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cruel to her. Wherefore I will go and seek her through the whole
world, nor will I rest till I have found her."
And there came to him the little daughter of the Woodcutter,
and she put her hand upon his shoulder and said, "What doth it matter
if thou hast lost thy comeliness? Stay with us, and I will not mock at
thee."
And he said to her, "Nay, but I have been cruel to my mother,
and as a punishment has this evil been sent to me. Wherefore I must
go hence, and wander through the world till I find her, and she give
me forgiveness."
So he ran away into the forest and called out to his mother to
come to him, but there was no answer. All day long he called to her,
and when the sun set he lay down to sleep on a bed of leaves, and the
birds and the animals fled from him, for they remembered his cruelty,
and he was alone save for the toad that watched him, and the slow
adder that crawled past.
And in the morning he rose up, and plucked some bitter berries
from the trees and ate them, and took his way through the great wood,
weeping sorely. And of everything that he met he made inquiry if
perchance they had seen his mother.
He said to the Mole, "Thou canst go beneath the earth. Tell me,
is my mother there?"
And the Mole answered, "Thou hast blinded mine eyes. How
should I know?"
He said to the Linnet, "Thou canst fly over the tops of the tall
trees, and canst see the whole world. Tell me, canst thou see my
mother?"
And the Linnet answered, "Thou hast clipt my wings for thy
pleasure. How should I fly?"
And to the little Squirrel who lived in the firtree, and was
lonely, he said, "Where is my mother?"
And the Squirrel answered, "Thou hast slain - mine. Dost thou
seek to slay thine also?"
And the Star-Child wept and bowed his head, and prayed
forgiveness of God's things, and went on through the forest, seeking
for the beggar-woman. And on the third day he came to the other side
of the forest and went down into the plain.
And when he passed through the villages the children mocked
him, and threw stones at him, and the carlots would not suffer him