> - -<p>Here was the deep, green moss, here were the flecks of sunshine on the -ground under the forest-trees—this was the fragrance of birch-buds and -pine-needles.</p> - -<p>'Is it real—is it true?' thought Johannes. 'Can such happiness befall -me?'</p> - -<p>His eyes sparkled and his heart beat high. He began to believe in his -happiness. He knew these trees and this soil. He had often trodden this -forest-path.</p> - -<p>They were alone here. But Johannes could not help looking round, as -though some one were following him. And he fancied that between the oak -boughs he caught sight of a dark figure hiding itself, as they threaded -the last turns of the path.</p> - -<p>Pluizer looked at him with mysterious cunning. Doctor Cypher hurried -forward, with long strides, keeping his eyes on the ground.</p> - -<p>At each step the way was more familiar—he knew every stone and every -shrub—and suddenly Johannes started violently: he stood before his old -home.</p> - -<p>The horse-chestnut in front of the house spread the shade of its large, -fingered leaves. Above him the beautiful white flowers, and thick, round -mass of foliage towered high overhead. He heard the sound of an opening -door which he knew well—and he smelt the peculiar smell of his own -home. He recognised the passage, the doors, everything, bit by bit—with -a keen pang of lost familiarity. It was all a part of his life—of his -lonely dreamy childhood. He had held council with all these things, had -lived with them his own life of thoughts—to which he had admitted no -human being. But now he felt himself dead, as it were, and cut off from -the old house, with its rooms and passages and doorways. The severance, -he knew, was irremediable, and he felt as melancholy and woeful as -though he had come to visit a graveyard. If only Presto had sprung out -to meet him, it would have been less dreary. But Presto, no doubt, was -gone or dead.</p> - -<p>But where was his father?</p> - -<p>He looked back through the open door out into the sunny garden, and saw -the man who, as he had fancied, was following them on the way, coming -towards the house. He came nearer and nearer, and seemed to grow in -stature as he approached. When he reached the door a vast cold shadow -filled the entrance. Then Johannes knew him.</p> - -<p>There was perfect silence indoors, and they went up-stairs without -speaking. There was one step which always creaked under foot as Johannes -knew; and now he heard it creak three times with a sound like a groan of -pain. But under the fourth footstep it was like a deep sob.</p> - -<p>Above stairs, Johannes heard moaning, as low and as regular as the slow -ticking of a clock. It was a heart-rending and doleful sound. The door -of his own little room stood open; he timidly glanced in. The strange -flowers on the curtains stared at him with unmeaning surprise. The clock -had stopped. They went on to the room whence the groaning came. It was -his father's bedroom. The sun shone in brightly, on the green -bed-curtains which were drawn close. Simon, the cat, sat on the -window-sill, in the sun. There was an oppressive smell of wine and -camphor; the low moaning now sounded close at hand.</p> - -<p>Johannes heard whispering voices and carefully softened footsteps. Then -the green curtains were opened.</p> - -<p>He saw his father's face, which had so often risen before him during the -last few weeks. But it was quite different. The kind, grave expression -had given way to a rigid look of suffering, and his face was ashy pale, -with brown shadows. The teeth showed through the parted lips, and the -white of the eyes under the half-closed lids. His head lay sunk in -pillows, and was lifted a little with every moaning breath, falling back -wearily after each effort.</p> - -<p>Johannes stood by the bed without stirring, staring with wide fixed eyes -at the well-known features. He did not know what he thought; he dared -not move a finger, he dared not take the wan old hands, which lay limp -on the white linen sheet.</p> - -<p>All about him was black, the sun and the bright room, the greenery -outside and the blue air he had come in from—all the past was -black—black, heavy and impenetrable. And that night he could see -nothing but that pale face. He could think of nothing but the poor head -which seemed so weary, and yet was lifted again and again with a groan -of anguish.</p> - -<p>But there was a change in this regular movement. The moaning ceased, the -eyes slowly opened and stared about inquiringly, while the lips tried to -say something.</p> - -<p>'Good-morning, father,' whispered Johannes, looking into the seeking -eyes and trembling with terror. The dim gaze rested on him, and a faint, -faint smile moved the hollow cheeks; the thin clenched hand was lifted -from the sheet and made a feeble movement towards Johannes, but it -dropped again, powerless.</p> - -<p>'Come, come,' said Pluizer. 'No scenes here.'</p> - -<p>'Get out of the way, Johannes,' said Doctor Cypher. 'We must see what -can be done.'</p> - -<p>The Doctor began his examination, and Johannes went away from the -bed-side and stood by the window, looking out at the sunlit grass and -broad chestnut leaves on which large flies were sitting which shone -blue in the sun.</p> - -<p>The groaning began again with the same regularity.</p> - -<p>A blackbird was hopping among the tali grass, large red and black -butterflies fluttered over the flower-beds, and from the topmost boughs -of the highest trees a soft, tender cooing of wood-pigeons, fell on -Johannes's ear. In the room the moaning went on—without ceasing. He -could not help listening—and it came as regularly, as inevitably as the -falling drip which may drive a man mad. He watched anxiously at every -interval and it always came again—as awful as the approaching footsteps -of Death.</p> - -<p>And outside, warm and rapturous delight in the sunshine reigned. -Everything was basking and happy. The blades of grass thrilled and the -leaves whispered for sheer gladness. High above the trees in the deep, -distant blue, a heron was soaring on lazy wing.</p> - -<p>Johannes did not understand—it was all a mystery to him. Everything was -confused and dark in his soul—</p> - -<p>'How can all this exist in me at the same time?' thought he. 'Am I -really myself? Is that my father—my own father? Mine—Johannes's?' And -it was as though a stranger spoke.</p> - -<p>It was all a tale which he had heard. He had heard some one tell of -Johannes, and of the house where he dwelt with his father from whom he -had run away, and who was now dying. This was not himself—he had only -heard of it all; and indeed it was a sad story,—very sad. But it had -nothing to do with him.</p> - -<p>And yet—and yet.—It was he himself, Johannes.</p> - -<p>'I cannot understand the case,' said Doctor Cypher, pulling himself up. -'It is a very mysterious attack.'</p> - -<p>Pluizer came up to Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Come and look, Johannes; it is a very interesting case. The Doctor -knows nothing about it.'</p> - -<p>'Leave me alone,' said Johannes, without turning round. 'I cannot -think.'</p> - -<p>But Pluizer went close behind him and whispered sharply in his ear, as -was his wont—</p> - -<p>'You cannot think? Did you fancy that you could not think? That is a -mistake. You must think. Staring out like this at the green grass and -the blue sky will do no good. Windekind will not come to you. And the -sick man is sinking fast; that you must have seen as clearly as we did. -But what is his disorder, do you think?'</p> - -<p>'I do not know!—I do not want to know!'</p> - -<p>Johannes said no more, but listened to the moaning; it sounded like a -gentle complaint and reproach. Doctor Cypher was taking notes in a book. -At the head of the bed sat the dark figure which had followed them in; -his head was bowed, his lean hand extended towards the sick man, and his -hollow eyes steadfastly gazing at the clock.</p> - -<p>That sharp whisper in his ear began again.</p> - -<p>'Why are you so unhappy, Johannes? You have got what you wished for. -There lie the sand-hills, there is the sunshine through the verdure, -there are the dancing butterflies, the singing birds. What more do you -want? Are you waiting for Windekind? If he exists anywhere, it must be -there. Why does he not come to you? He is frightened, no doubt, by our -dark friend by the bed. He always has been afraid of him. Don't you see, -Johannes, that it was all fancy? And listen to the moaning. It is weaker -than it was just now. You can hear that it will soon cease altogether. -Well, and what matter? Many folks must have groaned just so when you -were at play here among the wild roses. Why do you now sit here grieving -instead of going out to the sand-hills as you used to do? Look! Out -there everything is as flowery and fragrant as if nothing had happened. -Why do you care no more for all the gladness of that life?</p> - -<p>'First you complained and longed to be here. Now I have brought you -where you yearned to be, and yet you are not content. See. I will let -you go—go out into the tall grass, lie in the cool shade, let the flies -hum about you, and breathe the perfume of growing herbs. You are free! -Go. Find Windekind once more. You will not? Then do you now believe in -me alone? Is all I have told you true? Am I or is Windekind the false -one?</p> - -<p>'Listen to the moans! So short and feeble! They will soon be stilled. -But do not look so terrified, Johannes, the sooner it is ended, the -better. There could be no long walks now, no more seeking for violets -together. With whom has he wandered these two years, do you think, while -you were away? You can never ask him now. You can never know. If you -had known me a little earlier you would not look so wretched now. You -are a long way yet from being what you must become. Do you think that -Doctor Cypher in your place would look as you do? It would sadden him no -more than it does the cat blinking there in the sunshine. And it is best -so. Of what use is brooding sorrow? Have the flowers learnt to grieve? -They do not mourn if one of them is plucked. Is not that far happier? -They know nothing, and that is why they are thus content. You have begun -to know something; now you must learn everything to become happy. I -alone can teach you. All, or nothing.</p> - -<p>'Listen to me. What is there remarkable in your father's case? It is the -death of a man—that is a common occurrence. Now do you hear the -gasping? Weaker still! It must be very near the end!'</p> - -<p>Johannes looked at the bed in agonised fear.</p> - -<p>Simon the cat jumped down from the window-sill, stretched himself, and -then, still purring, lay down on the bed by the dying man.</p> - -<p>The poor weak head moved no longer; it lay still, sunk in the pillows, -but the short, dull panting still came through the half-open mouth.</p> - -<p>It grew weaker and weaker till it was scarcely audible.</p> - -<p>Then Death took his hollow eyes off the clock and looked at the weary -head; he raised his hand. Then all was still.</p> - -<p>A grey shadow fell on the rigid features.</p> - -<p>Silence, oppressive, unbroken silence!</p> - -<p>Johannes sat and sat, waiting. But the regular sound was heard no more. -All was still—a great, murmuring stillness.</p> - -<p>The tension of the last hours of listening was over, and to Johannes it -seemed that his soul had been let fall down into black and bottomless -space. Deeper and deeper he fell. All about him grew darker and more -silent.</p> - -<p>Then he heard Pluizer's voice as if it were a long way off.</p> - -<p>'There! That tale is told.'</p> - -<p>'That is well,' said Doctor Cypher. 'Now you can see what was wrong with -him. I leave that to you. I must be off.'</p> - -<p>Still, as if half-dreaming, Johannes saw the gleam of bright knives. The -cat set her back up. It was cold by the corpse, and she returned to the -sunshine.</p> - -<p>Johannes saw Pluizer take a knife, which he examined carefully, and then -went up to the bed.</p> - -<p>Then he shook off his lethargy. Before Pluizer could get to the bed he -stood in front of him.</p> - -<p>'What do you want?' he asked. His eyes were wide open with horror.</p> - -<p>'We must see what he died of,' said Pluizer.</p> - -<p>'No,' said Johannes, and his voice was as deep as a man's.</p> - -<p>'What is the meaning of this?' said Pluizer, with a glare of rage. 'Can -you hinder me? Do you not know how strong I am?'</p> - -<p>'I will not have it,' said Johannes. He drew a deep breath and set his -teeth, staring firmly at Pluizer, and put out his hand against him.</p> - -<p>But Pluizer came nearer. Then Johannes gripped him by the wrists and -struggled with him.</p> - -<p>Pluizer was strong; he knew that; nothing had ever been able to resist -him. But he did not leave go, and his will was steadfast.</p> - -<p>The knife gleamed before his eyes; he seemed to see sparks and red -flames, but he did not give in, and wrestled on. He knew what would -happen if he yielded. He knew—he had seen it before. But that which lay -behind him was his father, and he would not see it now.</p> - -<p>And while he panted and struggled, the dead body lay stretched out -motionless, just as it was lying when the silence fell; the white of the -eyes visible through a narrow opening, the corners of the mouth curled -to a ghastly smile. Only as the two knocked against the bed in their -wrestling, the head gently moved a little.</p> - -<p>Still Johannes held his own. His breath came hard and he could not see; -a blood-red mist was before his eyes—and still he stood firm.</p> - -<p>Then gradually the resistance of those wrists grew weaker in his grasp, -his muscles relaxed, his arms fell limp by his sides and his clenched -hands were empty.</p> - -<p>When he looked up Pluizer had vanished. Death sat alone by the bed and -nodded to him.</p> - -<p>'That was well done, Johannes,' said he.</p> - -<p>'Will he come back again?' whispered Johannes. Death shook his head.</p> - -<p>'Never. Those who have once defied him, never see him again.'</p> - -<p>'And Windekind? Shall I ever see Windekind again?'</p> - -<p>The gloomy man gazed long at Johannes. His look was no longer terrible, -but gentle and grave. It seemed to allure Johannes like some great deep.</p> - -<p>'I alone can take you to Windekind. Through me alone can you find the -Book.'</p> - -<p>'Then take me too, there is no one left. Take me with you as you have -taken others. I want nothing more.'</p> - -<p>But again Death shook his head.</p> - -<p>'You love men, Johannes. You do not know it, but you have always loved -them. You must grow up to be a good man. It is a very fine thing to be a -good man.'</p> - -<p>'I do not want that—take me with you.'</p> - -<p>'You are mistaken; you do want it; you cannot help it.'</p> - -<p>The tall dark figure became dim in Johannes' sight—it melted into a -vague shape—a formless grey mist filled its place and floated away on -the sunbeams.</p> - -<p>Johannes bowed his head on the edge of the bed and mourned for the dead -man.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3><a name="XIV" id="XIV">XIV</a></h3> - - -<p>It was long before he looked up again. The sun's rays fell aslant into -the room and were glowing red, looking like straight bars of gold.</p> - -<p>'Father, father!' whispered Johannes.</p> - -<p>Outside, the sun filled the whole atmosphere with a cloud of glittering -golden fire. Every leaf was motionless, and all was still in the solemn, -holy sunshine.</p> - -<p>A low sighing chant came down on the sun's rays; it was as though they -were singing: 'Child of the Sun—Child of the Sun!'</p> - -<p>Johannes raised his head and listened. It was in his ears, 'Child of the -Sun—Child of the Sun!'</p> - -<p>It was like Windekind's voice. No one else had ever called him so. Was -it he who called him now? But he looked at the face before him; he would -listen no more.</p> - -<p>'Poor, dear father!' he murmured.</p> - -<p>But suddenly it sounded again close to him, on every side of him, so -loud, so urgent, that he thrilled with strange excitement—</p> - -<p>'Child of the Sun—Child of the Sun!'</p> - -<p>Johannes rose and looked out. What radiance! What a glory of light! It -flooded the leafy tree-tops, it sparkled in the grass, and danced even -in the dappled shadows. The whole air was full of it, high up towards -the blue sky where the first soft clouds of evening were beginning to -gather.</p> - -<p>Beyond the meadows, between the green trees and shrubs, he could see the -sand-hills. They were crowned with glowing gold, and the blue of heaven -hung in their dells.</p> - -<p>There they lay, at rest, in their robe of exquisite tints. The beautiful -curves of their expanse were as peace-giving as a prayer. Johannes felt -once more as he had felt when Windekind had taught him to pray.</p> - -<p>And was not that he, his slender form in its blue robe? There in the -very heart of the light—gleaming in a shimmer of gold and blue—was not -that Windekind beckoning to him?</p> - -<p>Johannes flew out into the sunshine. There he stood still for a moment. -He felt the consecration of the light, and scarcely dared stir where the -very leaves were so motionless. But the figure was there, before his -eyes. It was Windekind. Certainly, surely! The radiant face was turned -towards him with parted lips, as if to call him. He beckoned Johannes -with his right hand. In his left he held some object on high. He held it -very high with the tips of his slender fingers, and it trembled and -shone in his hand.</p> - -<p>With a glad cry of joy and yearning, Johannes flew to meet the beloved -vision. But it floated up and away before his eyes. With a smile on his -face, and waving his hand now and then, he touched the earth, descending -slowly; but then he rose again lightly and swiftly, soaring higher than -the thistle-down borne by the wind.</p> - -<p>Johannes, too, would fain float up and fly, as of yore—and as in his -dreams. But the earth clung to his feet, and his tread was heavy on the -grassy sod. He had to make his way with difficulty through the brushwood -where the leaves caught and rustled against his clothes, and the lithe -branches lashed his face. He climbed the moss-grown hillocks panting as -he went. Still he went on, unwearied, and never took his eyes off the -radiant vision of Windekind and the object which shone in his uplifted -hand.</p> - -<p>There he was, in the midst of the sandy downs. The wild roses of that -soil were in bloom in the warm hollows, with their thousand pale yellow -cups gazing up at the sun. There were many other flowers too, -light-blue, yellow and purple; sultry heat lurked in the little hollows, -warming the fragrant herbs; the air was full of strong aromatic scents. -Johannes inhaled them as he toiled onward. He smelt the thyme and the -dry reindeer-moss, which crackled under his feet. It was overpoweringly -delightful.</p> - -<p>Between him and the lovely vision he was pursuing, he saw the gaudy -butterflies flitting—small ones, black and red, and the 'sand-eye' as -they call it—the restless little flutterer with sheeny wings of -tenderest blue. Round his head buzzed golden beetles that live on the -wild rose—and heavy bumble-bees buzzed from blade to blade of the -scorched short grass. How delicious it all was, how happy he could be, -when he should find himself with Windekind once more!</p> - -<p>But Windekind glided away, farther and farther, Johannes breathlessly -following. The straggling, pale-leaved thorn bushes stopped his way and -tore him with their spines; the grey woolly mulleins shook their tall -heads as he pushed them aside in his course. He scrambled up the sandy -slopes and scratched his hands with the prickly broom. He struggled -through the low birch-wood where the tall grass came up to his knees, -and the water-fowl flew up from the little pools which glistened among -the trees. Thick white-blossomed hawthorns mingled their perfume with -that of the birches and of the mints which grew all over the marshy -ground.</p> - -<p>But presently there were no more trees, or shade, or flowers. Only -weird-looking grey eryngium growing amid the parched white-blossomed -broom.</p> - -<p>On the top of the farthest knoll rested the image of Windekind. That -which he held up shone blindingly. From beyond, with mysterious -allurement, there came, borne on a cool breeze, the great unceasing, -surging roar. It was the sea. Johannes felt that he was getting near to -it, and slowly climbed the last slope. At the top he fell on his knees, -gazing over the ocean.</p> - -<p>Now he had got above the sand-hills he found himself in the midst of a -ruddy glow. The evening clouds had gathered round the departing day. -They surrounded the sinking sun like a vast circle of immense rocks with -fringes of light. Across the sea lay a broad band of living, purple -fire—a flaming sparkling path of glory leading to the gates of distant -heaven. Below the sun, on which the eye could not yet rest, soft hues of -blue and rose mingled together in the heart of that cave of light; and -all over the expanse of sky crimson flames and streaks were glowing, and -light fleeces of blood-red down, and waves of liquid fire.</p> - -<p>Johannes gazed and waited, till the sun's disc touched the rim of the -path of light which led up to him.</p> - -<p>Then he looked down; and at the beginning of the path of light he saw -the bright form he had followed. A boat, as clear and bright as crystal, -floated on the fiery way. At one end of the boat stood Windekind, -slender and tall, with that golden object shining in his hand. At the -other end, Johannes recognised the dark figure of Death.</p> - -<p>'Windekind! Windekind!' he cried.</p> - -<p>But as he approached the strange barque, he also saw the farther end of -the path. In the midst of the radiant space, surrounded by great fiery -clouds, he saw a small dark figure. It grew bigger and bigger, and a man -slowly came forward, treading firmly on the surging glittering waters. -The glowing waves rose and fell under his feet, but he walked steadily -onward. He was a man pale of aspect, and his eyes were dark and -deep-set: as deep as Windekind's eyes, but in his look was an infinite, -gentle pity, such as Johannes had never seen in any other eyes.</p> - -<p>'Who are you?' asked Johannes, 'are you a man?'</p> - -<p>'I am more,' was the reply.</p> - -<p>'Are you Jesus?—are you God?' said Johannes.</p> - -<p>'Do not speak those names!' said the figure. 'They were holy and pure as -priestly raiment, and precious as nourishing corn; but they are become -as husks before swine, and as motley to clothe fools withal. Speak them -not, for their meaning has become a delusion, and their sacredness is -laughed to scorn. Those who desire to know me cast away the names and -obey themselves.'</p> - -<p>'I know Thee! I know Thee!' cried Johannes.</p> - -<p>'It was I who made you weep for men when as yet you knew not the meaning -of your tears. It was I who made you love before you understood what -love was. I was with you, and you saw me not; I moved your soul and you -knew me not!'</p> - -<p>'Why have I never seen Thee till now?'</p> - -<p>'The eyes that shall see Me must be cleared by many tears. And you must -weep not for yourself alone, but for Me also; then I shall appear to -you, and you will recognise Me for an old friend.'</p> - -<p>'I know Thee! I recognised Thee. I will ever remain with Thee!'</p> - -<p>Johannes stretched out his hand but the figure pointed to the gleaming -barque which slowly drifted off up the fiery path.</p> - -<p>'Look!' said he, 'that is the way to all you have longed for. There is -no other. Without those two you will never find it. Now, take your -choice; there is the Great Light; there you would yourself be what you -crave to know. There,' and he pointed to the shadowy East, 'where men -are, and their misery, there lies my way. I shall guide you there, and -not the false light which you have followed. Now you know—take your -choice.'</p> - -<p>Then Johannes slowly took his eyes off Windekind's vanishing form, and -put up his hands to the grave Man. And led by Him, he turned and faced -the cold night wind, and made his toilsome way to the great dismal town -where men are, and their misery.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Perhaps I may some day tell you more about Little Johannes; but it will -not be like a fairy tale.</p> - - -<p>THE END.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h5><a name="Contents" id="Contents">Contents</a></h5> -<p class="center"><a href="#INTRODUCTION">Introduction</a></p> -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left"><a href="#I">I</a></td><td align="left"><a href="#VIII">VIII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left"><a href="#II">II</a></td><td align="left"><a href="#IX">IX</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left"><a href="#III">III</a></td><td align="left"><a href="#X">X</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left"><a href="#IV">IV</a></td><td align="left"><a href="#XI">XI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left"><a href="#V">V</a></td><td align="left"><a href="#XII">XII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left"><a href="#VI">VI</a></td><td align="left"><a href="#XIII">XIII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left"><a href="#VII">VII</a></td><td align="left"><a href="#XIV">XIV</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Johannes, by Frederik van Eeden - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE JOHANNES *** - -***** This file should be named 40656-h.htm or 40656-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/6/5/40656/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by Internet Archive and -Toronto University) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Little Johannes - -Author: Frederik van Eeden - -Translator: Clara Bell - -Release Date: September 4, 2012 [EBook #40656] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE JOHANNES *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by Internet Archive and -Toronto University) - - - - - -LITTLE JOHANNES - - -_Translated from the Dutch of_ - -_FREDERIK VAN EEDEN_ - -_By CLARA BELL_ - - -_With an Introductory Essay_ - -_by ANDREW LANG_ - - -_LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN_ - -_MDCCCXCV_ - - - - -INTRODUCTION - -LITERARY FAIRY TALES - - -The _Maerchen_ or child's story, is a form of literature primevally old, -but with infinite capacity of renewing its youth. Old wives' fables, -tales about a lad and a lass, and a cruel step-mother, about three -adventurous brothers, about friendly or enchanted beasts, about magical -weapons and rings, about giants and cannibals, are the most ancient form -of romantic fiction. The civilised peoples have elaborated these -childlike legends into the chief romantic myths, as of the Ship Argo, -and the sagas of Heracles and Odysseus. Uncivilised races, Ojibbeways, -Eskimo, Samoans, retain the old wives' fables in a form far less -cultivated,--probably far nearer the originals. European peasants keep -them in shapes more akin to the savage than to the Greek forms, and, -finally, men of letters have adopted the _genre_ from popular narrative, -as they have also adopted the Fable. - -_Little Johannes_, here translated from the Dutch of Dr. Frederik van -Eeden, is the latest of these essays, in which the man's fancy -consciously plays with the data and the forms of the child's -imagination. It is not my purpose here to criticise _Little Johannes, an -Allegory of a Poet's Soul_, nor to try to forestall the reader's own -conclusions. One prefers rather to glance at the history of the Fairy -Tale in modern literature. - -It might, of course, be said with truth that the Odyssey, and parts of -most of the world's Epics are literary expansions of the _Maerchen_. But -these, we may be confident, were not made of set literary purpose. -Neither Homer, nor any poet of the French _Chansons de Geste_, cried, -'Here is a good plot in a child's legend, let me amplify and ennoble -it.' The real process was probably this: adventures that from time -immemorial had been attributed to the vague heroes of _Maerchen_ -gradually clustered round some half divine or heroic name, as of -Heracles or Odysseus, won a way into national traditions, and were -finally sung of by some heroic poet. This slow evolution of romance is -all unlike what occurs when a poet chooses some wild-flower of popular -lore, and cultivates it in his garden, when La Fontaine, for example, -selects the Fable; when the anecdote is developed into the _fabliau_ or -the _conte_, when Apuleius makes prize of _Cupid and Psyche_ (a -_Maerchen_ of world-wide renown), when Fenelon moralises the fairy tale, -or Madame d'Aulnoy touches it with courtly wit and happy humour, or when -Thackeray burlesques it, with a kindly mockery, or when Dr. Frederik van -Eeden, or Dr. Macdonald, allegorises the nursery narratives. To moralise -the tale in a very ancient fashion: Indian literature was busy to this -end in the Buddhist Jatakas or Birth-stories, and in the _Ocean of the -Stream of Stories_. Mediaeval preachers employed old tales as texts and -as illustrations of religious and moral precepts. But the ancient -popular fairy tale, the salt of primitive fancy, the drop of the water -of the Fountain of Youth in modern fiction, began its great invasion of -literature in France, and in the reign of Louis XIV. When the survivors -of the _Precieuses_, when the literary court ladies were some deal weary -of madrigals, maxims, _bouts-rimes_, 'portraits,' and their other -graceful bookish toys, they took to telling each other fairy tales.[1] - -On August 6, 1676, Madame de Sevigne tells her daughter that at -Versailles the ladies _mitonnent,_ or narrate fairy tales, concerning -the Green Isle, and its Princess and her lover, the Prince of Pleasure, -and a flying hall of glass in which the hero and heroine make their -voyages. It is not certain whether these exercises of fancy were based -on memories of the _Pentamerone_, and other semi-literary Italian -collections of Folk-Tales, or whether the witty ladies embroidered on -the data of their own nurses. As early as 1691, Charles Perrault, -inventing a new _genre_ of minor literature, did some Folk-Tales into -verse, and, in 1696, he began to publish his famous _Sleeping Beauty_, -and _Puss in Boots_, in Moetjens's miscellany, printed at the Hague. In -1696 Mlle. L'Heritiere put forth a long and highly embroidered fairy -tale, _Les Enchantements de l'Eloquence_, in her _Bizarrures -Ingenieuses_ (Guignard), while Perrault's own collected _Contes de ma -Mere l'Oye_ were given to the world in 1697 (Barbin, Paris). - -The work of Mlle. L'Heritiere was thoroughly artificial, while the -immortal stories of Perrault have but a few touches of conscious courtly -wit, and closely adhere to the old nursery versions. Perrault, in fact, -is rather the ancestor of the Grimms and the other scholarly collectors, -than of the literary letters of fairy tales. The Fairy Godmothers of -modern _contes_ play quite a small part in Perrault's works (though a -larger part than in purely popular narrative) compared with their _role_ -in Madame d'Aulnoy, and all her successors. Much more truly than la -Comtesse de M---- (Murat), author of _Contes des Fees_(1698), Madame -d'Aulnoy is the true mother of the modern fairy tale, and the true Queen -of the _Cabinet des Fees_.[2] To this witty lady of all work, author of -_Memoires de la Cour d'Espagne_, and of many novels, a mere hint from -tradition was enough. From such hints she developed her stories, such as -_Le Mouton, Le Nain jaune, Finette Cendron, Le Bon petit Souris_, and -very many others. She invented the modern Court of Fairyland, with its -manners, its fairies--who, once a year, take the forms of animals, its -Queens, its amorous, its cruel, its good, its evil, its odious and its -friendly _fees_; illustrious beings, the counsellors of kings, who are -now treated with religious respect, and now are propitiated with -ribbons, scissors, and sweetmeats. - -The Fairies are as old as the Hathors of Egypt, the Moerae who came to -the birth of Meleager, the Norns of Scandinavian myth. But Madame -d'Aulnoy first developed them into our familiar _fees_ of fairy tale. -Her _contes_ are brilliant little novels, gay, satirical, full of hits -at courts and kings. Yet they have won a way into true popularity: -translated and condensed, they circulate as penny scrap-books, and -furnish themes for pantomime.[3] It is from Madame d'Aulnoy that the -_Rose and the Ring_ of Thackeray derives its illustrious lineage. The -banter is only an exaggeration of her charming manner. It is a pity that -Sainte-Beuve, in his long gallery of portraits, found no space for -Madame d'Aulnoy. The grave Fenelon follows her in his _Rosimond et -Braminte_, by no means the worst effort of the author of _Telemaque_.[4] -From Madame d'Aulnoy, then, descend the many artificial stories of the -_Cabinet des Fees_, and among these the very prolix novel out of which -_Beauty and the Beast_ has been condensed takes a high place. The tales -of the Comte de Caylus have also humour, wit, and a pleasant -invention.[5] - -The artificial fairy tale was in the eighteenth century a regular -literary _genre_, a vehicle, now for satire, now for moralities. The old -courtly method has died out, naturally, but the modern _Maerchen_ has -taken a hundred shapes, like its own enchanters. We have Kingsley's -_Water Babies_, a fairy tale much too full of science, and of satire -not very intelligible to children, and not always entertaining to older -people, but rich in tenderness, poetry, and love of nature. We have the -delightful _Rose and the Ring_, full of characters as real to us, -almost, as Captain Costigan, or Becky Sharpe. Angelica is a child's -Blanche Amory; Betsinda is a child's Laura Bell, Bulbo is the Foker of -the nursery, and King Valoroso a potentate never to be thought of -without respectful gratitude. How noble is his blank verse. - - --'He laid his hands on an anointed king, - --Hedzoff! and floored me with a warming pan!' - -Then we have the _Phantastes_ of Dr. Macdonald, which the abundant -mysticism does not spoil, a book of poetic adventure perhaps too -unfamiliar to children. To speak of Andersen is superfluous, of Andersen -so akin in imagination to the primeval popular fancy; so near the -secret of the heart of childhood. The _Tin Soldier,_ the _Ugly Duckling_ -and the rest, are true _Maerchen_, and Andersen is the Perrault of the -North, more grave, more tender, if less witty, than the kind Academician -who kept open for children the gardens of the Louvre. Of other modern -_Maerchen_, the delightful, inimitable, irresponsible nonsense of _Alice -in Wonderland_ marks it the foremost. There has been, of course, a vast -array of imitative failures: tales where boisterousness does duty for -wit, and cheap sentiment for tenderness, and preaching for that -half-conscious moral motive, which, as Perrault correctly said, does -inform very many of the true primeval _Maerchen_. As an inveterate reader -of good fairy tales, I find the annual Christmas harvest of them, in -general, dull, imitative,--_Alice_ is always being imitated,--and, in -brief, impossible. Mere vagaries of absurdity, mere floods of floral -eloquence, do not make a fairy tale. We can never quite recover the old -simplicity, energy, and romance, the qualities which, as Charles Nodier -said, make Hop o' my Thumb, Puss in Boots, and Blue Beard 'the Ulysses, -the Figaro and the Othello of children.' There may possibly be critics -or rather there are certain to be critics, who will deny that the modern -and literary fairy tale is a legitimate _genre_, or a proper theme of -discussion. The Folklorist is not unnaturally jealous of what, in some -degree, looks like Folk-Lore. He apprehends that purely literary stories -may 'win their way,' pruned of their excrescences, 'to the fabulous,' -and may confuse the speculations of later mycologists. There is very -little real danger of this result. I speak, however, not without -sympathy; there was a time when I regarded all _contes_ except _contes -populaires_ as frivolous and vexatious. This, however, is the fanaticism -of pedantry. The French _conteurs_ of the last century, following in -the track of Hop o' my Thumb, made and narrated many pleasing -discoveries, if they also wrote much that was feeble and is faded. To -admit this is but common fairness; literary fairy tales may legitimately -amuse both old and young, though 'it needs heaven-sent moments for this -skill.' The _conteurs_, like every one who does not always stretch the -bow of Apollo till it breaks, had, of course, their severe censors. To -listen to some persons, one might think that gaiety was a crime. You -scribble light verses, and you are solemnly told that this is not high -poetry, told it by worthy creatures whose rhymes could be uncommonly -elevated, if mere owl-like solemnity could make poetry and secure -elevation. You make a fairy tale, and you are told that the incidents -border on the impossible, that analysis of character, and the discussion -of grave social and theological problems are conspicuously absent. The -old _conteurs_ were met by those ponderous objections. Madame d'Aulnoy, -in _Ponce de Leon_, makes one of her characters defend the literary -_Maerchen_ in its place. 'I am persuaded that, in spite of serious -critics, there is an art in the simplicity of the stories, and I have -known persons of taste who sometimes found in them an hour's -amusement.... He would be ridiculous who wanted to hear and read nothing -but such legends, and he who should write them in a pompous and inflated -style, would rob them of their proper character, but I am persuaded -that, after some serious occupation, _l'on peut badiner avec_.' 'I -hold,' said Melanie, 'that such stories should be neither trivial nor -bombastic, that they should hold a middle course, rather gay than -serious, not without a shade of moral, above all, they should be offered -as trifles, which the listener alone has a right to put his price upon.' - -This is very just criticism of literary fairy tales, made in an age -when we read of a professional _faiseur des contes des fees vieux et -modernes_. - -_Little Johannes_ is very modern, and, as Juana says in _Ponce de Leon_: - -'Vous y mettrez le prix qu'il vous plaira, mais je ne peux m'empecher de -dire que celui qui le compose est capable de choses plus importantes, -quand il veut s'en donner la peine.' - -ANDREW LANG. - - -[Footnote 1: Part of what follows I have already stated in a reprint of -_Perrault's Popular Tales_, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1888.] - -[Footnote 2: In forty-one volumes, Paris, 1785-89.] - -[Footnote 3: There are complete English translations of the eighteenth -century. Many of the stories have been retold by Miss M. Wright, in the -_Red_ and _Blue Fairy Books_.] - -[Footnote 4: I am unacquainted with the date of composition of this -story about a Ring more potent than that of Gyges. (It is printed in the -second volume of _Dialogues des Morts_ Paris, 1718).] - -[Footnote 5: From one of these tales by Caylus the author, who but -recently made their acquaintance, finds that he has unconsciously -plagiarised an adventure of Prince Prigio's.] - - - - -I - - -I will tell you something about little Johannes. My tale has much in it -of a fairy story; but it nevertheless all really happened. As soon as -you do not believe it you need read no farther, as it was not written -for you. Also you must never mention the matter to little Johannes if -you should chance to meet him, for that would vex him, and I should get -into trouble for having told you all about it. - -Johannes lived in an old house with a large garden. It was difficult to -find one's way about there, for in the house there were many dark -doorways and staircases, and cupboards, and lumber-lofts, and all about -the garden there were sheds and hen-houses. It was a whole world to -Johannes. He could make long journeys there, and he gave names to all he -discovered. He had named the rooms in the house from the animal world; -the caterpillar-loft, because he kept caterpillars there; the hen-room, -because he had once found a hen there. It had not come in of itself; but -Johannes' mother had set it there to hatch eggs. In the garden he chose -names from plants, preferring those of such products as he thought most -interesting. Thus he had Raspberry Hill, Cherry-tree Wood, and -Strawberry Hollow. Quite at the end of the garden was a place he had -called Paradise, and that, of course, was lovely. There was a large -pool, a lake where white water-lilies floated and the reeds held long -whispered conversations with the wind. On the farther side of it there -were the dunes or sand-hills. Paradise itself was a little grassy meadow -on the bank, shut in by bushes, among which the hemlock grew tall. Here -Johannes would sometimes He in the thick grass, looking between the -swaying reeds at the tops of the sand-hills across the water. On warm -summer evenings he was always to be found there, and would lie for -hours, gazing up, without ever wearying of it. He would think of the -depths of the still, clear water in front of him--how pleasant it must -be there among the water-plants, in that strange twilight; and then -again of the distant, gorgeously coloured clouds which swept across the -sand-downs--what could be behind them? How splendid it would be to be -able to fly over to them! Just as the sun disappeared, the clouds -gathered round an opening so that it looked like the entrance to a -grotto, and in the depths of the cavern gleamed a soft, red glow. That -was what Johannes longed to reach. 'If I could but fly there!' thought -he to himself. 'What can there be beyond? If I could only once, just for -once, get there!' - -But even while he was wishing it the cavern fell asunder in rolling dark -clouds before he could get any nearer. And then it grew cold and damp by -the pool, and he had to go back to his dark little bedroom in the old -house. - -He did not live all alone there; he had his father, who took good care -of him, his dog Presto and the cat Simon. Of course he loved his father -best: but he did not love Presto and Simon so very much less, as a -grown-up man would have done. He told Presto many more secrets than he -ever told his father, and he held Simon in the greatest respect. And no -wonder! Simon was a very big cat with a shining black coat and a bushy -tail. It was easy to see that he was perfectly convinced of his own -importance and wisdom. He was always solemn and dignified, even when he -condescended to play with a rolling cork or to gnaw a stale herring's -head behind a tree. As he watched Presto's flighty behaviour he would -contemptuously blink his green eyes and think: 'Well, well, dogs know no -better!' - -Now you may understand what respect Johannes had for him. But he was on -much more familiar terms with little brown Presto. He was not handsome -nor dignified, but a particularly good-natured and clever little dog, -who never went two yards from Johannes' side, and sat patiently -listening to all his master told him. I need not tell you how dearly -Johannes loved Presto. But he had room in his heart for other things as -well. Do you think it strange that his dark bedroom with the tiny -window-panes filled a large place there? He loved the curtains with the -large-flowered pattern in which he could see faces, and which he had -studied so long when he lay awake in the mornings or when he was sick; -he loved the one picture which hung there, in which stiff figures were -represented in a yet stiffer garden, walking by the side of a tranquil -pond where fountains were spouting as high as the clouds, and white -swans were swimming. But most of all he loved the hanging clock. He -pulled up the weights every day with solemn care, and regarded it as an -indispensable civility to look up at it whenever it struck. This of -course could only be done as long as Johannes remained awake. If by some -neglect the clock ran down Johannes felt quite guilty, and begged its -pardon a dozen times over. You would have laughed, no doubt, if you had -heard him talking to his room. But perhaps you sometimes talk to -yourself; that does not seem to you altogether ridiculous; and Johannes -was perfectly convinced that his hearers had quite understood him, and -he required no answer. Still he secretly thought that he might perhaps -have a reply from the clock or the curtains. - -Johannes had schoolmates, but they were not exactly friends. He played -with them, and plotted tricks with them in school, and robber-games out -of school; still he never felt quite at home but when he was alone with -Presto. Then he never wanted any boys, and was perfectly at his ease and -safe. - -His father was a wise, grave man, who sometimes took Johannes with him -for long walks through the woods and over the sand-hills; but then he -spoke little, and Johannes ran a few steps behind, talking to the -flowers he saw, and the old trees which had always to stay in the same -place, stroking them gently with his little hand on the rough bark. And -the friendly giants rustled their thanks. - -Sometimes his father traced letters in the sand as they went along, one -by one, and Johannes spelt the words they made: and sometimes his father -would stop and tell Johannes the name of some plant or animal. - -And now and then Johannes would ask about what he saw, and heard many -strange things. Indeed, he often asked very silly questions: Why the -world was just as it was, and why the plants and animals must die, and -whether miracles could ever happen. But Johannes' father was a wise man, -and did not tell him all he knew; and this was better for Johannes. - -At night before he went to sleep Johannes always said a long prayer. His -nurse had taught him this. He prayed for his father and for Presto. -Simon did not need it, he thought. He had a long prayer for himself too, -and almost always ended with the wish that just for once a miracle might -happen. And when he had said _Amen_ he would look curiously round the -half-dark room at the figures in the picture, which looked stranger than -ever in the dim twilight, at the door-handle and the clock, wondering -how the miracle would begin. But the clock always ticked in its own old -fashion, and the door-knob did not stir, and it grew darker and darker, -and Johannes fell asleep without any miracle having happened. - -But it would happen some day; of that he was sure. - - - - -II - - -It was a warm evening, and the pool lay perfectly still. The sun, red -and tired with its day's work, seemed to pause for a moment on the edge -of the world, before going down. Its glowing face was reflected, almost -perfect, in the glassy water. The leaves of the beech-tree which -overhung the lake took advantage of the stillness to gaze at themselves -meditatively in the mirror. The solitary heron, standing on one leg -among the broad leaves of the water-lilies, forgot that he had come out -to catch frogs, and looked down his long nose, lost in thought. - -Then Johannes came to the meadow to look into the cloud-cavern. Splash, -dash! the frogs went plump off the bank. The mirror was rippled, the -reflection of the sun was broken up into broad bands, and the -beech-leaves rustled indignantly, for they were not yet tired of looking -at themselves. - -A little old boat lay tied up to the bare roots of the beech-tree. -Johannes was strictly forbidden ever to get into it. Oh! how strong was -the temptation this evening! The clouds were parting into a grand -gateway, through which the sun would sink to rest. Shining ranks of -small clouds gathered on each side like life-guards in golden armour. -The pool glowed back at them, and red rays flashed like arrows between -the water-reeds. - -Johannes very slowly untied the rope that moored the boat to the -beech-root. Oh, to float out there in the midst of that glory! Presto -had already jumped into the boat; and before his master knew what he was -doing, the reeds had pushed it out, and they were drifting away together -towards the setting sun. - -Johannes lay in the bows staring into the heart of the cavern of light. -'Wings!' thought he. 'Oh, for wings now, and I should be there!' - -The sun was gone. The clouds were of fire. The sky in the east was deep -blue. A row of willows grew on the bank. Their tiny silvery leaves -stood motionless in the still air, looking like pale green lace against -the dark background. - -Hark! What was that? A breath flew over the surface of the pool--like a -faint gust of wind making a little groove in the water. It came from the -sand-hills, from the cloud-cavern. When Johannes looked round he saw a -large blue dragon-fly sitting on the edge of the boat. He had never seen -one so large. It settled there, but its wings quivered in a large -circle; it seemed to Johannes that the tips of them made a ring of -light. - -'It must be a glow-worm dragon-fly,' thought he, 'and they are very -seldom seen.' - -But the circle grew wider and wider, and the wings fluttered so fast -that Johannes saw them only as a mist. And by degrees he saw out of the -mist two dark eyes gleaming, and a slender, shining figure in a pale -blue dress sat in the place where the dragon-fly had been. Its fair hair -was crowned with a garland of white convolvulus, and on its shoulders -were gauzy insect-wings glittering like a soap-bubble, with a thousand -colours. - -A shiver of delight tingled through Johannes. Here was a miracle! - -'Will you be my friend?' he whispered. - -It was an odd way of addressing a stranger, but this was not a common -case. And he had a feeling as though he had always known this strange -sky-blue creature. - -'Yes, Johannes!' he heard, and the voice sounded like the rustling of -the sedges in the evening breeze, or the whisper of rain on the leaves -in the wood. - -'What is your name?' asked Johannes. - -'I was born in the bell of a bindweed flower. Call me Windekind.'[1] And -Windekind laughed and looked so kindly into Johannes' eyes that he felt -strangely happy. - -'To-day is my birthday,' Windekind went on, 'I was born close to this -spot. The last rays of the sun and the first beams of the moon are my -father and mother. People in Holland call the sun _she_, but that is not -right. The sun is my father.' - -Johannes made up his mind to call the sun _he_ in school to-morrow. - -'And look! There comes my mother's round shining face. Good-day, -mother! Oh, oh! But she looks very sad!' - -He pointed to the eastern horizon. The moon was rising, broad and bright -in the grey heavens, behind the lace-work of willow-twigs which stood -out black against the silver disc. It really had a melancholy face. - -'Come, come, mother. There is nothing wrong. I can trust him.' - -The fair being fluttered his gauzy wings gleefully, and tapped Johannes -on the cheek with an iris flower he had in his hand. - -'She does not like my having come to talk to you. You are the first, you -see; but I trust you, Johannes. You must never, never mention my name to -any human being, nor speak of me at all. Will you promise me this?' - -'Yes, Windekind,' said Johannes. It was still very strange to him. He -felt happy beyond words, but feared lest his happiness should vanish. -Was he dreaming? By his side, on the seat, lay Presto, sleeping quietly. -His dog's warm breath reassured him. The gnats crept over the surface -of the water and danced in the sultry air, just as usual. Everything -about him was quite clear and real. It must be true. And he felt all the -time that Windekind's trustful look was on him. Then again he heard the -sweet low voice:-- - -'I have often seen you here, Johannes. Do you know where I was? -Sometimes I sat on the sand at the bottom of the pool among the thicket -of water-plants, and looked up at you when you bent over to drink, or to -catch the water-beetles or the efts. But you did not see me. Then again -I would hide near you among the reeds. There I was very comfortable; I -sleep there most times when it is warm, in an empty reed-warbler's nest. -And that is deliciously soft!' - -Windekind rocked himself contentedly on the edge of the boat, hitting at -the gnats with his flower. - -'Now I have come to keep you company. Your life is too dull. We shall be -good friends, and I will tell you a great many things--much better -things than the schoolmaster teaches you. He knows nothing about them. -And if you do not believe me I will let you see and hear for yourself. -I will take you with me.' - -'Oh, Windekind! Dear Windekind! Can you take me with you out there?' -cried Johannes, pointing to the spot where the purple rays of the -vanished sun had streamed out of the golden gate of clouds. The glorious -structure was already fading into grey mist, but the rosy light still -could be seen in the farthest depths. - -Windekind looked at the glow, which tinged his delicate face and fair -hair, and he gently shook his head. - -'Not now, not now. You must not ask too much at once, Johannes. I myself -have never been to my father's home.' - -'I am always at my father's,' said Johannes. 'No; he is not your father. -We are brothers. My father is your father too. But the earth is your -mother and so we are very different. And you were born in a house among -men, and I in a bindweed flower; and that is much better. But we shall -get on very well together nevertheless.' - -Then Windekind sprang lightly into the boat, which did not rock under -his weight, and kissed Johannes on the forehead. - -What a strange change then came over Johannes! Everything about him -seemed different. He saw everything better and more clearly, as he -fancied. He saw the moon look down with a kinder glance, and he saw that -the water-lilies had faces, and gazed at him in pensive amazement. He -now suddenly understood why the gnats danced so merrily up and down, and -round and round each other, touching the water with the tips of their -long legs. He had often wondered and thought about it, but now he -understood it at once. - -He heard too what the reeds whispered to the trees on the bank, softly -complaining that the sun had gone down. - -'Oh! Windekind, thank you, this is glorious. Yes; we shall be very happy -together!' - -'Give me your hand,' said Windekind, spreading his many-coloured wings. -Then he drew Johannes in the boat over the pool through the splashing -leaves which glistened in the moonlight. Here and there a frog was -sitting on a leaf; but he did not now leap into the water when Johannes -came by. He only made a little bow and said, 'Quaak.' Johannes politely -bowed in return; above all, he would not seem ill-bred. - -Then they came to the reeds; they grew so far out into the water that -the whole boat was swallowed up in them without touching the shore. But -Johannes held fast to his leader and they scrambled to land between the -tall stems. It seemed to Johannes that he had grown quite small and -light, but perhaps that was fancy. Still, he could not remember that he -had ever before been able to climb up a sedge. - -'Now, keep your eyes open,' said Windekind, 'and you shall see something -pretty.' - -They walked on among the tall grass and under dark brushwood which here -and there let through a bright narrow streak of moonlight. - -'Did you ever hear the crickets of an evening out on the sand-hills, -Johannes? It is as if they were giving a concert, isn't it? And you can -never find out exactly where the sound comes from. Now they do not sing -for pleasure: the voices come from the crickets' school, where hundreds -of little crickets are learning their lessons. Be quite still, for we -are near them now.' - -Shurr! Shurr! - -The bushes were thinner here, and when Windekind pushed the grass stems -aside with his flower, Johannes saw a beautiful open glade where, among -the fine spiky grass of the down, the crickets were busy reading their -lessons. A great stout cricket was master and teacher. One after another -the pupils skipped up to him with one leap forward and one leap back -again. The cricket who missed his leap had to stand on a toadstool. - -'Now listen, Johannes,' said Windekind; 'you too may perhaps learn -something.' - -Johannes could understand what the little crickets said. But it was not -at all the same as the master at his school taught him. First came -geography: they knew nothing of the quarters of the world. They only -knew twenty-six sand-hills at most, and two ponds. No one could know of -anything beyond, said the master, and what was told of it was mere idle -fancy. - -Then came the botany lesson. They were all very sharp at this, and many -prizes were given, consisting of the youngest and sweetest blades of -grass of various length. But the zoology was what most puzzled Johannes. -The animals were classified as leaping, flying, and creeping. The -crickets could leap and fly, and thus stood at the head of all; next to -them the frogs. Birds were mentioned with every sign of horror, as most -malignant and dangerous creatures. Finally man was spoken of. He was a -huge useless and mischievous being, very low in the scale, as he could -neither leap nor fly; but happily he was very rarely met with. A very -tiny cricket, who had never yet seen a man, had three blows with a reed -for including man among the harmless beasts. - -Johannes had never heard anything like this before. Then the master -called out: 'Silence! Leaping exercise!' And the little crickets -immediately ceased conning their lessons, and began to play leap-frog, -in the cleverest and nimblest way, the big teacher at their head. It was -such a merry sight that Johannes clapped his hands with glee; but at -that sound, the whole school vanished in an instant into the sand-hills, -and the grass plot was as still as death. - -'There, that is your doing, Johannes! You must not behave so roughly. It -is easy enough to see that you were born among men.' - -'I am so sorry! Twill do my best. But it was so funny!' - -'It will be still funnier,' said Windekind. - -They crossed the grass plot and went up the down on the other side. Oof! -it was hard walking in the heavy sand; but as soon as Johannes held on -to the pale-blue robe he flew upwards, lightly and swiftly. Half-way up -there was a rabbit-burrow. The rabbit who lived there was lying with his -head and forepaws over the edge. The wild roses were still in bloom, and -their sweet, delicate fragrance mingled with that of the thyme which -grew on the sand-hill. - -Johannes had often seen rabbits pop into their holes, and had wondered -what the burrows looked like inside, and how they sat there together, -and would they not be stifled? - -So he was very glad when he heard his companion ask the rabbit whether -they might step in. - -'So far as I am concerned, and welcome,' said the rabbit. 'But it most -unfortunately happens that I have this very evening lent my burrow for a -charitable entertainment, and so am not properly master in my own -house.' - -'Dear, dear! Has some disaster occurred?' - -'Oh, yes!' said the rabbit sadly--'a terrible misfortune! It will take -us years to get over it. About a dozen jumps from here, a man's house -has been built, so big, so big! And its men are come to live there with -dogs. Seven members of my family have already perished, and three times -as many holes have been robbed. The mouse family and the mole tribe have -fared no better. Even the toads have suffered. So now we are giving an -entertainment for the benefit of the survivors. Every one does what he -can; I have lent my burrow. One must find something to spare for one's -fellow-creatures.' - -The polite rabbit sighed and passed his long ear over his face with his -right forepaw, as though to wipe a tear from his eye. It was his -pocket-handkerchief. There was a rustling sound in the grass and a fat, -heavy body came shuffling up to the hole. - -'Look,' said Windekind, 'here comes daddy toad too, all humped up. Well, -how are you getting on, old fellow?' - -The toad made no reply. He carefully laid an ear of corn neatly wrapped -in a dry leaf close to the entrance, and nimbly climbed over the -rabbit's back into the hole. - -'May we go in?' said Johannes, who was excessively inquisitive. 'I will -give something.' - -He remembered that he still had a biscuit in his pocket--a little round -biscuit, from Huntley and Palmer's. When he took it out he at once -observed how much smaller he had grown. He could scarcely grasp it with -both hands, and could not understand how his breeches pocket had still -held it. - -'That is most rare and precious!' cried the rabbit. 'That is a princely -donation!' - -And he respectfully made way for them to pass. It was dark in the -burrow, and Johannes let Windekind lead the way. Soon they saw a -pale-green light approaching them. It was a glow-worm, who obligingly -offered to light them. - -'It promises to be a delightful evening,' said the glow-worm as they -went forward. 'There are a great number of guests. You are elves as it -seems to me--are you not?' And the glow-worm glanced doubtfully at -Johannes as he spoke. - -'You may announce us as elves,' replied Windekind. - -'Do you know that your king is of the party?' the glow-worm went on. - -'Is Oberon here? Well, I am pleased indeed,' cried Windekind. 'He is a -personal friend of mine.' - -'Oh!' said the glow-worm. 'I did not know that I had the honour--' and -his light almost went out with alarm. 'Yes, his Majesty prefers the -outer air as a rule, but he is always to be seen at a beneficent -meeting. It will be really a most brilliant affair.' - -And so indeed it was. The chief apartment in the rabbit-burrow was -beautifully decorated; the floor was patted flat and strewn with scented -thyme, and over the entrance a bat hung head downwards. He called out -the names of the guests, and at the same time his wings served as -curtains--a most economical arrangement. The walls were tastefully lined -with dry leaves, cobwebs, and tiny hanging bats. Glowworms innumerable -crept between them and over the ceiling, forming a very pretty and -twinkling illumination. At the end of this hall stood a throne made of -fragments of decayed wood which gave a light of themselves. That was a -very pretty sight. - -There were a great many guests. Johannes felt very shy in this crowd of -strangers, and clung closely to Windekind. He saw wonderful things -there. A mole was talking to a field-mouse of the charming effect of the -lighting and decorations. Two fat toads sat together in a corner, -shaking their heads and lamenting over the persistent drought. A frog -tried to walk round the room arm in arm with a lizard; but this was a -failure, for he was embarrassed and excited, and now and then made too -long a leap, whereby he somewhat damaged the wall decorations. - -On the throne sat Oberon, the Elfin King, surrounded by his little train -of elves who looked down on the rest of the company with some contempt. -The King himself was full of royal condescension, and conversed in the -most friendly way with several of the company. He had just arrived from -a journey in the East, and wore a strange garment of brightly coloured -flower-petals. 'Such flowers do not grow here,' thought Johannes. On his -head he had a dark blue flower-cup which still shed a fresh perfume as -though it had but just been plucked. In his hand he carried the stamen -of a lotus-flower as a sceptre. All the company were struck with silent -admiration of his condescension. He had praised the moonlight over the -downs, and had said that the glow-worms here were as beautiful as the -fire-flies in the East. He had also glanced with approval at the -decorations, and a mole had observed that he had nodded his head very -graciously. - -'Come along,' said Windekind to Johannes. 'I will present you.' And they -made their way to the King's throne. - -Oberon opened his arms with joy when he saw Windekind, and embraced him. -There was a murmur among the guests, and unfriendly glances from the -Elfin court. The two fat toads in the corner muttered something about -'flattery' and 'servility' and 'it would not last'--and nodded -significantly to each other. - -Windekind talked to Oberon for a long time in an unknown language, and -then beckoned to Johannes to come forward. 'Shake hands, Johannes,' said -the King. 'Windekind's friends are my friends. So far as I can, I will -gladly serve you. I will give you a token of our alliance.' - -Oberon took a tiny gold key from the chain he wore about his neck and -gave it to Johannes, who received it with great respect and clasped it -tightly in his hand. - -'That key may bring you luck,' the King went on. 'It opens a golden -casket which contains a priceless treasure. But where that is I cannot -tell you; you must search for it diligently. If you remain good friends -with me, and with Windekind, and are steadfast and true, you may very -likely succeed.' The Elfin King nodded his handsome head with hearty -kindness, and Johannes thanked him, greatly delighted. - -Hereupon three frogs, who sat perched on a little cushion of moist moss, -began to sing the prelude to a slow waltz, and the couples stood up. -Those who did not dance were requested by a green lizard--who acted as -master of the ceremonies and who rushed hither and thither very -busily--to move into the corners; to the great indignation of the two -toads, who complained that they could not see; and then the dancing -began. It was very droll at first. Each one danced after his own fashion -and naturally imagined that he did it better than any one else. The mice -and frogs leaped as high as they could on their hind legs; an old rat -spun round so roughly that all the rest had to keep out of his way; and -even a fat slug ventured to take a turn with a mole, but soon gave it -up, excusing herself by saying that she had a stitch in her side--the -real reason was that she could not do it well. - -However, the dance went on very gravely and ceremoniously. Every one -regarded it as a matter of conscience, and glanced anxiously at the King -to see some token of approval on his countenance. But the King was -afraid of causing jealousies, and looked quite unmoved. His suite -thought it beneath them to dance with the rest. - -Johannes had stood among them quite quietly for a long time; but he saw -a little toad waltzing with a tall lizard who sometimes lifted the -hapless toad so-high above the ground that she described a semicircle -in the air, and his amusement burst out in a hearty laugh. What an -excitement it caused! The music ceased. The King looked angrily about -him. The master of the ceremonies flew in all haste to implore Johannes -to behave less frivolously. - -'Dancing is a very serious thing,' said he, 'and certainly no subject -for laughter. This is a very distinguished party, where people do not -dance for amusement. Every one is doing his best and no one expects to -be laughed at. It is extremely rude. Besides, this is a mourning feast, -on a very melancholy occasion. You must behave suitably, and not as if -you were among men and women.' - -Johannes was quite alarmed. On every side he met disapproving looks; his -intimacy with the King had already made him some enemies. Windekind led -him aside. - -'We shall do better to go, Johannes,' he whispered. 'You have spoilt it -all. Yes, yes; that comes of having been brought up among men.' - -They hastily slipped out under the wings of the porter bat, into the -dark passage. The glow-worm in waiting attended them to the door. - -'Have you been amused?' he asked. 'Did King Oberon speak to you?' - -'Oh, yes; it was a beautiful party,' replied Johannes. 'Must you stay -here in the dark passage all the time?' - -'It is my own free choice,' said the glow-worm in a tone of bitter -melancholy. 'I have given up all such vanities.' - -'Come,' said Windekind; 'you do not mean that.' - -'Indeed I do. Formerly--formerly--there was a time when I too went to -banquets, and danced and cared for such frivolities. But now I am -crushed by suffering--now-' - -And he was so much overcome that his light went out. Fortunately they -were close to the opening, and the rabbit, who heard them coming, stood -a little on one side so that the moonlight shone in. - -As soon as they were outside with the rabbit, Johannes said-- - -'Tell us your history, Glow-worm.' - -'Alas!' sighed the glow-worm,' it is simple and sad. It will not amuse -you.' - -'Tell it, tell it all the same,' they all cried. - -'Well--you all know of course, that we glow-worms are very remarkable -creatures. Yes, I believe that no one will venture to dispute that we -are the most gifted creatures in existence.' - -'Pray why? I do not see that!' said the rabbit. - -'Can you give light?' asked the glow-worm contemptuously. - -'No, certainly not,' the rabbit was forced to admit. - -'Well, _we_ give light! all of us. And we can let it shine or extinguish -it at will. Light is the best of nature's gifts, and to give light is -the highest function to which a living creature can attain. Can any one -now doubt our pre-eminence? Besides, we, the males, have wings and can -fly for miles.' - -'That I cannot do,' the rabbit humbly owned. - -'For the divine gift of light which we possess, all other creatures look -up to us; no bird may attack us. One animal alone, the lowest of them -all, seeks us out and carries us off. That is man--the vilest monster in -creation!' - -At this Johannes looked round at Windekind as though he did not -understand the meaning of it. But Windekind smiled and nodded to him to -say nothing. - -'Once I flew gaily about the world like a bright will-o'-the-wisp among -the dark bushes. And in a lonely damp meadow, on the bank of a stream, -dwelt she whose existence was inseparably bound up with my happiness. -She glittered in exquisite emerald green light as she crept among the -grass stems, and she entirely possessed my youthful heart. I fluttered -round her and did my utmost to attract her attention by changing my -light. I gladly perceived that she noticed my salutation and eclipsed -her own light. Tremulous with devotion, I was about to fold my wings and -drop in ecstasy at the side of my radiant and adored one, when a -tremendous noise filled the air. Dark figures were approaching: they -were men. I fled in terror. They rushed after me and struck at me with -great black tilings, but my wings were swifter than their clumsy -legs.--When I returned--' - -Here the narrator's voice failed him. It was only after a pause of -silent meditation, while his three hearers reverently kept silence, that -he went on: 'You have guessed the rest. My gentle bride, the brightest -and most sparkling of her kind, had disappeared, carried away by cruel -men. The peaceful, moist grass plot was trodden down, and her favourite -place by the stream was dark and desolate. I was alone in the world.' - -Here the tender-hearted rabbit again used his ear to wipe a tear from -his eyes. - -'From that night I am an altered creature. I have a horror of all vain -amusements. I think only of her whom I have lost, and of the time when I -may see her again.' - -'What, have you still a hope?' asked the rabbit in surprise. - -'I have more than hope; I have assurance. Up there I shall see my -beloved once more.' - -'But--' the rabbit put in. - -'Rab,' said the glow-worm solemnly, 'I can understand the doubts of -those who must feel their way in the dark. But to those who can see with -their own eyes!--then all doubt is to me incomprehensible. There!' cried -the glow-worm, looking reverently up at the twinkling, starry sky, 'I -see them there! All my ancestors, all my friends,--and she among -them--they shine up there in still greater radiance than here on earth. -Ah! when shall I be released from this lower life and fly to her who -twinkles at me so tenderly. When, ah! when?' - -The glow-worm turned away with a sigh, and crept back into the dark -again. - -'Poor fellow!' said the rabbit, 'I hope he may be right.' - -'I hope so too,' added Johannes. - -'I have my fears,' said Windekind. 'But it was very interesting.' - -'Dear Windekind,' Johannes began, 'I am very tired and sleepy.' - -'Come close to me, then, and I will cover you with my cloak.' - -Windekind took off his blue mantle and spread it over Johannes and -himself. So they lay down together in the sweet moss on the down, their -arms round each other's necks. - -'Your heads lie rather low,' cried the rabbit. 'Will you rest them -against me?' And so they did. - -'Good-night, mother!' said Windekind to the Moon. - -And Johannes shut his hand tight on the little golden key, laid his head -on the downy fur of the good-natured rabbit, and slept soundly. - - -[Footnote 1: The child of the bindweed.] - - - -III - - -'Well, where is he, Presto? Where is your little master then?' How -alarming to wake in the boat among the reeds--quite alone--the master -vanished entirely! this is something indeed to be frightened at. - -And now run about, hunting on all sides with timid little whinings, poor -Presto! How could you sleep so soundly as not to notice when your master -left the boat? Generally you are wont to wake if only he moves a little. -Here--you can see here where your master landed; but now you are on land -the track is very much confused. All your busy snuffing is in vain! What -a misfortune! The little master gone, quite lost! Seek, Presto, seek him -then! - -'Look! There, against that low mound just before you--Is there not a -little dark figure lying? Look at it closely!' - -For a moment the dog stood motionless, looking eagerly into the -distance. Then he suddenly stretched out his head and flew as fast as -his four slender legs could carry him to the dark object on the mound. -And when he found that it really was the little master he had so sorely -missed, all his powers were too feeble to express his joy and -thankfulness. He wagged his tail, his whole body wriggled with glee, he -leaped, barked, yelped, and laid his cold nose against his re-found -friend, licking and sniffing all over his face. - -'Down, Presto! Go to your basket!' cried Johannes, but half awake. How -stupid of master! There was no basket to be seen, look where he might. - -Slowly, slowly, light began to dawn on the little sleeper's mind. -Presto's sniffing!--he was used to that, every morning. Faint images -still floated before his soul, dream-pictures of elves and moonlight, -like morning mists over a landscape of sand-hills. He feared that the -cold breath of day would waft them away. 'Keep your eyes shut,' said he -to himself, 'or you will see the clock against the wall where it always -hangs!' - -But there was something strange about his bed. He felt that he had no -bed-clothes over him. Gently and warily he opened his eyes, just a -little way. - -Bright daylight. Blue sky. Clouds. - -Then Johannes opened his eyes very wide and said: 'Then it was true?' - -Yes. He was lying among the sand-hills. The cheerful sunshine warmed -him; he breathed the fresh morning air; a filmy mist hung over the woods -beyond. He saw the tall beech-tree by the pool, and the roof of his own -home rising above the shrubbery. Bees and beetles were buzzing around -him, overhead a lark was singing; in the distance he could hear dogs -barking and the hum of the neighbouring town. It was all real, beyond a -doubt. - -What then had he dreamed, and what was true? Where was Windekind? And -the rabbit? He saw nothing of either. Only Presto, who sat as close to -him as possible and looked at him expectantly. - -'Can I have been walking in my sleep?' Johannes murmured softly to -himself. - -By his side there was a rabbit's burrow; but there were so many in the -down. He sat up to see more plainly. What was this in his tightly -clasped fingers? A glow flashed through him from head to foot as he -opened his hand. In it lay a bright little gold key. - -For a few moments he sat silent. - -'Presto,' said he then, and the tears almost came into his eyes, -'Presto. Then it _was_ true!' - -Presto sprang up, and tried by barking to make his master understand -that he was hungry and wanted to go home. - -Home? To be sure. Johannes had not thought of that, and he did not -particularly care to go. However, he presently heard his name called by -loud voices. Then he began to understand that his proceedings would -certainly not be regarded as right and satisfactory, and that far from -kindly words awaited him on his return. - -For a moment he could hardly be sure whether his tears of joy had not, -in vexation, turned to tears of fear and contrition; but then he -remembered Windekind, who was now his friend, his friend and ally; and -the Elfin King's gift; and the splendid, indisputable reality of all -that had happened;--and so he made his way homeward calmly, and prepared -for whatever might betide. - -It fell out as he had anticipated. But he had not imagined that the -distress and alarm of the house-hold could be so serious a matter. He -must solemnly promise never again to be so naughty and heedless. This -quite restored his presence of mind. - -'That I cannot promise,' he said very resolutely. - -They looked at him in amazement. He was questioned, coaxed, threatened. -But he thought of Windekind and was firm. What did he care for -punishment so long as he had Windekind for his friend--and what would he -not endure for Windekind's sake? He clutched the little key tightly to -his breast and shut his mouth firmly, answering every question with a -shrug of his shoulders. - -'I cannot promise,' was all he replied. - -But his father said: 'Leave him in peace; he is quite in earnest about -it. Something strange must have happened to him. He will tell us all -about it some day.' - -Johannes smiled, ate his breakfast in silence, and crept up to his -little room. There he nipped off a bit of the blind-cord, slipped it -through his precious little key and hung it round his neck next to his -breast. Then he very contentedly went to school. - -Things went ill with him at school that day. He knew none of his lessons -and paid no attention at all. His thoughts were constantly wandering to -the pool, and the wonderful things which had happened last evening. He -could scarcely believe that a friend of the fairy king's could be -expected and required to do sums and conjugate verbs. But it had all -been true, and no one there knew anything about it, or would believe it -or understand it; not even the master, however cross he might be, -calling Johannes an idle little boy in a tone of great contempt. He took -the bad marks he had earned with a light heart, and did the task set him -as a punishment for his inattention. - -'You, none of you understand anything about it. You may scold me as much -as you please. I am Windekind's friend, and Windekind is worth more to -me than all of you put together. Ay, with the master into the bargain!' - -This was not respectful of Johannes. But his estimation of his -fellow-creatures had not been raised by all the evil he had heard said -of them the evening before. - -But, as is often the case, he was not yet wise enough to use his wisdom -wisely, or, better still, to keep it to himself. - -When the master went on to say that man alone of all creatures was -endowed by God with speech, and appointed lord over all other animals, -Johannes began to laugh. This cost him a bad mark and serious reproof. -And when his next neighbour read the following sentence out of an -exercise-book: 'The age of my wilful aunt is great, but not so great as -that of the Sun'--parsing 'the Sun' correctly as feminine, Johannes -shouted out loudly, correcting him: 'Masculine, masculine!' - -Every one laughed excepting the master, who was amazed at such utter -stupidity as he thought it, and he desired Johannes to remain in school -and write out a hundred times: 'The age of my wilful aunt is great, but -not so great as that of the Sun (feminine), and greater still is my -arrogant stupidity.' - -His school-fellows had departed, and Johannes sat alone writing, in the -great empty school-room. The sun shone in brightly, making the -dust-motes glitter in its beams, and painting the wall with patches of -light which crept round as time went on. The master, too, was gone, -slamming the door behind him. Johannes had just got to the fifty-second -'wilful aunt' when a tiny, brisk mouse, with black, beady little eyes -and erect ears, came out of the farthest corner of the room and ran -noiselessly along by the wall. Johannes kept as still as death, not to -scare the pretty little thing; but it was not shy and came close to -where he was sitting. It looked sharply about for a minute or two, with -its small, bright eyes; then with one spring leaped on to the bench, and -with a second on to the desk on which Johannes was writing. - -'Well done!' said he half to himself, 'you are a very bold little -mouse.' - -'I ought to know whom I should be afraid of,' said a wee-wee voice, and -the mouse showed his little white teeth as if he were laughing. - -Johannes was by this time quite used to marvels; still, this made him -open his eyes very wide. Here, in school, in the middle of the day--it -was incredible. - -'You need not be afraid of me,' said he, very gently for fear of -frightening the mouse. 'Did Windekind send you?' - -'I am sent to tell you that the master was quite right, and that you -thoroughly deserved your extra task.' - -'But it was Windekind who told me that the sun was masculine. He said he -was his father.' - -'Yes; but no one else need know it. What have men to do with that? You -must never discuss such delicate matters with men; they are too gross to -understand them. Man is an astonishingly perverse and stupid creature -that only cares to catch or kill whatever comes within his reach. Of -that we mice have ample experience.' - -'But why then, little mouse, do you live among men? Why do you not run -away to the woods?' - -'Oh, that we cannot do now. We are too much accustomed to town living. -And so long as we are prudent, and always take care to avoid their traps -and their heavy feet, we get on very well among men. Fortunately we are -very nimble. The worst of it is, that man ekes out his own slowness by -an alliance with the cat; that is a great grievance. But in the woods -there are owls and hawks, and we should all be starved. Now, Johannes, -mind my advice--here comes the master.' - -'Mouse, mouse; do not go away. Ask Windekind what I am to do with my -little key. I have tied it round my neck, next my skin. But on Saturday -I am tubbed, and I am so afraid that it will be found. Tell me, where -can I hide it?' - -'Underground, always underground, that is always safest. Shall I keep it -for you?' - -'No, not here in school.' - -'Then bury it out in the sand-hills. I will tell my cousin the -field-mouse that he must take care of it.' - -'Thank you, little mouse.' - -Tramp, tramp! In came the master. While Johannes was dipping his pen the -mouse had vanished. The master, who wanted to go home, let Johannes off -the other forty-eight lines. - -For two days Johannes lived in constant dread. He was kept strictly -within sight, and had no opportunity of slipping off to the sand-hills. -It was already Friday, and still the precious key was about his neck. -The following evening he would inevitably be stripped; the key would be -discovered and taken from him--his blood turned cold at the thought. He -dared not hide it in the house or garden--no place seemed to him safe -enough. - -Friday afternoon, and dusk was creeping down! Johannes sat at his -bedroom window, gazing with longing at the distance, over the green -shrubs in the garden to the downs beyond. - -'Windekind, Windekind, help me!' he whispered anxiously. - -He heard a soft rustling of wings close at hand, he smelt the scent of -lilies of the valley, and suddenly heard the sweet, well-known voice. -Windekind sat by him on the window-sill, waving the bells of a lily of -the valley on their slender stems. - -'Here you are at last!' cried Johannes; 'I have longed for you so much!' - -'Come with me, Johannes, we will bury your little key.' - -'I cannot,' said Johannes sadly. - -But Windekind took him by the hand and he felt himself wafted through -the still evening air, as light as the wind-blown down of a dandelion. - -'Windekind,' said Johannes, as they floated on, 'I love you so dearly. I -believe I would give all the people in the world for you, and Presto -into the bargain.' - -'And Simon?' - -'Oh, Simon does not care whether I love him or not. I believe he thinks -it too childish. Simon loves no one but the fish-woman, and that only -when he is hungry. Do you think that Simon is a common cat, Windekind?' - -'No, formerly he was a man.' - -Whrrr--bang! There went a fat cockchafer buzzing against Johannes. - -'Can you not look where you are going?' grumbled the cockchafer, 'those -Elves fly abroad as though the whole air were theirs by right. That is -always the way with idlers who go flitting about for pleasure; those -who, like me, are about their business, seeking their food and eating as -hard as they can, are pushed out of their road.' And he flew off, -scolding loudly. - -'Does he think the worse of us because we do not eat?' asked Johannes. - -'Yes, that is the way of cockchafers. According to them, the highest -duty is to eat a great deal. Shall I tell you the history of a young -cockchafer?' - -'Ay, do,' said Johannes. - -'There was a pretty young cockchafer who had just crept out of the -earth. That was a great surprise. For a whole year he had sat waiting in -the dark earth, watching for the first warm summer evening. And when he -put his head out of the clod, all the greenery, and the waving grass, -and the singing-birds quite bewildered him. He had no idea what to be -about. He touched the blades of grass with his feelers, spreading them -out in a fan. Then he observed that he was a male cockchafer, very -handsome in his way, with shining black legs, a large, fat body, and a -breastplate that shone like a mirror. As luck would have it, he at once -saw, not far off, another cockchafer, not indeed so handsome as himself, -but who had come out the day before and who was quite old. Very -modestly, being still so young, he crept towards the other. - -'What do you want, my friend?' said the second cockchafer rather -haughtily, seeing that the other was a youngster, 'do you wish to ask me -the way?' - -'No, I am obliged to you,' said the younger one civilly, 'but I do not -know what I ought to be doing. What is there for cockchafers to do?' - -'Dear me,' said the other, 'do not you know that much? Well, I cannot -blame you, for I was young myself once. Listen, then, and I will tell -you. The principal thing in a cockchafer's life is to eat. Not far from -this is a delicious lime-walk which was placed there for us, and it is -our duty to eat there as diligently as we can.' - -'Who put the lime-walk there?' asked the younger beetle. - -'Well, a great being who means very kindly to us. He comes down the -Avenue every morning, and those who have eaten most he takes away to a -splendid house where a beautiful light shines, and where chafers are all -happy together. Those, on the other hand, who, instead of eating, spend -the night in flying about are caught by the Bat.' - -'What is that?' asked the young one. - -'A fearful monster with sharp teeth who comes flying down on us all on a -sudden and eats us up with a horrible crunch. - -As the chafer spoke they heard a shrill squeak overhead which chilled -them to the very marrow. - -'Hark! There he is!' cried the elder, 'beware of him, my young friend, -and be thankful that I have given you timely warning. You have the whole -night before you. Make good use of your time. The less you eat, the -greater the risk of the bat's seizing you. And none but those who choose -a serious vocation in life ever go to the house where the beautiful -light is. Mark that; a serious vocation.' - -Then the chafer, who was by a whole day the elder, disappeared among the -blades of grass, leaving the other greatly impressed. - -'Do you know what a vocation is, Johannes? No? Well, the young chafer -did not know. It had something to do with eating--he understood that. -But how was he to find the lime-walk? Close at hand stood a slender but -stalwart grass-stem, waving softly in the evening air. This he firmly -clutched with his six crooked legs. It seemed a long journey up to the -top, and very steep. But the cockchafer was determined to reach it. -'This is a vocation!' he thought to himself, and began to climb with -much toil. He went but slowly and often slipped back; but he got on, and -when at last he found himself on the slender tip, and rocked with its -swaying, he felt triumphant and happy. What a view he had from thence! -It seemed to him that he could see the whole world. How blissful it was -to be surrounded by air on all sides! He eagerly breathed his fill. What -a wonderful feeling had come over him! Now he craved to go higher!' - -'In his rapture he raised his wing-cases and quivered his gauzy wings. -Higher! and yet higher I His wings fluttered, his legs released the -grass-stem, and then--oh joy! Whoo-oo I He was flying--freely and -gladly, in the still, warm evening air!' - -'And then?' said Johannes. - -'The end is not happy. I will tell it you some day later.' - -They were hovering over the pool. A pair of white butterflies fluttered -to meet them. - -'Whither are you travelling, elves?' they asked. - -'To the large wild rose-tree which blooms by yonder mound.' - -'We will go with you; we will go too!' - -The rose-bush was already in sight in the distance, with its abundance -of pale-yellow sheeny blossoms. The buds were red and the open flowers -were dashed with red, as if they remembered the time when they were -still buds. - -The wild down-rose bloomed in peaceful solitude, and filled the air with -its wonderfully sweet odours. They are so fine that the down-elves live -on nothing else. The butterflies fluttered about and kissed flower after -flower. - -'We have come to place a treasure in your charge,' cried Windekind. -'Will you keep it safe for us?' - -'Why not--why not?' whispered the rose. 'It is no pain to me to keep -awake--and I have no thought of going away unless I am dragged away. And -I have sharp thorns.' - -Then came the field-mouse--the cousin of the school-mouse--and burrowed -quite under the roots of the rose-tree. And there he buried the little -key. - -'When you want it again you must call me; for you must on no account -hurt the rose.' - -The rose twined its thorny arms thickly over the entrance and took a -solemn oath to guard it faithfully. The butterflies were witnesses. - -Next morning Johannes awoke in his own little bed, with Presto, and the -clock against the wall. The cord with the key was gone from round his -neck. - - - - -IV - - -'Children! children! A summer like this is a terrible infliction!' -sighed one of three large stoves which stood side by side to bewail -their fate in a garret of the old house. 'For weeks I have not seen one -living soul or heard one rational remark. And always that hollow within! -It is fearful!' - -'I am full of spiders' webs,' said the second. 'And that would never -happen in the winter.' - -'And I am so dry and dusty that I shall be quite ashamed when, as winter -comes on, the Black Man appears again, as the poet says.' - -This piece of learning the third stove had of course picked up from -Johannes, who had repeated some verses last winter, standing before the -hearth. - -'You must not speak so disrespectfully of the smith,' said the first -stove, who was the eldest. 'It annoys me.' - -A few shovels and tongs which lay on the floor, wrapped in paper to -preserve them from rust, also expressed their opinion of this frivolous -mode of speech. - -But suddenly they were all silent, for the shutter in the roof was -raised; a beam of light shone in on the gloomy place, and the whole -party lapsed into silence under their dust and confusion. - -It was Johannes who had come to disturb their conversation. This loft -was at all times a delightful spot to him, and now, after the strange -adventures of the last few days, he often came here. Here he found peace -and solitude. There was a window, too, closed by a shutter, which looked -out towards the sand-hills. It was a great delight to open the shutter -suddenly, and, after the mysterious twilight of? the garret, to see all -at once the sunlit landscape shut in by the fair, rolling _dimes_. - -It was three weeks since that Friday evening, and Johannes had seen -nothing of his friend since. The key was gone, and there was nothing now -to assure him that he had not dreamed it all. Often, indeed, he could -not conquer a fear that it was all nothing but fancy. He grew very -silent, and his father was alarmed, for he observed that since that -night out of doors Johannes had certainly had something the matter with -him. But Johannes was only pining for Windekind. - -'Can he be less fond of me than I of him?' he murmured, as he stood at -the garret window and looked out over the green and flowery garden. 'Why -is it that he never comes near me now? If I could--but perhaps he has -other friends, and perhaps he loves them more than me. I have no other -friend, not one. I love no one but him! I love him so much--oh so much!' - -Then, against the deep blue sky he saw a flight of six white doves, who -wheeled, flapping their wings, above the roof over his head. It seemed -as though they were moved by one single impulse, so quickly did they -veer and turn all together, as if to enjoy to the utmost the sea of -sunshine and summer air in which they were flying. - -Suddenly they swept down towards Johannes' window in the roof, and -settled with much flapping and fussing on the water-pipe, where they -pattered to and fro with endless cooings. One of them had a red feather -in his wing. He plucked and pulled at it till he had pulled it out, and -then he flew to Johannes and gave it to him. - -Hardly had Johannes taken it in his hand when he felt that he was as -light and swift as one of the doves. He stretched out his arms, the -doves flew up, and Johannes found himself in their midst, in the -spacious free air and glorious sunshine. There was nothing around him -but the pure blue, and the bright shimmer of fluttering white wings. - -They flew across the great garden, towards the wood, where the thick -tree-tops waved in the distance like the swell of a green sea. Johannes -looked down and saw his father through the open window, sitting in the -house-place,--Simon was lying in the window seat with his crossed -forepaws, basking in the sun. - -'I wonder if they see me!' thought he; but he dared not call out to -them. - -Presto was trotting about the garden walks, sniffing at every shrub and -behind every wall, and scratching against the door of every shed or -greenhouse to find his master. - -'Presto, Presto!' cried Johannes. The dog looked up and began to wag his -tail and yelp most dolefully. - -'I am coming back, Presto! only wait,' cried Johannes, but he was too -far away. - -They soared over the wood, and the rooks flew cawing out of the top -branches where they had built their nests. It was high summer, and the -scent of the blossoming limes came up in steamy gusts from the green -wood. - -In an empty nest, at the top of a tall lime-tree, sat Windekind, with -his wreath of bindweed. He nodded to Johannes. - -'There you are! that is good,' said he. 'I sent for you; now we can -remain together for a long time--if you like.' - -'I like it very much,' said Johannes. - -Then he thanked the friendly doves who had brought him hither, and went -down with Windekind into the woods. There it was cool and shady. The -oriole piped his tune, almost always the same, but still a little -different. - -'Poor bird!' said Windekind. 'He was once a bird of Paradise. That you -still may see by his strange yellow feathers; but he was transformed -and turned out of Paradise. There is a word which can restore him to his -former splendid plumage, and open Paradise to him once more; but he has -forgotten the word; and now, day after day, he tries to find his way -back there. He says something like the word, but it is not quite right.' - -Numberless insects glittered like dancing crystals in the sun's rays -where they pierced between the thick leaves. When they listened sharply -they could hear a humming, like a great concert on one string, filling -the whole wood. This was the song of the sunbeams. - -The ground was covered with deep dark-green moss, and Johannes had again -grown so tiny that it appeared to him like another wood on the ground, -beneath the greater wood. What elegant little stems! and how closely -they grew! It was difficult to make a way between them, and the moss -forest seemed terribly large. - -Presently they crossed an ants' track. Hundreds of ants were hurrying up -and down, some dragging chips of wood or little blades of grass in their -jaws. There was such a bustle that Johannes was almost bewildered. - -It was a long time before one of the ants would spare them a word. They -were all too busy. At last they found an old ant who was set to watch -the plant-lice from which the ants get honeydew. As his herd was a very -quiet one he could very well give a little time to the strangers, and -let them see the great nest. It was situated at the foot of an old -tree-trunk, and was very large, with hundreds of passages and cells. The -plant-louse herd led the way, and conducted the visitors into every part -of it, even into the nurseries where the young larvae were creeping out -of their cocoons. Johannes was amazed and delighted. - -The old ant told them that every one was very busy by reason of the -campaign which was immediately at hand. Another colony of ants, dwelling -not far off, was to be attacked by a strong force, their nest destroyed -and the larvae carried off or killed; and as all the strength at their -command must be employed, all the most necessary tasks must be got -through beforehand. - -'What is the campaign about?' said Johannes. 'I do not like fighting.' - -'Nay, nay!' replied the herdsman. 'It is a very grand and praiseworthy -war. You must remember that it is the soldier-ants we are going to -attack; we shall exterminate the race, and that is a very good work.' - -'Then you are not soldier-ants?' - -'Certainly not. What are you thinking about? We are the peace-loving -ants.' - -'What do you mean by that?' - -'Do not you know? Well, I will explain. Once upon a time all ants were -continually fighting, not a day passed without some great battle. Then -there came a good, wise ant, who thought that he should save much sorrow -if he could persuade them all to agree among themselves to fight no -more. But when he said so every one thought him very odd, and for that -reason they proceeded to bite him in pieces. Still, after this, other -ants came who said the same thing, and they too were bitten to pieces. -But at last so many were of this opinion that biting them to pieces was -too hard work for the others. So then they called themselves the -Peaceful Ants, and they did everything which their first teacher had -done, and those who opposed them they, in their turn, bit in pieces. In -this way almost all the ants at the present time have become Peaceful -Ants, and the fragments of the first Peaceful Ant are carefully and -reverently preserved. We have his head--the genuine head. We have -devastated and annihilated twelve other colonies who pretended to have -the True Head. Now there are but four who dare to do so. They call -themselves Peaceful Ants, but in fact they are Fighting Ants by -nature--but we have the True Head, and the Peaceful Ant had but one -head. Now we are going to-morrow to destroy the thirteenth colony. So -you see it is a good work.' - -'Yes, yes,' said Johannes. 'It is very strange!' - -He was in fact a little uneasy, and felt happier when, after thanking -the herd-keeper, they had taken their leave, and were sitting far from -the Ant colony, rocked on the top of a tall grass-stem, under the shade -of a graceful fern. - -'Hooh!' sighed Johannes, 'that was a bloodthirsty and stupid tribe!' - -Windekind laughed, and swung up and down on the grass haulm. - -'Oh!' said he, 'you must not call them stupid. Men go to the ants to get -wisdom.' - -Then Windekind showed Johannes all the wonders of the wood; they flew up -to visit the birds in the tree-tops and in the thick shrubs, went down -into the moles' clever dwellings, and saw the bees' nest in the old -hollow tree. - -At last they came out on an open place surrounded by brushwood. -Honeysuckle grew there in great abundance. Its luxuriant trails climbed -over everything, and the scented flowers peeped from among the greenery. -A swarm of tomtits hopped and fluttered among the leaves with a great -deal of twittering and chirping. - -'Let us stay here a little while,' said Johannes; 'this is splendid.' - -'Very well,' said Windekind. 'And you shall see something very droll.' - -There were blue-bells in the grass. Johannes sat down by one of them and -began to talk with the bees and the butterflies. They were friends of -the blue-bells', so the conversation went on at a great rate. - -What was that? A huge shadow came across the grass, and something like a -white cloud fell down on the blue-bell--Johannes had scarcely time to -get away,--he flew to Windekind who was sitting high up in a honeysuckle -flower. Then he saw that the white cloud was a pocket-handkerchief, and -bump! A sturdy damsel sat down on the handkerchief and on the poor -blue-bell which was under it. - -He had not time to bewail it before the sound of voices and the cracking -of branches filled the glade in the forest. A crowd of men and women -appeared. - -'Now we shall have something to laugh at,' said Windekind. - -The party came on, the ladies with umbrellas in their hands, the men -with tall chimney-pot hats, and almost all in black, completely black. -In the green sunny wood they looked like great, ugly ink-spots on a -beautiful picture. The brushwood was broken down, flowers trodden -underfoot; many white handkerchiefs were spread, and the yielding grass -and patient moss sighed as they were crushed under the weight they had -to bear, fearing much that they might never recover from the blow. The -smoke of cigars curled among the honeysuckle wreaths, and enviously -supplanted the delicate odour of their blossoms. Sharp voices scared the -gleeful tomtits, who, with terrified and indignant piping, took refuge -in the nearest trees. - -One man rose and went to stand on a little mound. He had long light -hair, and a pale face. He said something, and then all the men and women -opened their mouths very wide and began to sing so loud, that the rooks -flew cawing out of their high nests, and the inquisitive little rabbits, -who had come from the sand-hills to see what was going on, ran off in -alarm, and were still running fully a quarter of an hour after they were -safe at home again in the dunes. - -Windekind laughed and fanned away the cigar-smoke with a fern leaf; but -there were tears in Johannes' eyes, though not from the tobacco. - -'Windekind,' said he, 'I want to go. This is all so ugly and so rude.' - -'No, no, we must stay. You will laugh; it will be more amusing.' - -The singing ceased and the pale man began to speak. He shouted hard, -that every one might hear him; but what he said sounded very kind. He -called them all his brothers and sisters, spoke of the glories of nature -and the wonders of creation, of God's sunshine and the dear little birds -and flowers. - -'What is this?' asked Johannes. 'How can he talk of these things? Does -he know you? Is he a friend of yours?' - -Windekind shook his flower-crowned head disdainfully. - -'He does not know me, and the sun and the birds and the flowers even -less. What he says is all lies.' - -The people listened very attentively. The stout lady who sat on the -blue-bell began to cry several times, and wiped her eyes on her skirt, -as she could not get at her handkerchief. - -The pale man said that God had made the sun shine so brightly for the -sake of their meeting here, and Windekind laughed and threw an acorn -down from the thick leaves, which hit the tip of his nose. - -'He shall learn to know better,' said he; 'my father shines for him, -indeed! a fine idea!' - -But the pale man was too much excited to pay any heed to the acorn, -which seemed to have dropped from the sky; he talked a long time, and -the longer the louder. At last he was red and purple in the face, -doubled his fists, and shouted so loud that the leaves quivered and the -grass stems were dismayed, and waved to and fro. When at last he came to -an end they all began to sing again. - -'Well, fie!' said a blackbird, who was listening from the top of a high -tree, 'that is a shocking noise to make! I had rather the cows should -come into our wood. Only listen. Well, for shame!' - -Now the blackbird knows what he is talking about, and has a fine taste -in music. - -After singing, the folks brought all sorts of eatables out of baskets, -boxes and bags. Sheets of paper were spread out; cakes and oranges were -handed round. And bottles and glasses also made their appearance. - -Then Windekind called his allies together, and they began to attack the -feasters. - -A smart frog leaped up into an old maid's lap, flopped on to the bread -she was just about to put into her mouth, and sat there as if amazed at -his own audacity. The lady gave a fearful yell, and stared at the -intruder without daring to stir. This bold beginning soon found -imitators. Green caterpillars crept fearlessly over hats, handkerchiefs -and rolls, inspiring terror and disgust; fat field-spiders let -themselves down on glittering threads into beer glasses, and on to heads -or necks, and a loud shriek always followed their appearance; endless -winged creatures fairly attacked the human beings in the face, -sacrificing their lives for the good cause by throwing themselves on the -food and in the liquor, making them useless by their corpses. Finally -the ants came in innumerable troops and stung the enemy in the most -unexpected places, by hundreds at once. This gave rise to the greatest -consternation and confusion. Men and women alike fled from the long -crushed moss and grass. The poor blue-bell, too, was released in -consequence of a well-directed attack by two ear-wigs on the stout -maiden's legs. The men and women grew desperate; by dancing and leaping -with the most extraordinary gestures, they tried to escape their -persecutors. The pale man stood still for a long time, hitting about -him with a small black stick; but a few audacious tomtits, who were not -above any form of attack, and a wasp, who stung him in the calf through -his black trousers, placed him _hors de combat_. - -Then the sun could no longer keep his countenance, and hid his face -behind a cloud. Large drops of rain fell on the antagonistic parties. It -looked as though the shower had suddenly made a forest of great black -toadstools spring out of the ground. These were the umbrellas, which -were hastily opened. The women turned their skirts over their heads, -thus displaying their white petticoats, white-stockinged legs, and shoes -without heels. Oh, what fun for Windekind! He had to hold on to a -flower-stem to laugh. - -The rain fell more and more heavily; the forest was shrouded in a grey -sparkling veil. Streams of water ran off the umbrellas, tall hats and -black overcoats, which shone like the shell of a water-snail; their -shoes slopped and smacked in the soaking ground. Then the people gave it -up, and dropped off doubtfully in twos and threes, leaving behind them a -litter of papers, empty bottles and orange peel, the hideous relics of -their visit. The open glade in the forest was soon deserted once more, -and ere long nothing was to be heard but the monotonous rush of the -rain. - -'Well, Johannes! now we have seen what men are like. Why do you not -laugh at them?' - -'Oh, Windekind! Are all men like these?' - -'Indeed, there are worse and uglier. Sometimes they shout and rave, and -destroy everything that is pretty or good. They cut down trees and stick -their horrible square houses in their place; they wilfully crush the -flowers, and kill every creature that comes within their reach, merely -for pleasure. In their dwellings, where they crowd one upon another, it -is all dirty and black, and the air is tainted and poisoned by the smell -of smoke. They are complete strangers to nature and their -fellow-creatures. That is why they cut such a foolish, miserable figure -when they come forth to see them.' - -'Oh dear! Windekind, Windekind.' - -'Why do you cry, Johannes? You must not cry because you were born to be -a man. I love you all the same and choose you out of them all. I have -taught you to understand the language of the butterflies and birds, and -the faces of the flowers. The moon knows you, and the good kind earth -regards you as her dearest child. Why should you not be glad since I am -your friend?' - -'You are, Windekind, you are!--still I cannot help crying over men.' - -'Why? You need not remain among them if it vexes you. You can live here -with me, and always keep me company. We will make our home in the -thickest of the wood, in the solitary, sunny downs, or among the reeds -by the pool. I will take you everywhere, down under the water among the -water-plants, in the palaces of the elves and in the earth-spirits' -homes. I will waft you over fields and forests, over strange lands and -seas. I will make the spiders spin fine raiment for you, and give you -wings such as I have. We will live on the scent of flowers, and dance -with the elves in the moonlight. When autumn comes we will follow the -summer, to where the tall palm-trees stand, where gorgeous bunches of -flowers hang from the cliffs, and the dark blue ocean sparkles in the -sun. And I will always tell you fairy tales. Will you like that, -Johannes?' - -'And I shall never live among men any more?' - -'Among men, endless vexations await you, weariness, troubles and sorrow. -Day after day you will toil and sigh under the burden of life. Your -tender soul will be wounded and tortured by their rough ways. You will -be worn and grieved to death. Do you love men more than you love me?' - -'No, no! Windekind, I will stay with you.' - -Now he could prove how much he cared for Windekind. Yes, he would -forsake and forget everybody and everything for his sake: his little -room, and Presto, and his father. He repeated his wish, full of joy and -determination. - -The rain had ceased. A bright smile of sunshine gleamed through the grey -clouds on the wet sparkling leaves, on the drops which hung twinkling -from every twig and blade of grass, and gemmed the spiders' webs spread -among the oak leaves. A filmy mist rose slowly from the moist earth and -hung over the underwood, bringing up a thousand warm, sleepy odours. The -blackbird flew to the topmost bough and sang a short, passionate melody -to the sinking sun--as though he would show what kind of singing -befitted the spot--in the solemn evening stillness, to the soft -accompaniment of falling drops. - -'Is that not more lovely than the noises of men, Johannes? Ah, the -blackbird knows exactly the right thing to sing! Here all is harmony; -you will find none so perfect among men.' - -'What is harmony, Windekind?' - -'It is the same thing as happiness. It is that which all agree in -striving after. Men too, but they do so like children trying to catch a -butterfly. Their stupid efforts are just what scare it away.' - -'And shall I find it with you?' - -'Yes, Johannes. But you must forget men and women. It is a bad beginning -to have been born to be a man; but you are still young. You must put -away from you all remembrance of your human life; among them you would -go astray, and fall into mischief and strife and wretchedness--it would -be with you as it was with the young cockchafer of whom I told you.' - -'What happened to him afterwards?' - -'He saw the beautiful light of which the old chafer spoke; he thought he -could do no better than fly towards it at once. He flew straight into a -room, and into a human hand. For three days he lived in torture; he was -shut up in a cardboard box; they tied a thread to his feet and let him -fly at the end of it; then they untied him, with one wing and one leg -torn off; and at last, helplessly creeping round and round on a carpet, -trying to feel his way back to the garden, a heavy foot crushed him to -death. - -'All the creatures, Johannes, which come out and about at night are just -as much children of the Sun as we are. And although they have never seen -their glorious father, still an obscure remembrance always tempts them -wherever a light is beaming. And thousands of poor creatures of the -darkness find a miserable end through their love for the Sun, from which -they were so long since parted, and to which they have become strangers. -And in the same way a vague and irresistible attraction brings men to -ruin in the false image of that Great Light whence they proceeded, but -which they no longer know.' - -Johannes looked inquiringly into Windekind's eyes, but they were as deep -and mysterious as the dark sky between the stars. - -'Do you mean God?' he timidly asked. - -'God?' There was a soft smile in the deep eyes. 'I know, Johannes, what -you are thinking of when you speak that word,--of the chair by your -bed-side where you knelt to say your long prayers last evening--of the -green serge curtains in front of the church window, which you gaze at by -the hour on Sunday mornings--of the capital letters in your little -Bible--of the church-bag with its long pole--of the stupid singing and -the stuffy atmosphere. All that you mean by the word, Johannes, is a -monstrous, false image. In place of the sun a huge petroleum lamp, to -which thousands and thousands of flies are helplessly and hopelessly -stuck fast!' - -'But what then is the name of that Great Light, Windekind? And to whom -must I pray?' - -'Johannes, it is as though a patch of mould should ask me what was the -name of the earth which bears it round in space. Even if there were any -answer to your question you would no more understand it than an -earthworm can hear the music of the stars. Still, I will teach you to -pray.' - -And while Johannes was still silently wondering over Windekind's reply, -the elf flew out of the wood with him, high up, so high that beyond the -edge of the down a long narrow line was visible, gleaming like gold. -They flew on and on, the undulating sand-hills beneath them gliding -away, and the streak of light growing broader and broader. The green hue -faded, the wild broom was grey and thin, and strange bluish-green plants -grew among the bushes. Then another range of hills--a long narrow strip -of sand--and beyond, the wide unresting sea. - -The vast expanse was blue to the very horizon; but out there, under the -sun, a small streak shone in blinding red fire. An endless fringe of -downy-looking white foam edged the waters, as ermine borders blue -velvet. On the horizon a wonderful, fine line divided the air from the -ocean. It was indeed a marvel; straight yet curved; sharply defined yet -non-existent; visible yet intangible. It was like the vibration of a -harp-string, which thrills dreamily for a long time, seeming to die away -and yet still be there. - -Then little Johannes sat down on the sand-hill and gazed--gazed -long--motionless and silent; till he felt as though he were about to -die,--as though the great golden gates of the Infinite had opened -majestically before him, and his little soul were soaring forth towards -the first light of eternity; until the tears, which welled up to his -wide-open eyes, had dimmed the radiance of the sun, and the splendour of -sky and earth floated off into soft tremulous light. - -'That is the way to pray!' said Windekind. - - - - -V - - -Have you ever loitered in the woods on a fresh autumn day? When the sun -shines calmly and clearly on the richly-tinted foliage; when the boughs -creak, and the dry leaves rustle under foot. The forest seems weary of -life; it can merely think, and lives in its memories of the past. A blue -mist hangs about it like a dream, full of mysterious splendour, and the -glistening gossamers float on the air with slow undulations--a sweet -aimless musing. - -And now from the moist ground among the mosses and withered leaves -suddenly and inexplicably the strange forms of toadstools spring into -being. Some sturdy, deformed and fleshy; others slim and tall with -ringed stems and gaily painted hats. These are the quaint dream-figures -of the forest. On the decayed tree-trunks, too, there are little white -columns in numerable, with black heads as though they had been burnt. -Certain learned men regard them as a sort of fungus. But Johannes knew -better:-- - -'They are little tapers. In the still autumn nights they burn while the -boguey-sprites sit near them, reading their little books.' - -Windekind had told him this one such tranquil autumn day, and Johannes -dreamily drank in the faint earthy smell which came up from the -mouldering ground. - -'How is it that the leaves of the ash-trees are so speckled with black?' - -'Ah! the boguey-sprites do that too,' said Windekind. 'When they have -been busy writing at night, in the morning they throw out what is left -in their ink-bottles over the leaves. They do not love the ash-trees; -crosses are made of ash-wood, and poles for church bags.' - -Johannes was curious to know all about the busy little sprites, and he -made Windekind promise to take him to see one of them. He had now stayed -some time with Windekind, and he was so happy in his new life that he -felt very little regret for his promise to forget all he had left -behind him. And he had no hours of loneliness or terror, when repentance -is always apt to intrude. Windekind never quitted him, and with him he -felt everywhere at home. He slept soundly in the swinging nest, where it -hung between the green reeds, however ominously the bittern might boom -or the raven croak. He knew no fear of the pelting rain or howling -storm--he could creep into a hollow tree or a rabbit's burrow, and hide -close under Windekind's cloak, and listen to his voice as he told him -tales. - -And now he was to see the Wood-Sprites. - -It was a good day for such a visit. So calm, so still, Johannes fancied -he could already hear tiny voices and the rustle of little feet, though -it was mid-day. The birds had almost all fled; only the thrushes were -feasting on the scarlet berries. One was caught in a snare. There he -hung with flapping wings, struggling till his sharp clenched claws were -almost torn away. Johannes made haste to set him free, and he flew off -with a happy chirp. - -The toadstools had a great deal to say. - -'Only look at me!' said a fat puffy Toadstool. - -'Did you ever see the like? See how thick and white my stem is, and how -my hat shines. I am the biggest of you all. And that in one night!' - -'Pooh!' said the red spotted toadstool. 'You are most vulgar!--so brown -and clumsy. Now, I sway on a tall stem like a reed; I am of a splendid -red like the rowan berries, and most elegantly speckled. I am the -handsomest of you all.' - -'Hush!' said Johannes, who knew them both of old. 'You are both -poisonous.' - -'That is a virtue,' said the red fellow. - -'Or are you a man by chance?' retorted the fat toadstool. 'Then indeed I -wish you would eat me.' - -But Johannes did not eat him; he took some dry twigs and stuck them into -his round hat. That looked funny, and all the others laughed; even a -swarm of slender toadstools with little brown heads who had only come up -a few hours since, and pushed themselves everywhere to look out on the -world. The fat toadstool turned blue with spite, thus displaying his -venomous nature. Earth-stars raised their little pert heads on angular -stems. Now and then a little cloud of the finest brown powder puffed -out of the opening in a round head. Wherever that dust fell on the moist -soil, threads would tangle and plait beneath the dark earth, and next -year myriads of fresh stars would come up. - -'What a beautiful existence!' they said to each other. - -'The happiest lot in life is to shed dust. What joy to think we may do -it as long as we live!' And they puffed the little smoke-like cloud into -the air with the deepest concentration. - -'Are they really happy, Windekind?' - -'Why not? What higher joy can they know? They are happy, for they ask no -better because they know no better.' - -When night fell, and the shadows of the trees were merged in uniform -gloom, the mysterious vitality of the forest knew no rest. The branches -snapped and cracked, the dry leaves rustled hither and thither among the -grass and in the underwood. Then Johannes felt the touch of invisible -wings and was aware of the presence of invisible beings. He could -plainly hear the murmur of little voices and tripping of little feet. -There! there in the darkest depth of the thicket, a tiny blue spark -glowed and vanished. There was another and another!--Hark! When he -listened attentively he could hear a rustling in the leaf-strewn floor -near him, close to the black tree-trunk. The blue lights again were -visible and then stood still on the top. - -Now Johannes saw such lights all about him; they flitted among the brown -leaves, dancing along with airy leaping; and in one place a large -sparkling mass beamed like a blue bonfire. - -'What fire is that?' asked Johannes. 'It burns splendidly.' - -'That is a rotten tree-stump,' replied Windekind. - -They went towards a bright light which remained steady. - -'Now I will introduce you to Wistik.[1] He is the oldest and wisest of -the Wood-Sprites. - -As they approached Johannes saw him sitting by his candle. The wrinkled -little face with its grey beard could be plainly seen by the blue light; -he was reading diligently with knitted brows. On his head he wore an -acorn-cup with a tiny feather in it. Before him sat a wood-spider -listening to his reading. - -When the pair went near him, the little boguey, without raising his -head, looked up from his book and lifted his eyebrows. - -The spider crept away. - -'Good-evening,' said he. 'I am Wistik. Who are you?' - -'My name is Johannes. I should like to make acquaintance with you. What -are you reading?' - -'It is not meant for your ears,' said Wistik. 'It is only for -wood-spiders.' - -'Just let me once look at it, dear Wistik,' begged Johannes. - -'I cannot. This is the sacred book of the spiders, and is in my charge. -I may not let it out of my own hands. I have the keeping of the sacred -books of the snails, and the butterflies, and the hedge-hogs, and the -moles, and all the creatures that live here. They cannot all read, and -when they want to know anything I read it to them. This is a great -honour for me, a post of trust, you understand.' - -The sprite nodded very gravely several times, and pointed with his tiny -forefinger. - -'And what were you studying just now?' - -'The history of Kribbelgauw, the great hero among spiders, who lived -very long ago and had a net which spread over three trees, and in which -he caught millions of flies every day. Before the time of Kribbelgauw -spiders made no nets, but lived on grass and dead creatures; but -Kribbelgauw was a very clever fellow, and proved that all living insects -were created on purpose for food for spiders. Then, by the most -laborious calculation, Kribbelgauw discovered the art of making nets, -for he was very learned. And to this day the wood-spiders make their -nets exactly as he taught them, thread for thread, only much smaller. -For the spider race is greatly degenerate. Kribbelgauw caught great -birds in his net, and murdered thousands of his own children--he was -something like a spider! At last there came a great storm and carried -away Kribbelgauw and his net, with the three trees it was made fast to, -through the air to a distant wood, where he is now perpetually honoured -for his great achievements and sagacity.' - -'Is that all true?' asked Johannes. - -'It is all in this book,' said Wistik. - -'Do you believe it?' - -The boguey shut one eye and laid his forefinger to his nose. - -'The sacred books of other creatures, when they mention Kribbelgauw, -speak of him as a hateful and contemptible monster. But that is no -concern of mine.' - -'And is there a Sprites' Book, Wistik?' - -Wistik looked at Johannes rather suspiciously. - -'What sort of creature are you really, Johannes? There is -something--just something--human about you, so to speak.' - -'No, no; be easy, Wistik,' said Windekind, 'we are elves. But formerly -Johannes saw a good deal of men and their doings. You may trust him -entirely. It can do him no harm.' - -'Ay, ay, well and good. But I am called the wisest of the sprites--and I -studied long and hard before I knew what I know. So now I must be -cautious with my learning. If I tell you too much, I shall lose my -reputation.' - -'But in what book do you think that the truth is to be found?' - -'I have read a great deal, but I do not believe that I have ever read -that book. It is not the Elves' Book nor the Sprites'. Yet it must -exist.' - -'The Men's Book perhaps?' - -'That I do not know, but I do not think it. For the True Book must bring -with it great peace and great happiness. In it there must be an exact -explanation of why everything is as it is, so that no one need ever ask -or inquire any more. Now men, I believe, have not got so far as that.' - -'Oh dear, no!' said Windekind, laughing. - -'Is there anywhere such a book?' said Johannes eagerly. - -'Yes, yes,' whispered the sprite. 'I know there is, from very ancient -legends. And--hush!--I know where it is, and who can find it.' - -'Oh, Wistik! Wistik!' - -'Why then have you not yet got it?' asked Windekind. - -'Patience, patience,--it will be found. I know as yet no -particulars,--but I shall soon find it. I have toiled for it and sought -it all my life. For to him who finds it life shall be one perpetual -autumn day--blue air above and blue mists all round,--only no falling -leaves shall rustle, no twigs shall snap, no raindrops patter, the -shadows shall not change, the sun-gold on the tree-tops shall not fade. -What seems to us now to be light shall be darkness; what seems to us now -to be joy shall be woe by comparison, to those who read that book! Ay! I -know this much, and some day I shall find it.' - -The Wood-Sprite raised his eyebrows very much and laid his finger on his -lips. - -'Wistik, if you could but teach me----' Johannes began; but before he -could say more he felt a strong gust of wind and saw a great, broad -black shroud overhead, which silently and swiftly swept by. When he -looked for Wistik again he saw one little foot just vanishing into the -hollow tree. Whisk! the sprite had leapt into his cave, book and all. -The candles burnt paler and paler and suddenly went out. Those were very -strange little candles. - -'What was that?' asked Johannes, clinging in terror to Windekind in the -darkness. - -'An owl,' said Windekind. Then they were both silent for some time. -Presently Johannes said:-- - -'Do you believe what Wistik said?' - -'Wistik is not so wise as he thinks himself. He will never find such a -book, nor you either.' - -'But does it exist?' - -'It exists, as your shadow exists, Johannes. However fast you run, -however cautiously you seize it, you can never overtake it or hold it. -And at last you discover that you are trying to catch yourself. Do not -be foolish; forget the sprite's chatter. I can tell you a hundred finer -tales. Come along! We will go to the outskirts of the wood and see how -our good father draws off the white woollen coverlets of dew from the -sleeping meadows. Come.' - -Johannes went; but he did not understand Windekind's words, nor did he -follow his counsel. And while he watched the dawn of the glorious autumn -morning, he was meditating over the book in which it is written why -everything is as it is, and repeating to himself in a low tone, -'Wistik!' - - - - -VI - - -It seemed to him, all the next few days, as though it was no longer so -delightful or so beautiful to be with Windekind in the wood or on the -sand-hills. His thoughts were no onger wholly occupied with all that -Windekind told him or showed him. He could not help thinking of that -Book, but he dared not speak of it. The things he saw seemed to him less -fine and wonderful than before. The clouds were so black and heavy, he -was afraid lest they should fall upon him. It distressed him when the -unresting autumn wind shook and bowed the poor weary trees, so that the -sallow under side of the leaves was seen, and yellow leaves and dry -twigs were swept before the gale. - -What Windekind told him had ceased to interest him. A great deal of it -he did not understand, and he never got a perfectly clear and -satisfactory answer when he asked one of his old questions. - -And this again made him think of that Book in which everything was set -forth so plainly and simply; and of that everlasting still and sunny -autumn day which would ensue. - -'Wistik! Wistik!' he murmured. - -Windekind heard him. - -'Johannes, I am afraid you ought to have remained a human being. Even -your friendship is as that of men--the first person who has spoken to -you after me has won all your confidence from me. Ah! my mother was -right after all!' - -'No, Windekind. But you are much wiser than Wistik--as wise as that -Book. Why do you not tell me everything? See now! Why does the wind blow -through the trees so that they bend and bow? Look, they can bear it no -longer; the boughs snap and the leaves are flying by hundreds on all -sides, though they are still green and fresh. They are so tired they can -no longer hold on, and yet they are constantly shaken and thrashed by -the rude, spiteful wind. Why is it so? What does the wind mean?' - -'My poor Johannes, you are talking as men talk.' - -'Make it stop, Windekind. I want calm and sunshine.' - -'You question and want as a man; there is no answer, no fulfilment. If -you cannot learn to ask or wish better, the autumn day will never dawn -for you, and you will be like the thousands of human beings who have -talked to Wistik.' - -'What, so many?' - -'Yes, thousands. Wistik affects great mystery, but he is a chatterbox -who cannot keep his own secrets. He hoped to find the Book among men, -and communicates his knowledge to every one who might be able to help -him. And he has made many as unhappy as himself. They believe in him, -and go forth to seek the Book with as much zeal as some use in seeking -the art of making gold. They sacrifice everything, give up their calling -and their happiness, and shut themselves up among big volumes or strange -matters and instruments. They risk their lives and health, they forget -the blue sky and kindly gentle Nature--nay, even their fellow-creatures. -Some find good and useful things, as it were gold nuggets, which they -throw out of their holes on to the bright sunlit surface of the earth; -but they do not themselves care for these; they leave them for others to -enjoy, while they dig and grub on in the dark without cessation or rest. -They are not seeking gold but the Book. Some lose their wits over the -work, forgetting their object and aim, and becoming mere miserable -dotards. The sprite has made them quite childish. You may see them -building up little castles of sand, and calculating how many grains more -are needed to make them fall in; they make little watercourses, and -estimate precisely the bends and bays the water will make; they dig -trenches, and devote all their patience and reason to making them very -smooth and free from stones. If these poor idiots are interrupted in -their work and asked what they are doing, they look up with great -importance, shake their heads and mutter, 'Wistik, Wistik!' Yes, it is -all the fault of that little foolish Wood-Sprite. Have nothing to say to -him, Johannes.' - -But Johannes stared before him at the swaying, creaking trees. The -smooth brow above his clear childish eyes puckered into furrows. He had -never before looked so grave. - -'And yet--you yourself said--that there is such a Book! And oh! I am -quite sure that in it there is all about the Great Light, whose name you -will not tell me.' - -'Poor, poor little Johannes!' said Windekind, and his voice rose above -the dizzy clamour of the storm like a peaceful hymn, sounding very far -away. 'Love me, only love me with all your might. In me, you will find -even more than you wish. You shall understand that which you cannot -conceive of, and be, yourself, what you desire to know. Earth and heaven -shall be familiar to you, the stars shall be your neighbours, infinitude -shall be your dwelling-place. Love me! only love me! Cling to me as the -hop-bine to the tree, be true to me as the lake is to its bed--in me -alone shall you find rest, Johannes.' - -Windekind ceased speaking, but the choral psalm still went on. It seemed -to float at an immense distance, in solemn rhythm, through the raging -and sighing of the wind--as tranquil as the moonlight shining between -the driving clouds. Windekind opened his arms and Johannes fell asleep -on his breast, under the shelter of the blue cloak. - -But in the night he awoke. Peace had suddenly and imperceptibly fallen -on the world; the moon was below the horizon; the leaves hung limp and -motionless; the forest was full of silence and darkness. - -And questions came back on Johannes' mind, in swift spectral succession, -dislodging all his newly-born confidence. Why were men thus made? Why -must he come away from them and lose their love? Why must the winter -come? Why must the leaves fall and the flowers die? Why--why? - -Down in the thicket the blue lights were dancing again. They came and -went. Johannes gazed at them with eager attention. He saw the larger, -brighter light shining on the dark tree-trunk. Windekind was sleeping -soundly and peacefully. - -'Just one more question!' thought Johannes, creeping out from under the -blue mantle. - - * * * * * - -'So, here you are again!' cried Wistik, with a friendly nod, 'I am very -pleased to see you. And where is your friend?' - -'Out yonder. But I wanted to ask you one more question--alone. Will you -answer it?' - -'You have lived among men, I am sure. Has it anything to do with my -secret?' - -'Who will find the Book, Wistik?' - -'Ay, ay! That's it, that's it. If I tell you, will you help me?' - -'If I can--certainly.' - -'Then listen, Johannes.' Wistik opened his eyes astonishingly wide, and -raised his eyebrows higher than ever. Then he whispered behind his -little hand. 'Men have the golden casket; elves have the golden key; the -foe of the elves can never find it, the friend of men alone can open it. -The first night of Spring is the right time, and Robin Redbreast knows -the way.' - -'Is that true, quite true?' cried Johannes, remembering his little key. - -'Yes,' said Wistik. - -'How is it that no one has found it yet?' asked Johannes, 'so many men -are seeking for it.' - -'I have never confided to any man, never to any man, what I have told -you. I never before knew a friend of the Elves.' - -'I have it, Wistik, I can help you!' Johannes leaped and clapped his -hands. 'I will ask Windekind about it.' - -Away he flew over the moss and dry leaves. But he stumbled now and then -and his feet were heavy. Stout twigs snapped under his tread, while -before, it had not even bent the blades of grass. There was the shady -fern under which they had been sleeping. Their bed was empty. - -'Windekind!' he called. But he started at the sound of his own voice. -'Windekind!' It sounded like a human voice. - -A scared night-bird flew up with a shriek. - -There was no one under the fern. Johannes could see no one. The blue -lights had vanished. It was very cold and perfectly dark on all sides. -Overhead, he saw the black tree-tops against the starry sky. - -Once more he called. Then he dared no more; his voice was an insult to -the silence, and Windekind's name a mockery. Poor Johannes fell on the -ground and sobbed in helpless grief. - - -[Footnote 1: 'Wistik' means, Could I but know.] - - - - -VII - - -The morning was cold and grey. The black shining boughs, swept bare by -the storm, dripped in the fog. Little Johannes ran as fast as he could -over the wet, down-beaten grass, looking before him in the distance -where the wood was thinnest, as though he had some goal beyond. His eyes -were red with crying, and dazed with fear and grief. He had been -wandering about all night, seeking some light,--the feeling of being -safe and at home had vanished with Windekind. The spirit of loneliness -lurked in every dark corner; he dared not look round. - -At last he came out of the wood; he looked over a meadowland, and fine -close rain was pouring steadily. A horse was standing out in the rain -close to a bare willow tree. It stood motionless, with bowed head, and -the water trickled slowly off its shining flanks and plaited mane. -Johannes ran on, along the skirt of the wood. He looked with dim, timid -eyes at the lonely beast, and the grey drizzle, and he softly groaned. - -'Now it is all over,' thought he. 'Now the sun will never come again. -Now everything will always look the same to me as it does here.' - -But he dared not stand still in his despair; something most dreadful -would befall him, he thought. Then he espied the high wall of a garden, -and a little house, under a lime-tree with faded yellow leaves. He went -into the enclosure and ran along broad paths where the brown and gold -lime-leaves thickly covered the ground. Purple asters and other gay -autumn flowers grew by the grass plots in wild abundance. Then he came -to a pond. By the side of it was a large house, with windows and doors -all opening down to the ground. Climbing roses and other creepers grew -against the walls. But it was all shut up and deserted. Half-stripped -chestnut trees stood about the house, and on the earth, among the fallen -leaves Johannes saw the shining brown chestnuts. - -The cold, dead feeling about his heart disappeared. He thought of his -own home--there two chestnut-trees grew, and at this season he always -went out to pick up chestnuts. He suddenly longed to be there, as though -an inviting voice had called him. He sat down on a bench close to the -big house and cried himself to rest. - -A peculiar smell made him look up. A man was standing by him, with a -white apron on and a pipe in his mouth. Round his waist he had a wisp of -bast with which he tied up the flowers. Johannes knew that smell so -well! It reminded him of his own garden, and the gardener who brought -him pretty caterpillars and showed him starling's eggs. - -He was not frightened,--though it was a man who stood before him. He -told the man that he had got lost and did not know his way, and -thankfully followed him to the little cottage under the lime-tree. - -Indoors, the gardener's wife sat knitting black stockings. A large -kettle of water was hung to boil over the turf-fire in the hearth-place. -On the mat by the fire lay a cat with her forepaws crossed, just as -Simon had been lying when Johannes left home. - -Johannes was made to sit down by the fire to dry his feet. 'Tick-tick, -tick-tick,' said the great hanging clock. Johannes looked at the steam -which came singing out of the kettle, and at the little flames which -skipped and jumped fantastically about the peat blocks. - -'Here I am among men,' thought he. - -It was not alarming. He felt easy and safe. They were kind and friendly, -and asked him what he would like to do. - -'I would rather stay here,' he replied. - -Here he was at peace, and if he went home there would be scolding and -tears. He would have to listen in silence, and he would be told that he -had been very naughty. He would be obliged to look back on the past, and -think everything over once more. - -He longed, to be sure, for his little room, for his father, for -Presto--but he could better endure the quiet longing for them here than -the painful, miserable meeting. And he felt as though here he could -still think of Windekind, while at home he could not. Windekind was now -certainly quite gone. Gone far away to the sunny land where palm-trees -bend over the blue sea. He would do penance here and await his friend's -return. - -So he begged the two good folks to let him live with them. He would be -obedient and work for them. He would help to take care of the garden and -the flowers, at any rate through this winter; for he hoped in his heart -that Windekind would return with the Spring. - -The gardener and his wife supposed that Johannes had run away from home -because he had been hardly treated. They pitied him, and promised to let -him stay. So he remained and helped to work in the garden and attend to -the flowers. They gave him a little room to sleep in with a bedstead -painted blue. Out of it, in the morning, he could see the wet yellow -lime-leaves flutter past the window, and at night the black boughs -waving to and fro, and the stars playing hide-and-seek between them. And -he gave names to the stars, and the brightest of them he called -Windekind. - -He told his history only to the flowers, most of which he had known -before at home; to the large, solemn asters, the many-hued zinnias, and -the white chrysanthemums which bloom on so late into the blustering -autumn. When all the rest of the flowers were dead the chrysanthemums -still stood upright--even when one morning the first snow had fallen and -Johannes came to see how they were getting on, they held up their -cheerful faces and said: 'Yes, we are still here. You would never have -thought it!' And they looked very brave; but two days later they were -all dead. - -But palms and tree-ferns were still thriving in the hot-house, and the -strange blossoms of orchids hung in the damp heat. Johannes peeped with -amazement into their gorgeous cups, and thought of Windekind. How cold -and colourless everything seemed then when he came out again--the sloppy -snow with black footmarks, and the sighing, dripping branches of the -trees! - -But when the snow-flakes had been noiselessly falling hour after hour so -that the boughs bent under the growing burthen, Johannes ran off -gleefully into the purple twilight of the snow-laden wood. That was -silence--but not death. It was almost more lovely than summer verdure, -as the dazzling whiteness of the tangled twigs made lace-work against -the light-blue sky, or as one of the over-weighted boughs shook off its -load of snow, which fell in a cloud of glittering powder. - -Once in the course of such a walk, when he had gone so far that all -round him there was nothing to be seen but snow and snow-wrapped woods, -half white and half black, and every sound of life seemed stifled under -the glistening downy shroud, it happened that he thought he saw a tiny -white creature running swiftly in front of him. He followed it--it -resembled no animal that he knew; but when he tried to catch it, it -promptly vanished into a hollow trunk. Johannes stared into the hole -where it had disappeared and thought to himself: 'I wonder if it was -Wistik?' - -But he did not think much about him. He fancied it was wrong, and he -would not spoil his fit of repentance. And his life with these two kind -people left him little to ask for. In the evenings he had indeed to read -aloud out of a thick book in which a great deal was said about God; but -he was familiar with the book, and read unheeding. - -That night, however, after his walk in the snow, he lay awake in his -bed, looking at the cold gleam of the moonlight on the floor. All at -once he saw two tiny hands which came out from below the bedstead and -firmly clutched the edge. Then the top of a little white fur cap came -into sight between the two hands, and at last he saw a pair of grave -eyes under uplifted eyebrows. - -'Good-evening, Johannes!' said Wistik. 'I am come to remind you of your -promise. You cannot yet have found the Book, for it is not yet Spring -time. But do you ever think it over? What is that thick book which you -are made to read? But that cannot be the right book. Do not imagine -that.' - -'I do not imagine that, Wistik,' said Johannes. - -He turned over to go to sleep again; but he could not get the gold key -out of his head. Before now, when reading the big Book, he had thought -of that, and he saw plainly that it could not be the right Book. - - - - -VIII - - -'Now he will come back,' thought Johannes, the first time the snow had -melted here and there, and the snowdrops peeped out in bunches. 'Will he -come now?' he asked of the snowdrops. But they did not know, and stood -there with hanging heads, looking down at the earth as if they were -ashamed of their haste to come out, and would gladly creep back again. - -If only they could have done so! The numbing east wind soon began to -blow again, and the snow drifted deep over the foolish, forward little -things. Some weeks later came the violets; their sweet smell betrayed -them among the brushwood; and when the sun had shone warmly on the mossy -ground the pale primroses came out by hundreds and thousands. - -The shy violets with their fine fragrance were the mysterious harbingers -of coming splendour, but the glad primroses were the glorious reality. -The waking earth had caught and captured the first sunbeams and turned -them into a golden jewel. - -'Now--now he will certainly come!' thought Johannes. He eagerly watched -the leaf-buds on the trees as they slowly swelled day by day and freed -themselves from the bark, till the first pale-green tips peeped out -between the brown scales. Johannes would stand gazing for long at the -little young leaves--he could never see them move, but if he only turned -round, they seemed to have grown bigger. 'They dare not, so long as I am -looking at them,' thought he. - -The shade had already begun to be green. Still Windekind did not come, -no dove had settled near him, no little mouse had spoken to him. When he -spoke to the flowers they merely nodded and never answered. - -'My punishment is not yet ended,' thought he. - -One sunny spring morning he went to the pond by the great house. The -windows were all wide open. Had the people who lived there come back? - -The bird-cherry which grew by the water-side was entirely covered with -fresh leaves; every twig had a crop of delicate green winglets. On the -grass by the tree lay a young girl; Johannes could only see that she had -a light-blue dress and fair hair. A robin, sitting on her shoulder, fed -out of her hand. She suddenly turned her head and looked at Johannes. - -'Good-day, little man!' said she, with a friendly nod. - -Johannes felt a glow from head to foot. Those were Windekind's eyes; -that was Windekind's voice. - -'Who are you?' he asked. His lips trembled with excitement. - -'I am Robinetta, and this is my bird. He will not be afraid of you. Are -you fond of birds?' - -The Redbreast was not afraid of Johannes; it flew on to his arm. This -was just as it used to be. The being in blue must be Windekind. - -'And tell me what your name is, boy,' said Windekind's voice. - -'Do you not know me? Do you not know that my name is Johannes?' - -'How should I know that?' - -What did this mean? For it was the sweet familiar voice, and those were -the same dark, heavenly-deep blue eyes. - -'Why do you look at me so, Johannes? Have you ever seen me before?' - -'Yes I have, indeed.' - -'You must surely have dreamed it.' - -'Dreamed it?' thought Johannes. 'Can I have dreamed it? Or can I be -dreaming now?' - -'Where were you born?' he inquired. - -'A long way from hence, in a great town.' - -'Among human beings?' - -Robinetta laughed--it was Windekind's laugh. 'Why, I should think so. -Were not you?' - -'Oh yes, I was too.' - -'Do you object to that? Do you not like human beings?' - -'No. Who could?' - -'Who?--Well, Johannes, you are a very strange little boy. Do you like -beasts better?' - -'Oh, much better,--and flowers.' - -'So do I myself sometimes; just for once in a while. But it is not -right. We ought to love our fellow-men, my father says.' - -'Why is it not right? I love whom I choose, whether it is right or not.' - -'Fie, Johannes! Have you no parents or any one to take care of you? And -do you not love them?' - -'Yes,' said Johannes thoughtfully, 'I love my father. But not because it -is right--nor yet because he is a man.' - -'Why then?' - -'That I do not know,--because he is not like other men; because he too -is fond of birds and flowers.' - -'And so am I, Johannes, as you may see.' And Robinetta called the robin -to sit on her hand and talked to him fondly. - -'That I know,' replied Johannes, 'and I love you very much.' - -'Already? That is quick work!' laughed the girl. 'And whom, then, do you -love best?' - -Johannes hesitated. Should he utter Windekind's name? The fear that he -might accidentally speak it in the presence of other persons was never -out of his thoughts. And yet, was not this fair-haired creature in blue -Windekind in person? How else could she give him such a sense of rest -and gladness? - -'You,' he suddenly replied, looking full into those deep blue eyes. He -boldly made a complete surrender; but he was a little alarmed -nevertheless, and anxiously awaited her reception of his precious -offering. - -Robinetta laughed again, a light clear laugh; but she took his hand and -her look was no colder nor her voice less full of feeling. - -'Why, Johannes,' said she, 'what have I done to deserve it all at once?' - -Johannes made no reply, but stood looking at her with trustful eyes. -Robinetta rose and laid her arm on his shoulder. She was taller than he. -Thus they wandered on through the wood, gathering great bunches of -cowslips till they could have hidden under the mass of bright yellow -blossoms. The robin flew, as they went on, from branch to branch, and -watched them with his glittering little black eyes. - -They did not talk much, but looked at each other now and then, with a -side glance. They were both embarrassed by this meeting and did not know -what to think of each other. - -But Robinetta had soon to turn back. It was growing late. - -'I must go now, Johannes. But will you come and walk with me again? I -think you are a nice little boy,' she said as they turned round. - -'Weet, weet!' piped the robin, and flew after her. - -When she was away and he had only her image left to think of, he had not -a moment's doubt as to who she was. She it was to whom he had given his -friendship: the name of Windekind faded from his mind, and that of -Robinetta took its place. - -And now everything was the same to him again as it had formerly been. -The flowers nodded gaily, and their scent drove away the melancholy -home-sickness which he had felt and encouraged now and then. Amid the -tender greenery, in the warm, soft breeze of spring, he all at once felt -himself at home, like a bird that has found its nest. He spread out his -arms and drew a deep breath; he was so happy. As he went homewards the -figure in light blue with yellow hair, floated before him whichever way -he turned his gaze. It was as though he had looked on the sun, and its -image danced before his eyes where-ever he looked. - -From that day forward Johannes found his way to the pond every fine -morning. He went early, as soon as he was roused by the squabbling of -the sparrows in the ivy round his window, and by the twitter and wheeze -of the starlings as they fluttered on the roof and wheeled in the early -sunshine. Then he flew off through the dewy grass, to wait close by the -house, behind a lilac-bush, till he heard the glass door open and saw -the light figure come out. - -Away they went, wandering through the wood and over the sand-hills which -skirted it. They talked of all they saw, the trees, and the plants and -the downs. Johannes had a strange bewildered feeling as he walked by her -side; sometimes he felt so light that he fancied he could fly through -the air. But that never happened. He told her all the stories of the -flowers and animals that he had heard from Windekind. But he had -forgotten who had told them to him, and Windekind did not now stand -before him, only Robinetta. He was happy when she smiled at Mm and he -saw her friendship for him in her eyes; and he would talk to her as of -old he had talked to his little dog, telling her everything that came -into his head, without reserve or timidity. During the hours when he -could not see her he thought of her; and in everything he did he asked -himself whether Robinetta would think it right or nice. She herself -seemed no less pleased to see him; she smiled and ran quicker to meet -him. She told him indeed that there was no one she was so glad to walk -with as with him. - -'But, Johannes,' said she one day, 'how do you know all these things? -How do you know what the cockchafers think about, what the thrushes -sing, what the inside of the rabbit-holes is like, and how things look -at the bottom of the water?' - -'I have been told,' answered Johannes, 'and I have myself been inside a -rabbit-burrow, and down to the bottom of the water.' - -Robinetta knit her pretty eyebrows and looked at him half mockingly. -But he looked as if he were speaking the truth. They were sitting under -lilac-trees covered with large bunches of purple blossoms. In front of -them was the pond with its reeds and duck-weed. They saw the black -water-snails gliding below the surface, and red spiders busily swinging -up and down. It was swarming with life and movement. Johannes, lost in -remembrance, gazed down into the depths and said-- - -'I went down there once. I slipped down a reed to the very bottom. It is -covered all over with dead leaves which fall so lightly and softly. It -is always twilight there--green twilight, because the light comes -through the green duck-weed. And over my head I saw the long white -rootlets of the duck-weed hanging down. Newts came and swam round me; -they are very inquisitive. It is strange to see such great creatures -swimming overhead; and I could not see far before me, it was too dark, -and all green. In that darkness, the creatures appeared like black -shades. Water-snails with their swimming-foot and flat shells, and -sometimes a little fish. I went a long way, for hours, I believe, and in -the middle was a great forest of water-plants, where snails were -creeping and water-spiders wove their glistening nets. Sticklebacks shot -in and out, and sometimes paused to stare at me, with open mouth and -quivering fins--they were so much astonished. I made friends there with -an eel, whose tail I unfortunately trod on. He told me the history of -his travels; he had been as far as the sea, he said. For this, he had -been chosen king of the pool, for no one else had ever been so far. He -always lay sleeping in the mud, except when he got something to eat -which the others brought him. He ate a terrible quantity. That was -because he was king; they like to have a very fat king; it looks grand. -Oh! it was lovely down in that pool.' - -'They why do you not go down there again now?' - -'Now?' repeated Johannes, looking at her with wide, bewildered eyes. -'Now? I can never go again now. I should be drowned. But I do not care. -I had rather stay here, by the lilac-bush, with you.' - -Robinetta shook her yellow head, much puzzled, and stroked Johannes's -hair. Then she looked at her bird, which seemed to be finding all sorts -of delicious morsels by the edge of the pond. It glanced up at that -moment, and watched the pair for a moment with its bright little eyes. - -'Do you understand anything of all this, Dicky-bird?' - -The Robin looked very knowing and went on hunting and pecking. - -'Tell me something more, Johannes, of the things you have seen.' - -This Johannes was very glad to do, and Robinetta listened with attentive -belief in all he said. - -'But where did this all happen? Why cannot you go now with me? -Everywhere--all about? I should like it so much.' - -Johannes did his best to remember, but a sunlit mist covered the dim -landscape where he had once wandered. He could not quite make out how it -was that his former happiness had deserted him. - -'I do not know exactly--you must not ask about that. A foolish little -being spoiled it all. But it is all right now--better even than before.' - -The scent of the lilac poured down on them from the bushes, and the -humming of the insects on the pool, and the peaceful sunshine filled -them with pleasant drowsiness, till a bell rang at the great house with -a swinging clang, and Robinetta flew off. - -When Johannes went into his little room that evening, as he looked at -the moon-shadows of the ivy leaves which stole across the brick floor, -he fancied he heard a tap at the window. He thought it was an ivy leaf -shaken by the wind. But it was such a distinct knocking, three taps each -time, that Johannes softly opened the window and cautiously peeped out. -The ivy against the wall glistened in the blue gleam--the dark world -below was full of mystery; there were hollows and caves, where the moon -lighted up small blue sparks, which made the darkness behind seem deeper -still. After staring for a long time into the marvels of the -shadow-world, Johannes discerned the form of a tiny mannikin, close to -the window, screened by a large ivy leaf. He at once recognised Wistik -by his large wondering eyes and uplifted eyebrows. The moon had set a -spark of light on the tip of Wistik's long nose. - -'Have you forgotten me, Johannes? Why do you never think of me? It is -the right time of year. Have you asked Robin Redbreast to show you the -way?' - -'Oh, Wistik, why should I ask? I have all I can wish for. I have -Robinetta.' - -'But that cannot last long. And you might be happier still--and -certainly Robinetta might. And is the little key to lie there? Only -think how splendid it would be if you two were to find the Book! Ask -Robin Redbreast about it, and I will help as far as I can.' - -'I can ask about it at any rate,' said Johannes. - -Wistik nodded, and nimbly scrambled down to the ground; and Johannes -looked at the deep shadows and the shining ivy leaves for a long time -before he went to bed. - -Next day he asked the Redbreast whether he knew the way to the golden -chest. Robinetta listened in surprise. Johannes saw the Robin nod his -head and give a side-glance at Robinetta. - -'Not here! not here!' piped the little bird. - -'What are you asking, Johannes?' said Robinetta. - -'Do you know anything about it, Robinetta? Do you know where it is to be -found? Are you not waiting for the little golden key?' - -'No, no. Tell me, what is it?' - -Johannes told her all he knew about the Book. 'And I have the key, and I -thought that you must have the little golden chest. Is it not so, -Dicky-bird?' - -But the bird pretended not to hear, and flew about among the young -pale-green birch boughs. They were sitting under a sand-hill, on which -little birches and broom shrubs grew. A grassy path ran up the slope, -and they sat at the edge of it, on the thick, dark, green moss. They -could see over the tops of the low shrubs, a green sea of leaves with -waves in light and shade. - -'I believe,' said Robinetta, after thinking for some time, 'that I can -find what you want before you do. But what do you mean about the little -key? How did you come by it?' - -'Ah!--how did I?--How was that?' muttered Johannes to himself, staring -across the green landscape into the distance. - -Suddenly, as though they had come into being under the sunny blue sky, a -pair of white butterflies met his sight. They flitted and wheeled, and -shone in the sunshine with purposeless giddy flutterings; but they came -close to him. - -'Windekind! Windekind!' The name came back to Johannes, and he spoke it -in a whisper. - -'What is Windekind?' asked Robinetta. The Redbreast flew chirping up, -and the daisies in the grass at their feet seemed all at once to be -staring at Johannes in alarm with their round white eyes. - -'Did he give you the little key?' the girl went on. - -Johannes nodded; still he said nothing, but she wanted to know more -about it. - -'Who was it? Did he tell you all these things? Where is he?' - -'He is gone.--Now it is Robinetta--no one but Robinetta--only -Robinetta.' - -He took her arm and laid his head against it. - -'Silly boy!' she said, laughing, 'I will make you find the Book; I know -where it is.' - -'But then I must go to fetch the key, and it is a long way off.' - -'No, no, you need not. I can find it without the key.--To-morrow, I -promise you, to-morrow.' - -And as they walked homewards, the butterflies flitted in front of them. - -That night, Johannes dreamed of his father, of Robinetta, and of many -others. They were all good friends; they stood round him and looked at -him kindly and trustfully. But on a sudden, their faces were changed, -they looked coldly and laughed at him. He gazed about him in terror--on -all sides there were none but angry, unfriendly faces. He felt a -nameless misery, and awoke with a cry. - - - - -IX - - -Johannes had sat waiting for a long time. The air was chill, and heavy -clouds swept over the scene in endless succession. They spread a dark -grey mantle in wide folds, and lifted their proud heads to the bright -light which shone above them. Sunshine and shadow chased each other with -wonderful swiftness across the trees, like a fitfully blazing fire. -Johannes was uneasy in his mind; he was thinking of the Book, not really -believing that he should ever find it. Between the clouds very, very -high up, he saw the clear, deep blue strewn with fleecy white clouds, -soft and feathery, floating in calm and motionless rest. - -'It must be like that!' thought he. 'So high, so bright, so still!' - -Then came Robinetta. Her bird was not with her. - -'It is all right, Johannes!' she cried out. 'You may come and see the -Book.' - -'Where is Robin Redbreast?' said Johannes doubtfully. - -'He did not come; as we are not going for a walk.' - -So he went with her, still thinking to himself: 'It cannot be.--It will -not be like this,--it must be quite different.' However, he followed the -shining golden hair which lighted up the way. - - * * * * * - -Alas! Sad things now befell little Johannes. I wish that his history -ended here. Did you ever have a beautiful dream of an enchanted garden, -with flowers and beasts who loved you and talked to you? And have you in -your dream had the consciousness that you would presently awake, and all -the glory of it vanish? Then you try with all your might to hold it -fast, and not to see the cold light of morning. - -Johannes had just such a feeling as he followed Robinetta. - -She led him into the big house, into a passage where his steps echoed. -He could smell the scent of clothes and food; he thought of the long -days when he had been kept indoors--of his school-days--and of -everything in his life which had been cold and gloomy. - -They went into a room full of men and women; how many, he could not see. -They were talking, but as he went in they were silent. He noticed that -the carpet had a pattern of huge, impossible flowers in gaudy colours. -They were as strange and monstrous as those on the curtains in his -bedroom at home. - -'So that is the gardener's little boy?' said a voice opposite him. 'Come -here, my little friend; there is nothing to be afraid of.' - -And another voice close to him said-- - -'Well, Robbie, you have found a nice little companion.' - -What did it all mean? The deep lines gathered again above Johannes's -dark childlike eyes, and he looked about him in bewilderment and alarm. -A man dressed in black sat near him, looking at him with cold, grey -eyes. - -'So you want to see the Book of Books? I am surprised that your father, -whom I know for a pious man, should not have put it into your hands -before now.' - -'You do not know my father; he is far, far away.' - -'Indeed! Well, it is the same thing. Look here, my little friend! Read -this diligently; it shall show you the way of life----' - -But Johannes had already recognised the Book. This was not what he -wanted. No, something very different. He shook his head. - -'No, no! that is not what I mean. I know this Book. This is not it.' - -He heard exclamations of surprise, and felt the looks which were fixed -on him from all sides. - -'What? What do you mean, little man?' - -'I know this book. It is the book men believe in. But there is not -enough in it--if there were, there would be peace and goodwill among -men. And there is none. I mean something different--something which no -one can doubt who sees it; in which it is written, precisely and -clearly, why everything is as it is.' - -'How is that possible? Where can the boy have picked up such a notion?' - -'Who taught you that, my little friend?' - -'I am afraid that you have read some wicked books, child, and are -talking like them.' - -Thus spoke the various voices. Johannes felt his cheeks burning--his -eyes were dim and dazzled--the room turned round, and the huge flowers -on the carpet swayed up and down. Where was the little mouse who had so -faithfully helped him that day in the school-room? He wanted her badly. - -'I am not talking like any book, and he who taught me what I know is -worth more than all of you together. I know the language of flowers and -animals, and am friends with them all. And I know too what men are, and -how they live. I know all the fairies' secrets and the wood-sprites'; -for they all love me--more than men do.' - -Oh Mousey, Mousey! - -Johannes heard sounds of disapprobation and laughter behind him, and all -sides. There was a singing and roaring in his ears. - -'He seems to have read Hans Andersen's tales.' - -'He is not quite right in his head.' - -The man opposite to him said: 'If you know Andersen, my little man, you -ought to have more of his reverence for God and His Word.' - -'For God!' He knew that word, and he remembered Windekind's teaching. - -'I have no reverence for God. God is a great Petroleum-lamp which leads -thousands to misery and misfortune.' - -There was no laughter now, but a terrible silence, in which horror and -amazement might be felt on all sides. Johannes was conscious of piercing -looks, even at his back. It was like his dream of the night before. The -man in black stood up and took him by the arm. This hurt him and almost -crushed his courage. - -'Listen to me, youngster: I do not know whether you are utterly ignorant -or utterly depraved, but I suffer no ungodly talk here. Go away, and -never come in my sight again, I advise you. I will keep an eye on what -becomes of you, but you never more set foot in this house. Do you -understand?' - -Every face was cold and hostile as he had seen them in his dream. -Johannes looked about him in anguish. - -'Robinetta--where is Robinetta?' - -'Ay indeed! You would contaminate my child! Beware if you ever dare to -come here again!' And the cruel grip led him down the echoing -passage--the glass door slammed--and Johannes found himself outside, -under the black driving clouds. - -He did not turn round, but stared straight before him as he slowly -walked away. The sad furrows above his eyes were deeper, and did not -smooth out again. - -The Redbreast sat in a lime hedge looking after him. He stopped and -gazed back, but did not speak; but there was no longer any confidence in -the bird's timid sharp little eyes, and when Johannes took a step -nearer, the quick little creature shot away in hasty flight. - -'Away, away! Here is a man!' piped the sparrows who were sitting in a -row on the garden path, and they fluttered away in all directions. Even -the open blossoms laughed no more, but looked grave and indifferent, as -they do to all strangers. Still Johannes did not heed these signs, but -only thought how cruelly he had been hurt by those men; it was as -though a cold hard hand had been laid on his inmost secret soul. 'They -shall believe me yet!' thought he. 'I will fetch my little key and show -it to them.' - -'Johannes, Johannes!' called a tiny voice. There was a bird's nest in a -holly bush and Wistik's big eyes peeped out over the edge of it. 'Where -are you off to?' - -'It is all your fault!' said Johannes. 'Leave me in peace.' - -'What took you to talk with men? Men can never understand you. Why do -you tell men such things? It is most foolish.' - -'They laughed at me, and hurt me. They are detestable creatures! I hate -them.' - -'No, Johannes; you love them.' - -'No, no!' - -'If you did not, it would not vex you so much to find yourself different -from them; it could not matter to you what they say. You must learn to -care less.' - -'I want my key. I want to show it to them.' - -'You must not do that; and they would not even then believe you. Of what -use would it be?' - -'I want my little key from under the rose-bush. Do you know where to -find it?' - -'Yes, certainly; by the pool you mean? Yes, I know it.' - -'Then take me there, Wistik.' - -Wistik clambered up on Johannes's shoulder and showed him the way. They -went on and on, all the day; the wind blew, and heavy rain fell from -time to time, but towards evening the clouds ceased driving, and packed -into long grey and gold bars. When they reached the sand-hills which -Johannes knew so well, his heart was sad within him, and he whispered -again and again, 'Windekind, Windekind!' - -There was the rabbit-hole, and the sand-hill where he had fallen asleep. -The grey reindeer-moss was soft and damp, and did not crack under his -feet. The roses were all over, and the yellow evening-primroses with -their faint oppressive scent opened their cups by hundreds. Higher yet -grew the tall mulleins with their thick woolly leaves. Johannes looked -carefully to espy the small russet leaves of the wild rose. - -'Where is it, Wistik? I do not see it.' - -'I know nothing of it,' said Wistik. 'You buried the key, not I.' - -Where the rose-tree had stood there was a plot covered with yellow -Oenotheras staring heedlessly at the sky. Johannes questioned them, and -the mullein too; but they were much too proud, for their tall stems rose -far above his head; so he asked the little three-coloured pansies on the -sandy ground. However, no one knew anything of the wild rose. They were -all new-comers this summer, even the mullein, arrogant and tall as it -was. - -'Oh! where is it? where is it?' - -'Have you too deceived me?' cried Wistik. 'I expected it; it is always -so with men.' - -And he let himself slip down from Johannes's shoulder, and ran away -among the broom. Johannes looked about him in despair--there stood a -tiny wild rose-bush. - -'Where is the big rose-bush?' asked Johannes; 'the big one which used to -stand here?' - -'We never talk with human creatures,' said the shrub. - -That was the last thing he heard; everything remained silent. Only the -broom-shrubs sighed in the light evening breeze. - -'Am I then a man?' thought Johannes. 'No! it cannot be, it cannot be! I -will not be a man! I hate men!' - -He was tired and sick at heart. He lay down at the edge of the meadow, -on the soft grey moss which gave out a strong, damp scent. - -'Now I cannot find my way back, and shall never see Robinetta again. -Shall I not die if I have not Robinetta? Shall I live and grow to be a -man--a man like those others who laughed at me?' - -On a sudden he saw once more the two white butterflies which came flying -towards him from the side where the sun was setting. He watched them -anxiously; would they show him the way? They fluttered over his head, -sometimes close together and sometimes far apart, flitting about as if -in whimsical play. By degrees they went farther and farther from the -sun, and vanished at last over the ridge of the sand-hills towards the -wood, where only the topmost boughs were now red in the evening glow -which blazed out brightly from beneath the long dark levels of cloud. - -Johannes rose and went after them, but as they flew up over the first -trees he saw that a black shadow followed them and overtook them with -noiseless flight. The next instant they were gone. The black shade -pounced swiftly down on them, and Johannes in terror covered his face -with his hands. - -'Well, my little friend, what have you to cry about?' said a sharp -mocking voice close at hand. Johannes had seen a big bat coming towards -him, but when he now looked up a little black dwarf not much taller than -himself was standing on the sand-hill. He had a large head with big ears -which stuck out dark against the bright evening sky; a lean shape and -thin legs. Johannes could see nothing of his face but the small -twinkling eyes. - -'Have you lost anything, my little fellow? Can I help you seek it?' said -he. But Johannes shook his head in silence. - -'Look here. Would you like to have these?' he began again, opening his -hand. In it Johannes saw something white which still moved a little. -This was the two white butterflies, their crushed and broken wings -quivering in their death-struggle. Johannes shuddered as though some one -had blown against the nape of his neck, and he looked up in alarm at the -strange being. - -'Who are you?' he asked. - -'You would like to know my name? Well, call me Pluizer[1]--simply -Pluizer. I have other prettier names, but you would not understand them -yet.' - -'Are you a man?' - -'Better and better! Well, I have arms and legs and a head--see what a -head--and the boy asks me whether lama man! Why, Johannes, Johannes!' -And the mannikin laughed with a shrill piercing note. - -'How do you know who I am?' asked Johannes. - -'Oh, that, to me, is a mere trifle. I know a great deal more than that. -I know whence you have come and what you came to do. I know a wonderful -deal--almost everything.' - -'Ah, Master Pluizer----' - -'Pluizer, Pluizer--without any fine words.' - -'Then do you know anything----' but Johannes was suddenly silent. 'He is -a man,' thought he. - -'Of the little key, do you mean? Why, to be sure!' - -'But I did not think that any man could know about that.' - -'Foolish boy! Besides, Wistik has told me all about it.' - -'Then do you know Wistik too?' - -'Oh yes! One of my best friends--and I have many friends. But I know it -without Wistik. I know a great deal more than Wistik. Wistik is a very -good fellow--but stupid, uncommonly stupid. Now, I am not! Far from it!' - -And Pluizer tapped his big head with his lean little hand. 'Do you know, -Johannes,' he went on, 'what Wistik's great defect is?--but you must -never tell him, for he would be very angry.' - -'Well, what is it?' said Johannes. - -'He does not exist. That is a great defect, but he does not admit it. -And he says the same of me, that I do not exist. But that is a lie. I -not exist, indeed! What next, I wonder?' - -And Pluizer put the butterflies into his satchel, and suddenly turning a -somersault stood before Johannes on his head. Then, with a hideous -grin, he stuck out a vile long tongue. Johannes, who did not feel at all -at his ease alone with this strange being in the growing dusk on the -deserted sand-hills, now fairly quaked with fear. - -'This is a delightful manner of surveying the world,' said Pluizer, -still upside down. 'If you like I will teach you to do it. You see -everything much clearer, and more life-like.' And he flourished his -little legs in the air and waltzed round on his hands. As the red light -fell on his inverted face Johannes thought it perfectly horrible; those -little eyes twinkled in the glow and showed the whites at the lower edge -where it is not generally visible. - -'You see, in this position the clouds seem to be the ground and the -earth the top of the world. It is just as easy to maintain that as the -converse. There is really no above or below. A very pretty place to walk -on those clouds must be!' - -Johannes looked up at the long stretches of cloud. They looked to him -like a ploughed land, with red furrows, as though blood welled up from -it. Just over the pool yawned the gate of the cloud-grotto. - -'Can any one go there and enter in?' he asked. - -'What nonsense!' said Pluizer, suddenly standing on his feet again, to -Johannes's great relief, 'Nonsense! If you were there you would find it -just the same as here, and it would look as beautiful as that further on -again. But in those lovely clouds it is all foggy and grey and cold.' - -'I do not believe you,' cried Johannes. 'Now I see you really are a -man.' - -'Come, come! You do not believe me, my little friend, because I am a -man? And what sort of creature are you then, I should like to know?' - -'O Pluizer! Am I, too, really a man?' - -'What do you suppose? An elf? Elves are never in love.' And Pluizer -unexpectedly sat down on the ground at Johannes's feet with his leg -crossed under him, staring at him with a villainous grin. Johannes was -unutterably embarrassed and uncomfortable under his gaze, and wished he -could escape or become invisible. But he could not even take his eyes -off him. 'Only men fall in love, Johannes, d'ye hear! And so much the -better, or there would be none left by this time. And you are in love -like the best of them, although you are but a little fellow. Of whom -are you thinking at this moment?' - -'Of Robinetta,' whispered Johannes, hardly above his breath. - -'Whom do you most long for?' - -'Robinetta.' - -'Without whom do you think you could not live?' Johannes's lips moved -silently: 'Robinetta.' - -'Well then, youngster,' grinned Pluizer, 'what made you fancy that you -could be an elf? Elves do not love the daughters of men.' - -'But it was Windekind,' Johannes stammered out in his bewilderment. But -Pluizer flew into a terrible rage and his bony fingers gripped Johannes -by the ears. - -'What folly is this? Would you try to frighten me with that -whippersnapper thing? He is a greater simpleton than Wistik--much -greater. He knows nothing at all. And what is worse, he does not exist -in any sense, and never has existed. I only exist, do you understand? -And if you do not believe me, I will let you feel what I am.' And he -shook the hapless Johannes by the ears. - -Johannes cried out-- - -'But I have known him such a long time, and have travelled such a long -way with him!' - -'You dreamed it, I tell you. Where are the rose bush and the little key, -hey? But you are not dreaming now. Do you feel that?' - -'Oh!' cried Johannes, for Pluizer nipped him. - -It was by this time dark, and the bats flew close over their heads and -piped shrilly. The air was black and heavy, not a leaf was stirring in -the wood. - -'May I go home?' asked Johannes,--'home to my father?' - -'To your father! What to do there?' said Pluizer. 'A warm reception you -will get from him after staying away so long.' - -'I want to get home,' said Johannes, and he thought of the snug room -with the bright lamp light where he would sit so often by his father's -side, listening to the scratching of his pen. It was quiet there, and -not lonely. - -'Well then, you would have done better not to come away, and stayed so -long for the sake of that senseless jackanapes who has not even any -existence. Now it is too late, but it does not matter in the least; I -will take care of you. And whether I do it or your father, comes to -precisely the same in the end. Such a father--it is a mere matter of -education. Did you choose your own father? Do you suppose that there is -no one so good or so clever as he? I am just as good, and cleverer--much -cleverer.' - -Johannes had no heart to answer; he shut his eyes and nodded feebly. - -'And it would be of no use to look for anything from Robinetta,' the -little man went on. He laid his hands on Johannes's shoulders and spoke -close into his ear. That child thought you just as much a fool as the -others did. Did you not observe that she sat in the corner and never -spoke a word when they all laughed at you? She is no better than the -rest. She thought you a nice little boy, and was ready to play with -you--as she would have played with a cockchafer. She will not care that -you are gone away. And she knows nothing of that Book. But I do; I know -where it is, and I will help you to find it. I know almost everything.' - -And Johannes was beginning to believe him. - -'Now will you come with me? Will you seek it with me?' - -'I am so tired,' said Johannes, 'let me sleep first.' - -'I have no opinion of sleep,' replied Pluizer, 'I am too active for -that. A man must always be wide awake and thinking. But I will grant you -a little time for rest. Till to-morrow morning!' And he put on the -friendliest expression of which he was capable. - -Johannes looked hard into his little twinkling eyes till he could see -nothing else. His head was heavy and he lay down on the mossy knoll. The -little eyes seemed to go further and further from him till they were -starry specks in the dark sky; he fancied he heard the sound of distant -voices, as though the earth beneath him were going away and away--and -then he ceased to think at all. - - -[Footnote 1: The plucker, the spoiler.] - - - - -X - - -Even before he was fairly awake, he was vaguely conscious that something -strange had happened to him while he slept. Still he was not anxious to -know what, or to look about him. He would rather return to the dream -which was slowly fading like a rising mist--Robinetta had come to be -with him again, and had stroked his hair as she used to do--and he had -seen his father once more, and Presto, in the garden with the pool. - -'Oh! That hurt! Who did that?' Johannes opened his eyes, and in the grey -morning light, he saw a little man standing at his side who had pulled -his hair. He himself was in bed, and the light was dim and subdued, as -in a room. - -But the face which bent over him at once carried him back to all the -misery and distress of the past evening. It was Pluizer's face, less -boguey-like and more human, but as ugly and terrifying as ever. - -'Oh, no! Let me dream!' cried Johannes. - -But Pluizer shook him. 'Are you crazy, sluggard? Dreaming is folly; you -will never get any further by that. A man must work and think and -search; that is what you are a man for.' - -'I do not want to be a man. I want to dream.' - -'I cannot help that; you must. You are now in my charge, and you must -work and seek with me. With me alone can you ever find the thing you -want. And I will not give in till we have found it.' - -Johannes felt a vague dismay; still, a stronger will coerced and drove -him. He involuntarily submitted. - -The sand-hills, trees, and flowers had vanished. He was in a small -dimly-lighted room; outside, as far as he could see, there were houses, -and more houses, dingy and grey, in long dull rows. Smoke rose from -every one of them in thick wreaths, and made a sort of brown fog in the -streets. And along those streets men were hurrying, like great black -ants. A mingled, dull clamour came up from the throng without ceasing. - -'Look, Johannes,' said Pluizer. 'Now is not that a fine sight? Those are -men, and all the houses, whichever way you look, and as far as you can -see--even beyond the blue towers there--are full of men--quite full from -top to bottom. Is not that wonderful? That is rather different from a -sand-hill!' - -Johannes listened with alarmed curiosity, as though some huge and -hideous monster had risen up before him. He felt as if he stood on the -creature's back, and could see the black blood flowing through its great -arteries, and the murky breath streaming from its hundred nostrils. And -the portentous hum of that terrible voice filled him with fears. - -'Look how fast the men walk,' Pluizer went on. 'You can see that they -are in a hurry and are seeking something, cannot you? But the amusing -thing is, that not one of them knows exactly what he is seeking. When -they have been seeking for some little time, some one comes to meet -them--his name is Hein.' - -'Who is he?' asked Johannes. - -'Oh, a very good friend of mine. I will introduce you to him some day. -Then Hein says to them, "Are you looking for me?" To which most of them -reply, "Oh no. I do not want you!" But then Hein says again, "But there -is nothing to be found but me." So they have to be satisfied with Hein.' - -Johannes understood that he meant death. - -'And is it always, always so?' - -'To be sure, always. And yet, day after day, a new crowd come on, who -begin forthwith to seek they know not what, and they seek and seek till -at last they find Hein. This has been going on for a good while already, -and so it will continue for some time yet.' - -'And shall I never find anything, Pluizer--nothing but--?' - -'Ay, you will find Hein some day, sure enough! but that does not matter; -seek all the same--for ever be seeking.' - -'But the Book, Pluizer, you were to make me find the Book.' - -'Well who knows? I have not taken back my word. We must seek it -diligently. At any rate we know where to look for it; Wistik taught us -that. And there are folks who spend all their lives in the search -without even knowing so much as that. Those are the men of science, -Johannes. But then Hein comes and it is all over with their search.' - -'That is horrible, Pluizer!' - -'Oh no, not at all! Hein is a very kind creature; but he is -misunderstood.' - -Some one was heard on the staircase outside the bedroom door. Tramp, -tramp, up the wooden steps--tramp, tramp,--nearer and nearer. Then some -one tapped at the door, and it was as though iron rapped against the -panel. - -A tall man came in. He had deep-set eyes and long lean hands. A cold -draught blew into the room. - -'Good-day,' said Pluizer, 'so it is you! Sit down. We were just speaking -of you. How are you getting on?' - -'Busy, busy!' said the tall man, and he wiped the cold dews from his -bald, bony forehead. - -Without moving Johannes looked timidly into the deep-set eyes which were -fixed on his. They were grave and gloomy, but not cruel, not angry. -After a few minutes he breathed more freely and his heart beat less -wildly. - -'This is Johannes,' said Pluizer. 'He has heard of a certain book in -which it is written why everything is as it is, and we are now going to -seek it together, are we not?' And Pluizer laughed significantly. - -'Ay, indeed? That is well!' said Death kindly, and he nodded to -Johannes. - -'He is afraid he will not find it, but I tell him first to seek it -diligently.' - -'To be sure,' said Death. 'Seek diligently, that is the best way.' - -'He thought, too, that you were very dreadful. But you see, Johannes, -that you were mistaken.' - -'Oh yes,' said Death good-humouredly, 'men speak much evil of me. I am -not attractive to look upon, but I mean well, nevertheless.' - -He smiled faintly, as one who is occupied with more serious matters than -those he is speaking of. Then he took his dark gaze from Johannes's -face, and looked out thoughtfully over the great city. - -For a long time Johannes dared not speak; but at last he said in a low -voice-- - -'Are you going to take me with you?' - -'What do you mean, my child?' said Death, roused from his meditations. -'No, not now. You must grow up and become a good man.' - -'I will not grow to be a man like all the rest.' - -'Come, come,' said Death, 'there is no help for it.' - -And it was easy to hear that this was a frequent phrase with him. He -went on-- - -'My friend Pluizer can teach you how to become a good man. There are -various ways of being good, but Pluizer can teach you admirably. It is a -very fine and noble thing to be a good man. You must never look down on -a good man, my little fellow.' - -'Seek, think, look about you,' said Pluizer. - -'To be sure, to be sure,' said Death. And then he inquired of Pluizer: -'To whom will you take him?' - -'To Doctor Cypher, my old pupil.' - -'Ah yes,--a very good pupil. A very capital example of a man! Almost -perfect in his own way.' - -'Shall I see Robinetta again?' asked Johannes, trembling. - -'What does the boy mean?' asked Death. - -'Oh, he was in love, and fancied that he was an elf. Ha, ha, ha!' -laughed Pluizer spitefully. - -'No, no, my little man, that will never do,' said Death. 'You will soon -forget all that when you are with Doctor Cypher. Those who seek what you -seek must give up everything else. All or nothing.' - -'I shall make a real man of him. I will let him see some day what being -in love really means, and then he will cast it from him altogether.' - -And Pluizer laughed heartily. Death again fixed his black eyes on poor -Johannes, who had some difficulty in refraining from sobbing. But he was -ashamed to cry in the presence of Death. - -Death suddenly rose. 'I must be going,' said he. 'I am wasting my time -in talk, and there is much to be done. Good-bye, Johannes!--We shall -meet again. But you must not be afraid of me.' - -'I am not afraid of you; I wish you would take me with you.' - -But Death gently pushed him away; he was used to such entreaties. - -'No, Johannes.--Go now to your work in life; seek and see! Ask me no -more. _I_ will ask you some day, and that will be quite soon enough.' - -When he had disappeared Pluizer again began to behave in the wildest -fashion. He leaped over the seats, turned somersaults, climbed up the -cupboard and chimney-shelf, and played break-neck tricks at the open -window. - -'Well, that was Hein, my good friend Hein!' said he. 'Did you not like -him greatly? A little unattractive and bony-looking, perhaps. But he can -be very jolly too, when he takes pleasure in his work. Sometimes it -bores him; it is rather monotonous.' - -'Pluizer, who tells him where he is to go next?' - -Pluizer stared at Johannes with a look of cunning inquiry. - -'What makes you ask?--He goes where he pleases--He takes those he can -catch.' - -Later, Johannes came to see that it was not so. But as yet he knew no -better, and thought that Pluizer was always right. - -They went out and up the street, moving among the swarming throng. The -men in their black clothes bustled about, laughing and talking so gaily -that Johannes could not help wondering. He saw how Pluizer nodded to -several, but no one returned the greeting; they all looked in front of -them as if they did not even see him. - -'They go by and laugh now,' said Pluizer, 'as if they none of them knew -me. But that is only make-believe. When I am alone with one of them they -cannot pretend not to know me, and then they are not so light-hearted.' - -And as they went on Johannes was presently aware of some one following -them. When he looked round he saw that the tall pale figure was striding -on among the people, with long noiseless steps. He nodded to Johannes. - -'Do the people see him too?' asked Johannes of Pluizer. - -'Certainly, but they do not choose to know him. Well, I pardon them for -their arrogance!' - -The crowd and the turmoil produced a sort of bewilderment which made -Johannes forget his woes. The narrow streets and the high houses, which -cut the blue heavens above into straight strips, the people going up and -down them, the shuffling of feet and the clatter of vehicles, ousted -the visions and dreams of the night, as a storm dissipates the images in -a pool of water. It seemed to him that there was nothing in the world -but walls, and windows, and men. He felt as if he too must do the same, -and rush and push in the seething, breathless whirl. - -Presently they came to a quieter neighbourhood, where a large house -stood, with plain grey windows. It looked stern and unkindly. Everything -was silent within, and Johannes smelt a mixture of sour, unfamiliar -odours, with a damp, cellar-like atmosphere for their background. In a -room filled with strange-looking instruments sat a lonely man. He was -surrounded by books, and glass and copper objects, all unknown to -Johannes. A single ray of sunshine fell into the room above his head, -and sparkled on flasks full of bright-coloured liquids. The man was -gazing fixedly through a copper tube and did not look up. - -As Johannes approached he could hear him murmuring, 'Wistik, Wistik!' - -By the man's side, on a long black board, lay something white and furry -which Johannes could not see very clearly. - -'Good-morning, doctor,' said Pluizer; but the doctor did not move. - -But Johannes was startled, for the white object which he was watching -intently, suddenly began to move convulsively. What he had seen was the -white fur of a rabbit lying on its back. The head, with the mobile nose, -was fixed in an iron clamp, and its four little legs were firmly bound -to its body. The hopeless effort to get free was soon over, then the -little creature lay still again, and only the rapid movement of its -bleeding throat showed that it was still alive. And Johannes saw its -round, gentle eye staring wide in helpless terror, and he felt as if he -recognised the poor little beast. Was not that the soft little body -against which he had slept that first delightful night with the elves? -Old memories crowded in his mind; he flew to the rabbit. - -'Wait, wait! Poor rabbit! I will release you!' and he hastily tried to -cut the cords which bound the tender little paws. But his hands were -tightly clutched, and a sharp laugh sounded in his ear. - -'What do you mean by this, Johannes? Are you still such a baby? What -must the doctor think of you?' - -'What does the boy want? What brings him here?' asked the doctor in -surprise. - -'He wants to become a man, so I have brought him to you. But he is still -young and childish. That is not the way to find what you are seeking, -Johannes.' - -'No, that is not the way,' said the doctor. 'Doctor, set the rabbit -free!' - -But Pluizer held him by both hands till he hurt him. - -'What did we agree on, little man?' he whispered in his ear. 'To seek -diligently, was it not? We are not on the sand-hills now, with Windekind -and the dumb brutes. We are to be men--men. Do you understand? If you -mean to remain a child, if you are not strong enough to help me, I will -send you about your business and you may seek by yourself.' - -Johannes was silent, and believed him. He would be strong. He shut his -eyes so that he might not see the rabbit. - -'My dear boy,' said the doctor, 'you seem still too tender-hearted to -begin. To be sure--the first time it is horrible to look on. I myself, -for some time, was most averse to it, and avoided it as far as -possible. But it is indispensable; and you must remember we are men and -not brutes, and the advancement of mankind and of science is of more -importance than a few rabbits.' - -'Do you hear?' said Pluizer,--'science and mankind.' - -'The man of science,' the doctor went on, 'stands far above all other -men. But he must make all the smaller feelings which are common to the -vulgar give way to the one grand idea of science. Will you be such a -man? Is that your vocation, my boy?' - -Johannes hesitated; he did not know justly what a vocation might be--any -more than the cockchafer. - -'I want to find the book of which Wistik spoke,' said he. - -The doctor looked surprised and asked, 'Wistik?' - -Pluizer hastened to reply. 'He will, doctor; I know he really will. He -desires to seek the highest wisdom and to understand the true nature of -tilings.' - -Johannes nodded, 'Yes!' So far as he understood the matter, that was -what he meant. - -'Very well; but then you must be strong, Johannes, and not timid and -soft-hearted. Then I can help you. But remember: all or nothing.' - -And with trembling fingers Johannes helped to tighten the relaxed cords -round the rabbit's little paws. - - - - -XI - - -'Now we shall see,' said Pluizer, 'whether I cannot show you just as -pretty things as Windekind did.' - -And when they had taken leave of the doctor, promising to return soon, -he led Johannes into every nook and corner of the great town; he showed -him how the Monster lived, how he breathed and took in food, how he -digested within and expanded without. But what he liked best were the -gloomy back slums, where men sat closely packed, where everything was -grey and grizzly, and the air black and heavy. He took him into one of -the great buildings from which the smoke rose which Johannes had seen -the first day. The place was filled with deafening noise--thumping, -rattling, hammering and droning--great wheels were turning and long -belts sliding endlessly onward; the walls and floors were black, the -windows broken and murky. The towering chimneys rose high above the -dingy structure, and poured forth thick wreaths of smoke. Amid the -turmoil of wheels and axles, Johannes saw numbers of men with pale faces -and blackened hands and clothes, working busily without a word. - -'Who are they?' he asked. - -'Wheels, wheels too,' said Pluizer with a laugh, 'or men, if you choose -to call them so. And what you see them doing, they do from morning to -night. Even so, they can be men--after their own fashion, of course.' - -Then they passed along filthy streets, where the strip of heavenly blue -seemed no more than a finger's breadth wide, and was still more shut out -by clothes hung out to air. These alleys were swarming with people, who -jostled each other, shouted, laughed and sometimes even sang. In the -houses here, the rooms were so small, so dark and foul, that Johannes -could scarcely breathe. He saw squalid children crawling about on the -bare floor, and young girls with tangled hair crooning songs to pale, -hungry babies. He heard quarrelling and scolding, and every face he -looked upon was weary, or stupid and indifferent. - -It filled Johannes with a strange sudden pang. It had nothing in common -with any former pain, and he felt ashamed of it. - -'Pluizer,' said he, 'have men always lived here in such grief and -misery? And when I--' he dared not finish the question. - -'To be sure, and a happy thing too. They are not in such grief and -misery; they are used to it and know no better. They are mere animals, -ignorant and indifferent. Look at those two women sitting in front of -their door; they look out on the dirty street as contentedly as you used -to gaze at the sand-hills. You need not worry yourself about the lot of -man. You might as well cry over the lot of the moles who never see -daylight.' - -And Johannes did not know what to answer, nor what, then, he ought to -weep over. And ever through the noisy throng and bustle, he still saw -the pale, hollow-eyed figure marching on with noiseless steps. - -'A good man, don't you think?' said Pluizer. 'He takes them away from -this at any rate. But even here men are afraid of him.' - -When night had fallen and hundreds of lights flared in the wind, casting -long, straggling reflections in the black water, they made their way -down the quiet streets. The tall old houses seemed tired out, and asleep -as they leaned against each other. Most of them had their eyes shut; but -here and there a window still showed a pale gleam of yellow light. - -Pluizer told Johannes many a long tale of those who dwelt within, of the -sufferings which were endured there, and the struggle waged between -misery and the love of life. He spared him nothing: he sought out the -gloomiest, the lowest, the most dreadful facts, and grinned with delight -as Johannes turned pale and speechless at his horrible tales. - -'Pluizer,' Johannes suddenly asked, 'do you know anything about the -Great Light?' He thought the question might deliver him from the -darkness which grew thicker and more oppressive about him. - -'All nonsense!' said Pluizer. 'Windekind's nonsense! Mere visions and -dreams! Men alone exist--and I myself. Do you suppose that a God, or -anything at all like one, could take pleasure in governing such a muddle -as prevails on this earth? And such a Great Light would not shine here -in the dark.' - -'But the stars, what about the stars?' asked Johannes as if he expected -that the visible Splendour would raise up the squalor before him. - -'The stars! Do you know of what you are talking, boy? There are no -lights up there like the lamps you see about you here below. The stars -are nothing but worlds, a great deal larger than this world with its -thousand cities, and we move among them like a speck of dust; and there -is no "above" or "below," but worlds all round, and on every side more -worlds, and no end of them anywhere.' - -'No, no!' cried Johannes in horror. 'Do not say so, do not say so! I can -see the lights against a great dark background overhead.' - -'Very true. You cannot see anything but lights. If you stared up at the -sky all your life long you would still see nothing but lights against a -dark background overhead. But, you know, you must know, that there is no -above nor beneath. Those are worlds, amid which this clod of earth, with -its wretched, struggling mass of humanity, is as nothing--and will -vanish into nothing. Do not ever speak of "the stars" in that way, as -though there were but a few dozen of them. It is foolishness.' - -Johannes said no more. The immensity which ought to have elevated the -squalor had crushed it. - -'Come along,' said Pluizer. 'Now we will go to see something amusing.' - -At intervals bursts of delightful, soft music were wafted to their ears. -On a dark slope in front of them stood a large building with lamps -blazing in its numerous long windows. A row of carriages was in waiting -outside; the pawing of the horses rang hollow through the silent night, -and as they shook their heads, sparks of light shone on the silver -fittings of their harness, and on the varnish of the coaches. - -Inside, everything was a blaze of light. Johannes was half blinded as he -gazed, by the hundreds of candles, the bright colours, the glitter of -mirrors and flowers. Gay figures flitted across the windows, bowing to -each other, with laughter and gestures. Beyond, at the other side of the -room, richly dressed persons were moving about with slow dignity or -spinning with swift, swaying motion. A confused sound of laughter and -merry voices, of shuffling feet and rustling dresses came through the -front door, mingling with the waves of that soft bewitching music which -Johannes had already heard from afar. In the street, close to the -windows, stood a few dark figures, their faces only strangely lighted up -by the illumination within, at which they stared with avidity. - -'That is pretty! That is splendid!' cried Johannes, delighted at the -sight of so much light and colour, and so many flowers. 'What is going -on in there? May we go in?' - -'Indeed! So you really think that pretty? Or do you not prefer a -rabbit-hole? Look at the people as they laugh, and bow, and glitter. See -how stately and polite the men are; and how gay and fine the ladies! And -how solemnly they dance, as if it were the most important thing on -earth.' - -Johannes recalled the ball in the rabbit-burrow, and he saw a great deal -which reminded him of it. But here, everything was much grander and more -brilliant. The young ladies in their beautiful array seemed to him as -lovely as elves, as they raised their long, bare arms, and bent their -heads on one side in the dance. The servants moved about incessantly, -offering elegant refreshments with respectful bows. - -'How splendid! How splendid!' cried Johannes. - -'Very pretty, is it not?' said Pluizer. 'But now you must learn to look -a little further than the end of your nose. You see nothing there but -happy smiling faces? Well, the greater part of all that mirth is -falsehood and affectation. The friendly old ladies in the corner sit -there like anglers round a pond; the young girls are the bait, the men -are the fish. And affectionately as they gossip together, they envy and -grudge each other every fish that bites. If either of the young ladies -feels some pleasure, it is because she has a prettier dress than the -rest, or secures more partners; the pleasure of the men chiefly consists -in the bare shoulders and arms of the ladies. Behind all these bright -eyes and pleasant smiles there lurks something quite different. Even the -thoughts of the respectful servants are very far from respectful. If -suddenly every one should give utterance to his real thoughts the party -would soon be at an end.' - -And when Pluizer pointed it ail out to him, Johannes could plainly see -the insincerity of the faces and manners of the company, and the vanity, -envy, and weariness which showed through the smiling mask, or were -suddenly revealed as though it had just been taken off. - -'Well,' said Pluizer, 'they must do things in their own way. Human -creatures must have some amusement, and they know no other way.' - -Johannes was aware of some one standing just behind him. He looked -round; it was the well-known tall figure. The pale face was strangely -lighted up by the glare, so that the eyes showed as large dark caverns. -He was muttering softly to himself and pointed with one finger into the -splendid ball-room. - -'Look,' said Pluizer, 'he is seeking out some one.' - -Johannes looked where the finger pointed, and he saw how the old lady -who was speaking closed her eyes and put her hand to her head; and how a -fair young girl paused in her slow walk, and stared before her with a -slight shiver. - -'How soon?' Pluizer asked of Death. - -'That is my affair,' was the answer. - -'I should like to show Johannes this same company once more,' said -Pluizer with a grin and a wink, 'can I do it?' - -'This evening?' asked Death. - -'Why not?' said Pluizer. 'There, time and the hour are no more. What now -is has always been, and what shall be, is now already.' - -'I cannot go with you,' said Death. 'I have too much to do. But speak -the name we both know and you can find the way without me.' - -Then they went a little way along the deserted streets where the gas was -flaring in the night wind, and the dark cold water plashed against the -sides of the canals. The soft music grew fainter and fainter, and at -last died away in the hush which lay over the town. - -Presently, from high above them, a loud and festal song rang out with a -deep, echoing, metallic ring. It came down suddenly from the tall church -tower on the sleeping city, and into little Johannes' sad and gloomy -soul. He looked up much startled. The chime rang on with clear, steady -tones, rising joyfully in the air, and boldly scaring the death-like -silence. The glad strain struck him as strange--a festal song in the -midst of noiseless sleep and blackest woe. - -'That is the clock,' said Pluizer, 'it is always cheerful, year in, year -out. It sings the same song every hour, with the same vigour and -vivacity; and it sounds more gleeful by night than even by day, as if -the clock rejoiced that it has no need of sleep, that it can sing at all -times with equal contentment, while thousands, just below, are weeping -and suffering. But it sounds most gladly when some one is just dead.' - -Again the jubilant peal rang out. - -'One day, Johannes,' Pluizer went on,' a dim light will be burning in a -quiet room, behind just such a window as that yonder; a melancholy -light, flickering pensively, and making the shadows dance on the wall. -There will be no sound in that room but now and then a low, suppressed -sob. A bed will be standing there, with white curtains, and long shadows -in their folds. In the bed something will be lying--white and still. -That will have been little Johannes. And then, how loud and joyful will -that chime sound, breaking into the room, and singing out the first hour -after his death!' - -Twelve was striking, booming through the air with long pauses between -the strokes. At the last stroke, Johannes, all at once, had a strange -feeling as though he were dreaming; he was no longer walking, but -floating along a little way above the ground, holding Pluizer's hand. -The houses and lamps sped past him in swift flight. And now the houses -stood less close together. They formed separate rows, with dark, -mysterious gaps between them, where the gas lamps lighted up trenches, -puddles, scaffoldings and woodwork. At last they reached a great gate, -with heavy pillars and a tall railing. In a winking, they had floated -over it and come down again on some soft grass by a high heap of sand. -Johannes fancied he must be in a garden, for he heard the rustling of -trees hard by. - -'Now pay attention, and then confess whether I cannot do greater things -than Windekind.' - -Then Pluizer shouted aloud a short and awful name which made Johannes -quake. The darkness on all sides echoed the sound, and the wind bore it -up in widening circles till it died away in the upper air. - -And Johannes saw the grass blades growing so tall that they were above -his head, and a little pebble which but just now was under his feet, -seemed to be close to his face. Pluizer, by his side, and no bigger than -he was, picked up the stone with both hands and threw it away with all -his might. A confused noise of thin, shrill voices rose up from the spot -he had cleared. - -'Hey day! who is doing that? What is the meaning of it? Lout!' they -could hear said. - -Johannes saw black objects running in great confusion. He recognised the -quick, nimble ground-beetle, the shining, brown ear-wig with his fine -nippers, the millipede with its round back and thousand tiny feet, in -the midst of them a long earthworm shrank back as quick as lightning -into its burrow! Pluizer made his way through the angry swarm of -creatures to the worm's hole. - -'Hey there! you long, naked crawler! come up and show yourself once more -with your sharp red nose!' he cried. - -'What do you want?' asked the worm from below. - -'You must come out, because I want to go in; do you hear, you -bare-skinned sand-eater!' - -The worm cautiously put his pointed head out of the hole, felt all round -it two or three times, and then slowly dragged his naked ringed body up -to the surface. Pluizer looked round at the other creatures who had -crowded curiously about them. - -'One of you must go first with a light--no, Master Beetle, you are too -stout, and you with your thousand feet would make me giddy. Hey, you -ear-wig! I like your looks. Come with me and carry a light in your -nippers. You, beetle, must look about for a will-o'-the-wisp, or fetch a -chip of rotten wood.' - -The creatures were scared by his commanding tones and obeyed him. - -Then they went down into the worm's burrow; the ear-wig first, with the -shining wood, then Pluizer, and then Johannes. It was a narrow passage -and very dark down there. Johannes saw the grains of sand glittering in -the dim blue gleam. They looked like large stones, half transparent and -built up into a smooth firm wall by the worm's body. The worm himself -followed, full of curiosity. Johannes saw the pointed head come close up -behind him, and then stop till the long body had been dragged after it. -Down they went, without speaking, far and deep. When the path was too -steep for Johannes, Pluizer helped him. They seemed never to be coming -to an end; still fresh galleries of sand, and still the ear-wig crept -on, turning and bending with the sinuosities of the passage. At last -this grew broader, and the walls opened out. The grains of sand were -black and wet, forming a vault overhead, down which driblets of water -made shining streaks, while the roots of trees came through in coils -like petrified snakes. - -And suddenly there rose before Johannes's eyes an upright wall, black -and high, cutting off all space beyond. The ear-wig turned round. - -'Here we are. The next question is how to get any further. The worm -ought to know; he is at home here.' - -'Come on; show us the way,' said Pluizer. - -The worm slowly dragged his jointed body up to the black wall and felt -it inquisitively. Johannes could see that it was of wood. Here and there -it had fallen into brownish powder. The worm bored his way into one such -place and the long, wriggling body vanished with three pushes and -pauses. - -'Now for you,' said Pluizer, pushing Johannes into the little round -opening. For a moment he thought he should be suffocated in the soft -damp stuff, but he soon felt his head free, and with some trouble worked -his way completely through. A large room seemed to lie open before him; -the floor was hard and moist, the air thick and intolerably oppressive. -Johannes could scarcely breathe, and stood waiting in mortal terror. - -He heard Pluizer's voice, which sounded hollow, as in some vast cellar. - -'Here, Johannes, follow me.' - -He felt the ground before him rise to a hill--and he climbed it, -clutching Pluizer's hand in the darkness. He trod, as it were, on a -carpet which yielded under his foot. He trampled over hollows and -ridges, following Pluizer who led him on to a level spot where he held -on by some long stems which bent in his hand like reed-grass. - -'Here we can stand very comfortably. Bring a light,' said Pluizer. - -The dim light came on from a distance, up and down with its bearer. The -nearer it approached, and the more its pale gleam spread in the place -they were in, the more terrible became Johannes's anguish of mind. The -eminence on which he stood was long and white; the support he clung to -was brown, and lay about in glistening waves and curls. - -He recognised the features of a human being, and the icy level on which -he stood was the forehead. Before him lay the sunken eyes, two deep, -dark hollows, and the blue gleam fell on the pinched nose and ashy lips -which were parted in the hideous, rigid smile of death. - -Pluizer laughed sharply, but the sound seemed smothered by the damp, -wooden walls. - -'Is not this a surprise, Johannes?' - -The worm crept up along the plaits of the shroud: he glided over the -chin and the stiffened lips and into the mouth. - -'This was the beauty of the ball, whom you thought lovelier even than an -elf. Then her hair and dress shed sweet fragrance; then her eyes -sparkled and her lips smiled. Now,--look at her!' - -With all his horror there was doubt in Johannes's eyes. So soon? The -splendour was but now--and already----? - -'Do you not believe me?' grinned Pluizer. 'Half a century lies between -now and then. Time and the hour are no more. What has been shall always -be, and what shall be has ever been. You could not conceive of it, but -you must believe it. Everything here is the truth. All I tell you is -true! True!--and Windekind could not say that.' - -With a nod and a grimace he leaped round the dead face, and played the -most horrible antics. He sat on the eyebrows and raised the eyelids by -the long lashes. The eye, which Johannes had seen bright with gladness, -stared dull and white in the pale light. - -'Now onwards!' cried Pluizer. 'There is more yet to be seen.' - -The worm came creeping up from a corner of the mouth, and the dreadful -march began once more. Not back again, but along new paths, no less long -and gloomy. - -'This is much older,' said the earthworm as he made his way through -another black wall. 'This has been here a very long time.' - -It was less dreadful here than before. Johannes saw nothing but a -confused mass, out of which brown bones projected. Hundreds of insects -were silently busy here. The light startled and alarmed them. - -'Where do you come from? Who brings a light here? We want no light.' And -they hastily vanished into the folds and crevices. But they recognised a -fellow-creature. - -'Have you been in the next one?' asked the worms. 'The wood is still -hard.' - -The first worm denied it. 'He wants to keep the find to himself,' said -Pluizer to Johannes in a low voice. - -Then they went forward again; Pluizer explained everything, and pointed -out persons whom Johannes had known. They came to an ugly face with -prominent, staring eyes, and thick dark lips and cheeks. - -'This was a very fine gentleman,' said he in high glee. 'You should have -seen him--so rich, so fashionable, so arrogant. He is as much puffed up -as ever!' - -And so they went on. There were lean and haggard faces with white hair -that shone blue in the feeble light, and little children with large -heads and old-looking, anxious features. - -'These, you see, died first and grew old afterwards,' said Pluizer. - -They came to a man with a flowing beard and parted lips, showing -glistening white teeth. There was a round black hole in the middle of -his forehead. - -'This one lent Death a helping hand. Why had he not a little patience? -He would have come here in the end.' - -Through passage after passage, one after another, they passed, no end of -them--straight-laid figures, with rigid, grinning faces, and motionless -hands laid one over the other. - -'Now I can go no further,' said the ear-wig. 'I do not know my way -beyond this.' - -'Let us turn back,' said the worm. - -'One more, one more!' cried Pluizer. - -So on they went. - -'Everything you see here, actually exists,' said Pluizer, as they made -their way forward. 'It is all real. One thing only is not real, and that -is yourself, Johannes. You are not here; you cannot come here.' - -And he laughed maliciously as he saw Johannes's terrified and bewildered -face at these words. - -'This is the last, positively the last.' - -'The way stops here. I am going no further,' said the ear-wig crossly. - -'I will go further,' said Pluizer; and where the path ended he began -grubbing the earth with both hands. - -'Help me, Johannes.' - -And Johannes, submissive with wretchedness, obeyed, scratching away the -fine damp soil. Silent and breathless they worked away till they came to -the black wood. - -The worm had drawn back his ringed head and disappeared. The ear-wig -dropped the light and turned away. - -'It is impossible to get in, the wood is new,' said he as he withdrew. - -'I will do it!' said Pluizer, and with his clawed fingers he tore long -white splinters cracking out of the wood. - -A fearful anguish came over Johannes. But he could not help himself; -there was no escape. - -At last the dark thing was opened. Pluizer seized the light and hurried -in. - -'Here, here!' he cried, running to the head. - -But when Johannes came as far as the hands, which lay quietly folded -over the breast, he stopped. He gazed at the thin white fingers, dimly -lighted from above. On a sudden, he recognised them,--he knew the shape -and turn of the fingers, the look of the long nails, now blue and dull. -He recognised a brown spot on one of the forefingers. These were his own -hands. - -'Here, this way!' Pluizer called from the head. 'Only look, do you know -him?' - -Hapless Johannes tried to stand up and go towards the light which winked -at him; but he could not. The gleam died into total darkness and he fell -senseless. - - - - -XII - - -He had sunk into deep sleep--that sleep which is too deep for dreams. - -When he came out of the darkness--very slowly--into the cool grey light -of dawn, he passed through varied and peaceful dreams of an early time. -He woke up, and they glided off his soul, like dew-drops off a flower. -The look in his eyes was calm and sweet as they still gazed on the crowd -of lovely images. - -But he closed them again quickly as though the glare were painful, to -shut out the pale daylight. He saw just what he had seen the morning -before. It seemed to him far away and a long time ago. Still, hour by -hour, he remembered it all, from the dreary day-break to the terrible -night. He could not believe that all these horrors had come upon him in -a single day. The beginning of his wretchedness seemed so remote, lost -in grey mist. - -The sweet dreams vanished, and left no trace on his spirit; Pluizer -shook him, and the dreadful day began, gloomy and colourless; the first -of many, many more. But all he had seen last night in that terrible walk -dwelt in his mind. Had it been no more than a fearful vision? - -When he asked Pluizer doubtfully, he looked at him with mockery and -amazement. - -'What do you mean?' he said. - -But Johannes did not see the sarcasm in his eyes, and asked whether all -this, which he still saw so plainly and clearly, had not indeed been -true. - -'Why, Johannes, how silly you are! Such a thing could never happen at -all.' - -And Johannes did not know what to think. - -'We must set you to work at once, and then you will ask no more such -foolish questions.' - -So they went to Doctor Cypher, who was to help Johannes to find what he -sought. - -But as they went along the crowded street, Pluizer suddenly stood still, -and pointed out a man in the throng. - -'Do you remember him?' asked Pluizer, and he laughed aloud when -Johannes turned pale and stared at the man in terror. He had seen him -last night, deep under ground. - -The doctor received them kindly and imparted his learning to Johannes, -who listened to him for hours that day--and for many days after. The -doctor had not found what they sought; but was very near it, he said. He -would lead Johannes as far as he himself had gone, and then, together, -they would be sure to achieve to it. - -Johannes learned and listened, diligently and patiently--day after day, -and month after month. He had very little hope, but he understood that -he must go on now, as far as possible. He thought it strange that the -longer he sought the light the darker it grew around him. The beginning -of everything, he learned, was the best part of it, but the deeper he -got the duller and more obscure it became. He began with the study of -plants and animals, of everything about him, and when he had studied -these a long time they all turned to numbers. Everything resolved itself -into numbers--pages of figures. This Doctor Cypher thought quite -splendid; he said that light would come to them as the numbers came, -but to Johannes it was darkness. - -Pluizer never left him, and drove and urged him on when he was -disheartened or weary. His presence marred every moment of enjoyment and -admiration. Johannes was amazed and delighted when he learnt and saw how -exquisitely flowers were constructed, how the fruit was formed, and how -insects unconsciously helped in the process. - -'That is beautiful!' he exclaimed. 'How exactly it is all arranged, and -how delicately and accurately contrived!' - -'Yes, amazingly contrived,' said Pluizer. 'The pity is that the greater -part of this ingenuity and accuracy comes to nothing. How many flowers -produce fruit, and how many seeds become trees?' - -'But still, it seems to be all wrought by some grand plan,' said -Johannes. 'Look, the bees seek honey for their own ends and do not know -that they are serving the flowers, and the flowers attract the bees by -their colours. That is a scheme, and they both work it out without -knowing it.' - -'That all looks very pretty, but it fails in many ways. When the bees -have a chance, they bite a hole through the flower and make the whole -internal structure useless. He is a clever Contriver indeed who can be -laughed to scorn by a bee!' - -And when he came to study the organism of men and beasts, matters were -even worse. Whenever Johannes thought anything beautiful or well -adapted, Pluizer would demonstrate its imperfections and inefficiency. -He expatiated on the host of ills and woes to which every living -creature is liable, selecting by preference the most disgusting and -terrible. - -'The Contriver, Johannes, was very shrewd, but in everything he made he -forgot something, and men have as much as they can do to patch up these -defects as best they may. You have only to look about you. An umbrella, -a pair of spectacles--for shelter and better sight--these are specimens -of man's patching. They are no part of the original plan. But the -Contriver never considered that men would have colds, and read books, -and do a thousand other things for which his plan was inadequate. He -gave his children clothes without reflecting that they would outgrow -them. Almost all men have by this time long outgrown their natural -outfit. Now they do everything for themselves, and never trouble -themselves at all about the Contriver and his schemes. What he failed to -give them, they simply take by brute force; and when the obvious result -is that they must die, they evade death, sometimes for a long period, by -a variety of devices.' - -'But it is men's own fault,' said Johannes. 'Why do they wilfully -deviate from the laws of nature?' - -'Oh, silly Johannes! If a nursemaid lets an innocent child play with -fire and it is burned, whose fault is it? The child's, who knew nothing -about fire; or the nurse's, who knew that it would burn itself? And who -is to blame if men pine in misery and disobedience to nature--they or -the all-wise Contriver, compared with whom we are ignorant children?' - -'But they are not ignorant, they know--' - -'Johannes, if you say to a child: Do not touch that fire, it will hurt -you--and if the child touches it all the same because it does not know -what pain is, can you then plead your own innocence and say: The child -was not ignorant? Did you not know that it would not heed your advice? -Men are as foolish as children. Glass is brittle and clay is soft. And -He who made men and did not take their folly into account, is like a man -who should make weapons of glass and not expect them to break, or arrows -of clay and not expect them to bend.' - -His words fell like drops of liquid fire on Johannes's soul, and his -heart swelled with a great grief to which his former woes were as -nothing, and which often made him weep in the silent, sleepless hours of -the night. - -Oh, for sleep! sleep! There came a time after long days, when nothing -was so dear to him as sleep. Then he neither thought nor suffered; in -his dreams he was always carried back to his old life. It seemed to him -beautiful as he dreamed of it, but day by day he could never remember -exactly how things had then been. He only knew that the vexations and -cravings of that former time were better than the vacant, stagnant -feeling of the present. He once had longed bitterly for Windekind; he -once had waited hour after hour on Robinetta. How delightful that had -been! - -Robinetta! Did he still long for her? The more he learnt the feebler -that craving became. For that too was dissected, and Pluizer showed him -what love really was. Then he felt ashamed, and Doctor Cypher said that -he could not as yet express it in numbers, but that he should soon -accomplish this. Then things grew darker and darker round little -Johannes. He had an obscure feeling of thankfulness that he had not seen -Robinetta in the course of that fearful expedition with Pluizer. - -When he spoke of it to Pluizer he made no reply but a sly laugh; but -Johannes understood that this was from no desire to spare him. - -Those hours which Johannes did not spend in study or work Pluizer took -advantage of to show him the life of men. He managed to take him -everywhere--into the hospitals where sick people lay in great -numbers--long ranks of pale, haggard faces with a dull, suffering -expression--and where unearthly silence reigned, broken only by coughing -and groaning. And Pluizer showed him how many of them could never leave -the place. And when at a fixed hour streams of men and women came -pouring into the place to visit their sick relations, Pluizer said: 'You -see, they all know that they too must some day find their way into this -house and these gloomy rooms, only to be carried out in a black chest.' - -'Then how can they ever be so light-hearted?' thought Johannes. - -And Pluizer took him up to a little attic-room where a dismal twilight -reigned, and where the distant tinkle of a piano in a neighbouring house -made an incessant dreamy noise. Here they found, among others, one man -who lay staring helplessly before him at a narrow sunbeam which slowly -crept up the wall. - -'He has lain there for seven years,' said Pluizer. 'He was a sailor, and -has seen the palms of India, the blue seas of Japan, the forests of -Brazil; and now, for seven long years, he has amused himself all day and -every day with the sunbeams and the sound of the piano. He will never -leave this room again; but it cannot last much longer now.' - -After this day Johannes had his worst dream; he fancied himself in that -little room, listening to the feeble music, in the melancholy -half-light, with nothing to look at but the rising and waning sunbeams ---never more till the end. - -Pluizer took him, too, to the great churches to listen to what was said -there. He took him to festivals and grand ceremonies, and made him -intimate in many houses. Johannes learnt to study men, and it sometimes -happened that he could not help thinking of his past life, of the tales -Windekind had told him and of his own disappointments. There were men -who reminded him of the glow-worm, who fancied that the stars were his -departed friends; or of the cockchafer who was one day older than his -comrade, and who had said so much about a vocation; and he heard tales -which made him think of Kribbelgauw, the Spider-Hero, and of the eel who -did nothing, but was fed because it was a grand thing to have a fat -king. Himself, he could only compare to the younger cockchafer, who did -not know what a vocation was, and flew to the light. He felt that he in -the same way was creeping, helpless and crippled, over the carpet with a -string round his body, a cruel string which Pluizer tugged and twitched. - -Ah! he should never see the garden again! When would the heavy foot come -and crush him to death? - -Pluizer laughed at him if he ever spoke of Windekind; and by degrees he -began to think that Windekind had never existed. - -'But, Pluizer, then the little key does not exist--nothing is real!' - -'Nothing, nothing. Men and numbers--those are real and exist, endless -numbers!' - -'Then you deceived me, Pluizer. Let me go away--let me seek no -more--leave me alone.' - -'Have you forgotten what Death told you? That you are to become a man, a -complete man?' - -'I will not! it is horrible!' - -'You must. You wished it once. Look at Doctor Cypher, does he think it -horrible? Become like him----' - -It was very true. Doctor Cypher seemed always content and happy. -Unwearied and imperturbable, he pursued his way, studying and teaching, -satisfied and equable. - -'Look at him,' Pluizer went on, 'he sees everything, and yet sees -nothing. He looks on men as though he himself were a being apart, having -nothing to do with their sufferings. He moves among griefs and -wretchedness as though he were invulnerable, and meets Death face to -face as though he were immortal. All he aims at is to understand what -he sees, and everything is good in his eyes that comes in the way of -knowledge. He is satisfied with everything so long as he understands it. -That is what you must be.' - -'But that I can never be.' - -'Well, I cannot help that.' - -This was the hopeless conclusion of all their discussions. Johannes grew -dull and indifferent, and searched and searched, knowing no longer why, -or for what. He had become like the multitudes of whom Wistik had -spoken. - -It was now winter, but he scarcely observed it. - -One chill and misty morning, when the snow lay wet and dirty on the -roads, and fell from the trees and roofs, he went with Pluizer for his -daily walk. In a public garden he met a party of young girls, in a row, -and carrying school-books. They pelted each other with snow, and laughed -and gambolled; their voices rang out clearly over the snowy plain. There -was no sound of feet or wheels to be heard; nothing but the tinkling -bells of the horses, or the latch of a shop door. Their merry laughter -sounded distinctly through the silence. - -Johannes noted that one of these damsels looked at him and stared back -after him. She wore a coloured cloak and a black hat. He knew her face -very well, but he could not think who she was. She nodded to him once -and again. - -'Who is that? I know her.' - -'Yes, very likely. Her name is Maria, some persons call her Robinetta.' - -'No, that cannot be. She is not like Windekind. She is a girl like any -other.' - -'Ha, ha, hah! She cannot be like Nobody. But she is what she is. You -have longed to see her so much; now I will take you to see her!' - -'No, I do not want to see her. I would rather see her dead like the -others.' - -And Johannes would not look round again, but hurried on, murmuring: -'This is the last! There is nothing--nothing!' - - - - -XIII - - -The clear warm sunshine of an early spring morning shone down on the -great city. Its bright rays fell into the room where Johannes lived, and -on the low ceiling danced and flickered a large patch of light reflected -from the rippling water in the canal. Johannes sat by the window in the -sunshine, looking out over the town. Its aspect was completely changed. -The grey fog was now a sheeny blue sun-mist, veiling the end of the long -streets and the distant towers. The slopes of the slate roofs shone like -silver. All the houses showed clear outlines and bright surfaces in the -sunshine; the pale blue atmosphere was full of glittering warmth. The -water seemed alive. The brown buds of the elm-trees were swollen and -shiny, and loudly-chirping sparrows fluttered among the branches. A -strange feeling came over Johannes as he sat looking out on it all. The -sunshine filled him with sweet vague emotion, a mixture of oblivion and -ecstasy. He gazed dreamily at the dancing ripples, the bursting -leaf-buds; he listened to the chirping of the birds. There was gladness -in their tune. - -He had not for a long time felt so soft at heart, nor for many a day -been so happy. - -This was the sunshine of old; he knew it well. This was the sun which of -yore called him forth--out into the garden where, under the shelter of a -low wall, he would stretch himself on the warm ground, where he might -for hours enjoy the light and heat, gazing before him at the grasses and -sods basking in the glow. - -He was glad in that light; it gave him a safe home-like feeling, such as -he remembered long ago when his mother held him in her arms. He thought -of all he had gone through, but without either grieving or longing. He -sat still and mused, wishing nothing more than that the sun might -continue to shine. - -'What are you about, mooning there?' cried Pluizer. 'You know I do not -approve of dreaming.' - -Johannes looked up with absent, imploring eyes. 'Leave me alone for a -little longer,' said he; 'the sun is so good!' - -'What can you find in the sun?' said Pluizer. 'It is nothing, after all, -but a big candle--sunlight or candlelight, it is all the same in the -end. Look at the patches of light and shadow in the street--they are -nothing more than the effect of a light which burns steadily and does -not nicker. And that light is really quite a small flame shining on a -quite small speck of the universe. Out there, beyond the blue, above and -beneath, it is dark,--cold and dark! It is night there, now and always.' - -But his words had no effect on Johannes. The calm warm sunbeams had -penetrated him, bathed his whole soul--he was full of light and peace. - -Pluizer carried him off to Doctor Cypher's cold house. For some time yet -the sunny images floated before his brain; then they slowly faded away, -and by the middle of the day all was dark again within him. - -But when evening came he made his way through the town once more, the -air was soft and full of the vapourous odours of the past. Only the -fragrance was ten times stronger, and oppressed him in the narrow -streets. But as he crossed the open square he smelt the grass and leaves -from the country beyond. And overhead he saw the spring in the tranquil -little clouds and the tender rose of the western sky. The twilight shed -a soft grey mist, full of delicate tints, over the town. The streets -were quiet, only a grinding organ in the distance played a love-sick -tune; the houses stood out black against the crimson heavens, their -fantastic pinnacles and chimneys stretching up like numberless arms. - -To Johannes it was as though the sun were giving him a kind smile as he -shed his last beams over the great city--kind, like the smile which -seals a pardon. And the warmth stroked Johannes's cheek with a caress. - -Deep tenderness came over his soul, so great that he could walk no -farther, but lifted up his face to the wide heavens with a deep sigh. -The Spring was calling to him and he heard it. He longed to answer--to -go. His heart was full of repentance and love and forgiveness. He gazed -up with longing tears flowing from his sad eyes. - -'Come, Johannes! do not behave so strangely; people are staring at you!' -cried Pluizer. - -The long monotonous rows of houses stretched away on each side, gloomy -and repulsive--an offence in the soft atmosphere, a discord in the -voices of the Spring. - -The folk were sitting at their doors and on the steps, to enjoy the -warmth. To Johannes this was a mockery. The squalid doors stood open and -the stuffy rooms within awaited their inhabitants. The organ was still -grinding out its melancholy tune in the distance. - -'Oh, if I could but fly away--far away! To the sand-hills and the sea!' - -But he must needs go home to the little garret room; and that night he -could not sleep. - -He could not help thinking of his father, and of the long walks he had -been used to take with him, when he trotted ten yards behind, or his -father traced letters for him in the sand. He thought of the spots where -the violets grew under the brushwood, and of the days when he and his -father had hunted for them. All the night he saw his father's face just -as he had seen him in the evenings when he sat by his side in the -silence and lamplight, watching him and listening to the scratching of -his pen. - -Every morning now he asked Pluizer when he might once more go home to -his father, and see the garden and the sand-hills again. And he -perceived now that he had loved his father more than Presto, or his -little room, for it was of him that he asked-- - -'Tell me how he is, and if he is not angry with me for staying away so -long.' - -Pluizer shrugged his shoulders. 'Even if I could tell you, what good -would it do you?' - -But the spring still called him, louder and louder. Night after night he -dreamed of the dark green moss and the downs, and the sunbeams falling -through the fine, fresh verdure. - -'I can bear it no longer,' thought Johannes. 'I cannot stay.' - -And as he could not sleep he softly got out of bed, went to the window, -and looked out on the night. He saw the drowsy, fleecy clouds slowly -sailing beneath the full moon, peacefully floating in a sea of pale -light. He thought of the downs far away, sleeping through the warm -night; how beautiful it must be in the low woods where none of the baby -leaves would be stirring, and where the air was smelling of damp moss -and young birch sprouts! He fancied he could hear the rising chorus of -frogs, sounding mysteriously from afar over the meadows, and the pipe of -the only bird which accompanies the solemn stillness--which begins its -song with such soft lament and breaks off so suddenly that the silence -seems more still than before. And it called to him--everything called to -him. He bowed his head on the window-sill and sobbed in his sleeve. - -'I cannot, I cannot bear it! I shall die soon, if I do not get away!' - -When Pluizer came to call him next day he was still sitting by the -window, where he had fallen asleep with his head on his arm. - -The days went by, longer and warmer, and still there was no change. But -Johannes did not die, and had to bear his troubles. - -One morning Doctor Cypher said to him-- - -'Come with me, Johannes; I have to visit a sick man.' - -Doctor Cypher was well known as a learned man, and many appealed to him -for help against disease and death. Johannes had already gone with him -on such errands now and then. Pluizer was unusually cheerful that -morning. He would at times stand on his head, dance and leap, and play -all sorts of impudent tricks. He wore a constant mysterious grin, as -though he had a surprise in store for some one. Johannes dreaded him -most in this mood. - -Doctor Cypher was as grave as ever. They went a long way that morning, -in a train, and on foot. They went farther than Johannes had ever been -before outside the town. - -It was a fine hot day. Johannes, looking out from the train, saw the -broad green fields fly past, with tall feathery grasses and grazing -kine. He saw white butterflies flitting over the flowery land where the -air quivered with the heat of the sun. - -But suddenly he saw a gleam in the distance.--There lay the long -undulating stretch of sand-hills. - -'Now, Johannes,' said Pluizer with a grin, 'now you have your wish, you -see.' - -Johannes, half incredulous, sat gazing at the sand-hills. They came -nearer and nearer. The long ditches on each side of the railway seemed -to whirl round a distant centre, and the little houses flew swiftly past -and away down the road. - -Then came some trees: thickly green horse-chestnut trees, covered with -thousands of spikes of pink and white blossoms--dark, blue-green -pines--tall, spreading lime-trees. It was true, then,--he was going to -see his sand-hills once more. The train stopped; they all three jumped -out, under verdurous shade. - -Here was the deep, green moss, here were the flecks of sunshine on the -ground under the forest-trees--this was the fragrance of birch-buds and -pine-needles. - -'Is it real--is it true?' thought Johannes. 'Can such happiness befall -me?' - -His eyes sparkled and his heart beat high. He began to believe in his -happiness. He knew these trees and this soil. He had often trodden this -forest-path. - -They were alone here. But Johannes could not help looking round, as -though some one were following him. And he fancied that between the oak -boughs he caught sight of a dark figure hiding itself, as they threaded -the last turns of the path. - -Pluizer looked at him with mysterious cunning. Doctor Cypher hurried -forward, with long strides, keeping his eyes on the ground. - -At each step the way was more familiar--he knew every stone and every -shrub--and suddenly Johannes started violently: he stood before his old -home. - -The horse-chestnut in front of the house spread the shade of its large, -fingered leaves. Above him the beautiful white flowers, and thick, round -mass of foliage towered high overhead. He heard the sound of an opening -door which he knew well--and he smelt the peculiar smell of his own -home. He recognised the passage, the doors, everything, bit by bit--with -a keen pang of lost familiarity. It was all a part of his life--of his -lonely dreamy childhood. He had held council with all these things, had -lived with them his own life of thoughts--to which he had admitted no -human being. But now he felt himself dead, as it were, and cut off from -the old house, with its rooms and passages and doorways. The severance, -he knew, was irremediable, and he felt as melancholy and woeful as -though he had come to visit a graveyard. If only Presto had sprung out -to meet him, it would have been less dreary. But Presto, no doubt, was -gone or dead. - -But where was his father? - -He looked back through the open door out into the sunny garden, and saw -the man who, as he had fancied, was following them on the way, coming -towards the house. He came nearer and nearer, and seemed to grow in -stature as he approached. When he reached the door a vast cold shadow -filled the entrance. Then Johannes knew him. - -There was perfect silence indoors, and they went up-stairs without -speaking. There was one step which always creaked under foot as Johannes -knew; and now he heard it creak three times with a sound like a groan of -pain. But under the fourth footstep it was like a deep sob. - -Above stairs, Johannes heard moaning, as low and as regular as the slow -ticking of a clock. It was a heart-rending and doleful sound. The door -of his own little room stood open; he timidly glanced in. The strange -flowers on the curtains stared at him with unmeaning surprise. The clock -had stopped. They went on to the room whence the groaning came. It was -his father's bedroom. The sun shone in brightly, on the green -bed-curtains which were drawn close. Simon, the cat, sat on the -window-sill, in the sun. There was an oppressive smell of wine and -camphor; the low moaning now sounded close at hand. - -Johannes heard whispering voices and carefully softened footsteps. Then -the green curtains were opened. - -He saw his father's face, which had so often risen before him during the -last few weeks. But it was quite different. The kind, grave expression -had given way to a rigid look of suffering, and his face was ashy pale, -with brown shadows. The teeth showed through the parted lips, and the -white of the eyes under the half-closed lids. His head lay sunk in -pillows, and was lifted a little with every moaning breath, falling back -wearily after each effort. - -Johannes stood by the bed without stirring, staring with wide fixed eyes -at the well-known features. He did not know what he thought; he dared -not move a finger, he dared not take the wan old hands, which lay limp -on the white linen sheet. - -All about him was black, the sun and the bright room, the greenery -outside and the blue air he had come in from--all the past was -black--black, heavy and impenetrable. And that night he could see -nothing but that pale face. He could think of nothing but the poor head -which seemed so weary, and yet was lifted again and again with a groan -of anguish. - -But there was a change in this regular movement. The moaning ceased, the -eyes slowly opened and stared about inquiringly, while the lips tried to -say something. - -'Good-morning, father,' whispered Johannes, looking into the seeking -eyes and trembling with terror. The dim gaze rested on him, and a faint, -faint smile moved the hollow cheeks; the thin clenched hand was lifted -from the sheet and made a feeble movement towards Johannes, but it -dropped again, powerless. - -'Come, come,' said Pluizer. 'No scenes here.' - -'Get out of the way, Johannes,' said Doctor Cypher. 'We must see what -can be done.' - -The Doctor began his examination, and Johannes went away from the -bed-side and stood by the window, looking out at the sunlit grass and -broad chestnut leaves on which large flies were sitting which shone -blue in the sun. - -The groaning began again with the same regularity. - -A blackbird was hopping among the tali grass, large red and black -butterflies fluttered over the flower-beds, and from the topmost boughs -of the highest trees a soft, tender cooing of wood-pigeons, fell on -Johannes's ear. In the room the moaning went on--without ceasing. He -could not help listening--and it came as regularly, as inevitably as the -falling drip which may drive a man mad. He watched anxiously at every -interval and it always came again--as awful as the approaching footsteps -of Death. - -And outside, warm and rapturous delight in the sunshine reigned. -Everything was basking and happy. The blades of grass thrilled and the -leaves whispered for sheer gladness. High above the trees in the deep, -distant blue, a heron was soaring on lazy wing. - -Johannes did not understand--it was all a mystery to him. Everything was -confused and dark in his soul-- - -'How can all this exist in me at the same time?' thought he. 'Am I -really myself? Is that my father--my own father? Mine--Johannes's?' And -it was as though a stranger spoke. - -It was all a tale which he had heard. He had heard some one tell of -Johannes, and of the house where he dwelt with his father from whom he -had run away, and who was now dying. This was not himself--he had only -heard of it all; and indeed it was a sad story,--very sad. But it had -nothing to do with him. - -And yet--and yet.--It was he himself, Johannes. - -'I cannot understand the case,' said Doctor Cypher, pulling himself up. -'It is a very mysterious attack.' - -Pluizer came up to Johannes. - -'Come and look, Johannes; it is a very interesting case. The Doctor -knows nothing about it.' - -'Leave me alone,' said Johannes, without turning round. 'I cannot -think.' - -But Pluizer went close behind him and whispered sharply in his ear, as -was his wont-- - -'You cannot think? Did you fancy that you could not think? That is a -mistake. You must think. Staring out like this at the green grass and -the blue sky will do no good. Windekind will not come to you. And the -sick man is sinking fast; that you must have seen as clearly as we did. -But what is his disorder, do you think?' - -'I do not know!--I do not want to know!' - -Johannes said no more, but listened to the moaning; it sounded like a -gentle complaint and reproach. Doctor Cypher was taking notes in a book. -At the head of the bed sat the dark figure which had followed them in; -his head was bowed, his lean hand extended towards the sick man, and his -hollow eyes steadfastly gazing at the clock. - -That sharp whisper in his ear began again. - -'Why are you so unhappy, Johannes? You have got what you wished for. -There lie the sand-hills, there is the sunshine through the verdure, -there are the dancing butterflies, the singing birds. What more do you -want? Are you waiting for Windekind? If he exists anywhere, it must be -there. Why does he not come to you? He is frightened, no doubt, by our -dark friend by the bed. He always has been afraid of him. Don't you see, -Johannes, that it was all fancy? And listen to the moaning. It is weaker -than it was just now. You can hear that it will soon cease altogether. -Well, and what matter? Many folks must have groaned just so when you -were at play here among the wild roses. Why do you now sit here grieving -instead of going out to the sand-hills as you used to do? Look! Out -there everything is as flowery and fragrant as if nothing had happened. -Why do you care no more for all the gladness of that life? - -'First you complained and longed to be here. Now I have brought you -where you yearned to be, and yet you are not content. See. I will let -you go--go out into the tall grass, lie in the cool shade, let the flies -hum about you, and breathe the perfume of growing herbs. You are free! -Go. Find Windekind once more. You will not? Then do you now believe in -me alone? Is all I have told you true? Am I or is Windekind the false -one? - -'Listen to the moans! So short and feeble! They will soon be stilled. -But do not look so terrified, Johannes, the sooner it is ended, the -better. There could be no long walks now, no more seeking for violets -together. With whom has he wandered these two years, do you think, while -you were away? You can never ask him now. You can never know. If you -had known me a little earlier you would not look so wretched now. You -are a long way yet from being what you must become. Do you think that -Doctor Cypher in your place would look as you do? It would sadden him no -more than it does the cat blinking there in the sunshine. And it is best -so. Of what use is brooding sorrow? Have the flowers learnt to grieve? -They do not mourn if one of them is plucked. Is not that far happier? -They know nothing, and that is why they are thus content. You have begun -to know something; now you must learn everything to become happy. I -alone can teach you. All, or nothing. - -'Listen to me. What is there remarkable in your father's case? It is the -death of a man--that is a common occurrence. Now do you hear the -gasping? Weaker still! It must be very near the end!' - -Johannes looked at the bed in agonised fear. - -Simon the cat jumped down from the window-sill, stretched himself, and -then, still purring, lay down on the bed by the dying man. - -The poor weak head moved no longer; it lay still, sunk in the pillows, -but the short, dull panting still came through the half-open mouth. - -It grew weaker and weaker till it was scarcely audible. - -Then Death took his hollow eyes off the clock and looked at the weary -head; he raised his hand. Then all was still. - -A grey shadow fell on the rigid features. - -Silence, oppressive, unbroken silence! - -Johannes sat and sat, waiting. But the regular sound was heard no more. -All was still--a great, murmuring stillness. - -The tension of the last hours of listening was over, and to Johannes it -seemed that his soul had been let fall down into black and bottomless -space. Deeper and deeper he fell. All about him grew darker and more -silent. - -Then he heard Pluizer's voice as if it were a long way off. - -'There! That tale is told.' - -'That is well,' said Doctor Cypher. 'Now you can see what was wrong with -him. I leave that to you. I must be off.' - -Still, as if half-dreaming, Johannes saw the gleam of bright knives. The -cat set her back up. It was cold by the corpse, and she returned to the -sunshine. - -Johannes saw Pluizer take a knife, which he examined carefully, and then -went up to the bed. - -Then he shook off his lethargy. Before Pluizer could get to the bed he -stood in front of him. - -'What do you want?' he asked. His eyes were wide open with horror. - -'We must see what he died of,' said Pluizer. - -'No,' said Johannes, and his voice was as deep as a man's. - -'What is the meaning of this?' said Pluizer, with a glare of rage. 'Can -you hinder me? Do you not know how strong I am?' - -'I will not have it,' said Johannes. He drew a deep breath and set his -teeth, staring firmly at Pluizer, and put out his hand against him. - -But Pluizer came nearer. Then Johannes gripped him by the wrists and -struggled with him. - -Pluizer was strong; he knew that; nothing had ever been able to resist -him. But he did not leave go, and his will was steadfast. - -The knife gleamed before his eyes; he seemed to see sparks and red -flames, but he did not give in, and wrestled on. He knew what would -happen if he yielded. He knew--he had seen it before. But that which lay -behind him was his father, and he would not see it now. - -And while he panted and struggled, the dead body lay stretched out -motionless, just as it was lying when the silence fell; the white of the -eyes visible through a narrow opening, the corners of the mouth curled -to a ghastly smile. Only as the two knocked against the bed in their -wrestling, the head gently moved a little. - -Still Johannes held his own. His breath came hard and he could not see; -a blood-red mist was before his eyes--and still he stood firm. - -Then gradually the resistance of those wrists grew weaker in his grasp, -his muscles relaxed, his arms fell limp by his sides and his clenched -hands were empty. - -When he looked up Pluizer had vanished. Death sat alone by the bed and -nodded to him. - -'That was well done, Johannes,' said he. - -'Will he come back again?' whispered Johannes. Death shook his head. - -'Never. Those who have once defied him, never see him again.' - -'And Windekind? Shall I ever see Windekind again?' - -The gloomy man gazed long at Johannes. His look was no longer terrible, -but gentle and grave. It seemed to allure Johannes like some great deep. - -'I alone can take you to Windekind. Through me alone can you find the -Book.' - -'Then take me too, there is no one left. Take me with you as you have -taken others. I want nothing more.' - -But again Death shook his head. - -'You love men, Johannes. You do not know it, but you have always loved -them. You must grow up to be a good man. It is a very fine thing to be a -good man.' - -'I do not want that--take me with you.' - -'You are mistaken; you do want it; you cannot help it.' - -The tall dark figure became dim in Johannes' sight--it melted into a -vague shape--a formless grey mist filled its place and floated away on -the sunbeams. - -Johannes bowed his head on the edge of the bed and mourned for the dead -man. - - - - -XIV - - -It was long before he looked up again. The sun's rays fell aslant into -the room and were glowing red, looking like straight bars of gold. - -'Father, father!' whispered Johannes. - -Outside, the sun filled the whole atmosphere with a cloud of glittering -golden fire. Every leaf was motionless, and all was still in the solemn, -holy sunshine. - -A low sighing chant came down on the sun's rays; it was as though they -were singing: 'Child of the Sun--Child of the Sun!' - -Johannes raised his head and listened. It was in his ears, 'Child of the -Sun--Child of the Sun!' - -It was like Windekind's voice. No one else had ever called him so. Was -it he who called him now? But he looked at the face before him; he would -listen no more. - -'Poor, dear father!' he murmured. - -But suddenly it sounded again close to him, on every side of him, so -loud, so urgent, that he thrilled with strange excitement-- - -'Child of the Sun--Child of the Sun!' - -Johannes rose and looked out. What radiance! What a glory of light! It -flooded the leafy tree-tops, it sparkled in the grass, and danced even -in the dappled shadows. The whole air was full of it, high up towards -the blue sky where the first soft clouds of evening were beginning to -gather. - -Beyond the meadows, between the green trees and shrubs, he could see the -sand-hills. They were crowned with glowing gold, and the blue of heaven -hung in their dells. - -There they lay, at rest, in their robe of exquisite tints. The beautiful -curves of their expanse were as peace-giving as a prayer. Johannes felt -once more as he had felt when Windekind had taught him to pray. - -And was not that he, his slender form in its blue robe? There in the -very heart of the light--gleaming in a shimmer of gold and blue--was not -that Windekind beckoning to him? - -Johannes flew out into the sunshine. There he stood still for a moment. -He felt the consecration of the light, and scarcely dared stir where the -very leaves were so motionless. But the figure was there, before his -eyes. It was Windekind. Certainly, surely! The radiant face was turned -towards him with parted lips, as if to call him. He beckoned Johannes -with his right hand. In his left he held some object on high. He held it -very high with the tips of his slender fingers, and it trembled and -shone in his hand. - -With a glad cry of joy and yearning, Johannes flew to meet the beloved -vision. But it floated up and away before his eyes. With a smile on his -face, and waving his hand now and then, he touched the earth, descending -slowly; but then he rose again lightly and swiftly, soaring higher than -the thistle-down borne by the wind. - -Johannes, too, would fain float up and fly, as of yore--and as in his -dreams. But the earth clung to his feet, and his tread was heavy on the -grassy sod. He had to make his way with difficulty through the brushwood -where the leaves caught and rustled against his clothes, and the lithe -branches lashed his face. He climbed the moss-grown hillocks panting as -he went. Still he went on, unwearied, and never took his eyes off the -radiant vision of Windekind and the object which shone in his uplifted -hand. - -There he was, in the midst of the sandy downs. The wild roses of that -soil were in bloom in the warm hollows, with their thousand pale yellow -cups gazing up at the sun. There were many other flowers too, -light-blue, yellow and purple; sultry heat lurked in the little hollows, -warming the fragrant herbs; the air was full of strong aromatic scents. -Johannes inhaled them as he toiled onward. He smelt the thyme and the -dry reindeer-moss, which crackled under his feet. It was overpoweringly -delightful. - -Between him and the lovely vision he was pursuing, he saw the gaudy -butterflies flitting--small ones, black and red, and the 'sand-eye' as -they call it--the restless little flutterer with sheeny wings of -tenderest blue. Round his head buzzed golden beetles that live on the -wild rose--and heavy bumble-bees buzzed from blade to blade of the -scorched short grass. How delicious it all was, how happy he could be, -when he should find himself with Windekind once more! - -But Windekind glided away, farther and farther, Johannes breathlessly -following. The straggling, pale-leaved thorn bushes stopped his way and -tore him with their spines; the grey woolly mulleins shook their tall -heads as he pushed them aside in his course. He scrambled up the sandy -slopes and scratched his hands with the prickly broom. He struggled -through the low birch-wood where the tall grass came up to his knees, -and the water-fowl flew up from the little pools which glistened among -the trees. Thick white-blossomed hawthorns mingled their perfume with -that of the birches and of the mints which grew all over the marshy -ground. - -But presently there were no more trees, or shade, or flowers. Only -weird-looking grey eryngium growing amid the parched white-blossomed -broom. - -On the top of the farthest knoll rested the image of Windekind. That -which he held up shone blindingly. From beyond, with mysterious -allurement, there came, borne on a cool breeze, the great unceasing, -surging roar. It was the sea. Johannes felt that he was getting near to -it, and slowly climbed the last slope. At the top he fell on his knees, -gazing over the ocean. - -Now he had got above the sand-hills he found himself in the midst of a -ruddy glow. The evening clouds had gathered round the departing day. -They surrounded the sinking sun like a vast circle of immense rocks with -fringes of light. Across the sea lay a broad band of living, purple -fire--a flaming sparkling path of glory leading to the gates of distant -heaven. Below the sun, on which the eye could not yet rest, soft hues of -blue and rose mingled together in the heart of that cave of light; and -all over the expanse of sky crimson flames and streaks were glowing, and -light fleeces of blood-red down, and waves of liquid fire. - -Johannes gazed and waited, till the sun's disc touched the rim of the -path of light which led up to him. - -Then he looked down; and at the beginning of the path of light he saw -the bright form he had followed. A boat, as clear and bright as crystal, -floated on the fiery way. At one end of the boat stood Windekind, -slender and tall, with that golden object shining in his hand. At the -other end, Johannes recognised the dark figure of Death. - -'Windekind! Windekind!' he cried. - -But as he approached the strange barque, he also saw the farther end of -the path. In the midst of the radiant space, surrounded by great fiery -clouds, he saw a small dark figure. It grew bigger and bigger, and a man -slowly came forward, treading firmly on the surging glittering waters. -The glowing waves rose and fell under his feet, but he walked steadily -onward. He was a man pale of aspect, and his eyes were dark and -deep-set: as deep as Windekind's eyes, but in his look was an infinite, -gentle pity, such as Johannes had never seen in any other eyes. - -'Who are you?' asked Johannes, 'are you a man?' - -'I am more,' was the reply. - -'Are you Jesus?--are you God?' said Johannes. - -'Do not speak those names!' said the figure. 'They were holy and pure as -priestly raiment, and precious as nourishing corn; but they are become -as husks before swine, and as motley to clothe fools withal. Speak them -not, for their meaning has become a delusion, and their sacredness is -laughed to scorn. Those who desire to know me cast away the names and -obey themselves.' - -'I know Thee! I know Thee!' cried Johannes. - -'It was I who made you weep for men when as yet you knew not the meaning -of your tears. It was I who made you love before you understood what -love was. I was with you, and you saw me not; I moved your soul and you -knew me not!' - -'Why have I never seen Thee till now?' - -'The eyes that shall see Me must be cleared by many tears. And you must -weep not for yourself alone, but for Me also; then I shall appear to -you, and you will recognise Me for an old friend.' - -'I know Thee! I recognised Thee. I will ever remain with Thee!' - -Johannes stretched out his hand but the figure pointed to the gleaming -barque which slowly drifted off up the fiery path. - -'Look!' said he, 'that is the way to all you have longed for. There is -no other. Without those two you will never find it. Now, take your -choice; there is the Great Light; there you would yourself be what you -crave to know. There,' and he pointed to the shadowy East, 'where men -are, and their misery, there lies my way. I shall guide you there, and -not the false light which you have followed. Now you know--take your -choice.' - -Then Johannes slowly took his eyes off Windekind's vanishing form, and -put up his hands to the grave Man. And led by Him, he turned and faced -the cold night wind, and made his toilsome way to the great dismal town -where men are, and their misery. - - * * * * * - -Perhaps I may some day tell you more about Little Johannes; but it will -not be like a fairy tale. - - -THE END. - - - - -Contents - - Introduction - - I VIII - II IX - III X - IV XI - V XII - VI XIII - VII XIV - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Johannes, by Frederik van Eeden - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE JOHANNES *** - -***** This file should be named 40656.txt or 40656.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/6/5/40656/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by Internet Archive and -Toronto University) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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