The singer meets a shepherd-maid and asks where she has been. She answers that when she was out walking she had come by the stable, and had seen a miracle. What did you see? asks the singer. She had seen a baby lying cradled on the straw. Was he beautiful! As beautiful as the sun. Had she seen nothing more? Mary, his mother, who nursed her child, and Joseph, his father, trembling with the cold. Nothing more? The ox and the ass were near the stall, warming with their breath the place where the baby lay. Nothing more? Three little angels coming down from heaven singing the praises of the Father Eternal. {130} D'ou viens-tu, bergère, D'ou viens-tu? 'Je viens de l'étable De m'y promener; J' ai vu un miracle Ce soir arrivé. Qu' as-tu vu, bergère, Qu' as-tu vu? 'J'ai vu dans la crèche Un petit enfant Sur la paille frâiche Mis bien tendrement.' Est-il beau, bergère, Est-il beau? This beau que la lune, Aussi le soleil; Jamais dans le monde On vit son pareil.' Rien de plus, bergère, Rien de plus? 'Saint' Marie, sa mere, Qui lui fait boir' du lait, Saint Joseph, son père, Qui tremble de froid.' Rien de plus, bergère, Rien de plus? 'Ya le bœuf et l'âne Qui sont par devant, Avec leur haleine Réchauffant l'enfant.' Rien de plus, bergère, Rien de plus? 'Ya trois petits anges Descendus du ciel Chantant les louanges Du Père éternal.' {131} PART V SOME GREAT IMAGINATIVE WRITERS {133} CHAPTER XX DANTE--CERVANTES--SPENSER Dante, an Italian poet, was born in Florence, in 1265, a long time ago, and lived in what we call the Middle Ages. Italy then was divided into factions who fought with each other most of the time, and people had very uneasy, uncomfortable lives. Once, when Dante was a boy, he saw a girl whose name was Beatrice Portinari. We do not know how often he saw her; possibly even, they scarcely spoke to one another. But he never forgot Beatrice. He studied at more than one university, and had also much to do with fighting. While she was still very young, Beatrice died. She remained always to Dante the loveliest and most lovable person he had ever seen. Dante, however, married and had sons and daughters. When he was little more than thirty years old, Dante was exiled from Florence, and never returned to his home, but led the life of a wanderer. He had written other poems; in his exile he wrote a very great poem called _The Divine Comedy_, or, in Italian, _Divina Commedia_. The idea of the poem is to give a picture in a vision of the life that comes after this life; and in this way to tell us what is truly important in our present life.