So the children grew and grew. And as they grew physically, they also grew mentally. Soon they were approaching the very borderland of womanhood and manhood. The old Cobbler and his wife were really kind enough to them: the only thing that one could find fault with was their extreme selfishness--for selfish they certainly were. Their selfishness showed in their wish that David and Ruth should never hear or know anything that might make the boy and girl restless or desire something other than what the old couple saw fit to give them; for they [Illustration: THE MONTHS PASSED BY AND DAVID AND RUTH WORKED AND WORKED FOR THE COBBLER] wanted the children to remain with them always, and in their old age to care for them and make them comfortable. But this state of things was not to last for ever. David and Ruth both had their daily tasks and duties to perform. They were kept busy most of the time, and for that reason were sound and strong in body. In their leisure hours they would play and sing together. As Ruth grew older, David found that she had a sweet, clear voice. Together the two would sing songs of their own making, many of them very beautiful. One day they wandered through the meadow hand in hand, singing, laughing, and playing, for they were both very happy. Presently they came to a clear brook-side. Growing on either bank, hidden in the soft grass, they found the tiny blue flowers called forget-me-nots. They gathered a quantity of these; then, seeking a cool spot on a dry knoll beneath the shade of a pine tree, they wove the flowers into chains, making a fairy-like crown with which David decked Ruth. The sunlight danced about them as the shadows of the pine branches waved to and fro. Ruth’s soft hair fell about her face in a shower of golden beauty, her cheeks were flushed with the joy and zest of youth, and her eyes were soft and as deep as the cloudless sky at noonday. As David gazed upon her it seemed to him that he had never seen anything so filled with beauty and joy in all his life. “Ruth!” he cried, “how beautiful you are! You remind me of something--something that I have half forgotten--something of long, long ago.” “What is it?” asked the girl. “I do not know,” answered David. “But you are so beautiful, you fill my heart with longing--a longing to _do_ and to _be_.” “What do you mean?” asked Ruth. “I cannot understand you.” “I do not know how to tell you,” said the boy, laughing, “but--you are so beautiful, Ruth, I would like to do something to prove to you, yourself, how beautiful you are! I am some day going to prove it to you, Ruth; for you truly seem to grow more beautiful every day.” A tiny olive-green bird hopped about from twig to twig near them. The two watched it in silence.