The man raised his hand high up. Sami was pale with fright. Suddenly he
turned around, ran to the wagon, took his bundle out, and ran with all
his might up the road, turned to the right between the high walls and
rushed on into the open field. Not a moment did he stop running, until
he had reached the ash-trees. The spot was like a place of refuge to him.
Breathless, he sat down on the wall. The twilight was already coming on
and it was perfectly still all around. No one had run after him as he
feared. He was quite alone.
Now he began to think. It was all done so quickly that he had only now
come to his senses. Yes, it was right that he had run away, for what he
had to do was something wrong, and he had to come away because they were
not God-fearing. It surely would seem right to his grandmother that he
had done this. But where should he go now? The people had all gone home
from the fields, perhaps were already asleep. Up in the ash-trees not
one little bird made a single sound. They were surely all in their nests
and fast asleep. If the dear Lord kept them up there in the trees safe
from all harm, so that they could sleep so well, He would surely protect
him too under the trees. In this spot he always had the feeling that his
grandmother was nearer to him than anywhere else, and this gave him
confidence. So he laid himself down under the tree quite trustfully and
immediately after he had ended his evening prayer, his eyes closed, for
the brook was murmuring such a beautiful slumber song under the
ash-trees there.
Golden sunshine was streaming in Sami’s eyes when he awoke. Above him all
the birds were warbling their morning song up into the blue sky. It
sounded like pure thanksgiving and delight. It awakened in Sami’s heart
the same tones, and he had to sing praise and thanksgiving, for the dear
Lord had protected him too so well through the night and let His golden
sun shine on him again. With a clear voice Sami joined in the glad chorus
and sang a hymn of praise and thanksgiving, the only one he knew:
“Last night Summer breezes blew:--
All the flowers awake anew,”
And when he had come to the end, he sang like the merry finch with all
his might:
“Trust! Trust! Trust! Trust!
Only trust the dear Lord!”
The song had awakened in Sami new assurance that he would find a piece of
bread and some worthy work. This he wanted to look for now, for his
grandmother had not impressed it upon him in vain from his earliest days,
that in the morning after praying one should immediately go to work. So
Sami started off.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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