Here, neighbors, Have each of you now a sweet frosting: Here’s moon-cake and sun-cake and star-cake, To mind us His birth-time. And you— Here’s tune-strings to play, while we sing To praise this good tree of His star. (TREE enters, winged, all in white.) ELF Look, look! Tree now is his angel. TREE Welcome, dear passers in darkness! The Light-Child is gone on His way, But He leaves you His star, to make glad Your path in the wilderness.—Welcome Under His star! CASPAR Thank you, Tree. His star hath made merry our hearts To dance in His light—aye, to sing As we enter your place of His dreams. Come, neighbors, now blithe be our carol! (With his sceptre for baton, CASPAR leads in dance and song WOLF, BEAR, LION, ELF and GNOME, the BEASTS holding their cakes, the FAIRIES playing their instruments. Joining in their blithe dance of devotion, the old KING clutches the great flap of his crown, to keep it from joggling off.) [Sidenote: _Carol 6. Dance-Carol of the Evergreen._] ALL (Sing, to the strongly stressed dance-rhythm) _O Evergreen, our Evergreen!_ _Thy boughs are brave and bright o’ sheen,_ _Thy bark and wood are live and strong_ _And bonny with the berry._ _So we will sing our even-song_ _And dance for thee, like king and queen.—_ _O Evergreen, dear Evergreen!—_ _To make thy heart be merry._ _O Even-song, our Even-song,_ _Thy notes this holy night belong_ _To Him who came to heal our teen_ _With love and starry leaven._ _His childhood keepeth ever green_ _All hearts of creatures here that long—_ _O Even-song, dear Even-song—_ _To make our earth His heaven._ (Following TREE, they dance joyously within. Outside, MELCHIOR, BELSHASAR and their Followers wait in the dimness.) BELSHASAR A bell! I hear a bell tolling. MELCHIOR A sword! The clang of a sword! NINTH ACTION (Outcasts) _STAGE B AND AISLE I_ From the right of HEROD’S Gate sounds the tolling of bells—from the left, the clangor of swords. During this, HEROD comes forth and stands on his dais. There, in shifting light and darkness, HELMETED MEN with swords hurry to him, confer in pantomime and depart. Then, as HEROD stands looking down from his height, there passes below him a PROCESSION OF OUTCASTS, which—moving from Aisle II to Aisle I—passes on along Aisle I toward the Place of the Tree. When the last of this dirgeful Pageant has gone by him, HEROD returns in darkness within the gate.