The Valley of Vision : A Book of Romance and Some Half-Told TalesVan Dyke, Henry
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The Valley of Vision : A Book of Romance and Some Half-Told Tales
Van Dyke, Henry
Religious fiction, American; Short stories, American
“Dust,” said the man, with a darker frown--“dust and ashes! It will
all perish, and thou with it. Thou art not chosen--not pure!”
With that he went away down the hill; and the Boy, surprised and
grieved at his rude parting, wondered a little over the meaning
of his words, and then went back as quickly as he could toward the
tents.
When he came to the olive-grove they were gone! The sun was
already high, and his people had departed hours ago. In the hurry
and bustle of breaking camp each of the parents had supposed that the
Boy was with the other, or with some of the friends and neighbors,
or perhaps running along the hillside above them as he used to do.
So they went their way cheerfully, not knowing that they had left
their son behind. This is how it came to pass that he was lost.
IV. HOW THE BOY WENT HIS WAY
When the Boy saw what had happened he was surprised and troubled,
but not frightened. He did not know what to do. He might hasten
after them, but he could not tell which way to go. He was not even
sure that they had gone home; for they had talked of paying a visit
to their relatives in the south before returning to Nazareth; and
some of the remaining pilgrims to whom he turned for news of his
people said that they had taken the southern road from the Mount
of Olives, going toward Bethlehem.
The Boy was at a loss, but he was not disheartened, nor even cast
down. He felt that somehow all would be well with him; he would be
taken care of. They would come back for him in good time. Meanwhile
there were kind people here who would give him food and shelter.
There were boys in the other camps with whom he could play. Best
of all, he could go again to the city and the Temple. He could see
more of the wonderful things there, and watch the way the people
lived, and find out why so many of them seemed sad or angry, and a
few proud and scornful, and almost all looked unsatisfied. Perhaps
he could listen to some of the famous rabbis who taught the people
in the courts of the Temple and learn from them about the things
which his Father had chosen him to do.
So he went down the hill and toward the Sheep Gate by which he had
always gone into the city. Outside the gate a few boys about his
own age, with a group of younger children, were playing games.
“Look there,” they cried--“a stranger! Let us have some fun with
him. Halloo, Country, where do you come from?”
“From Galilee,” answered the Boy.
“Galilee is where all the fools live,” cried the children. “Where
is your home? What is your name?”
He told them pleasantly, but they laughed at his country way of
speaking and mimicked his pronunciation.
“Yalilean! Yalilean!” they cried. “You can't task. Can you play?
Come and play with us.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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