A rich man came to see the young king one day. He found him on his knees in front of a beautiful picture from Venice. On another day, people searched for the king for hours. They finally found him in a little room at the north end of the palace. He was looking at the shape of the Greek god Adonis, cut in a jewel.
In bed that night, the young king thought about the beautiful clothes for his special day — a gold coat and a jewelled crown. People were working day and night to finish the clothes in time. The young king imagined himself in the great church, dressed as a king. His eyes closed, and he fell asleep.
As he slept, he dreamed. Around him were cloth-makers at work. Only a little daylight came in through narrow windows. Little children were working with them.
They were weak and hungry and their little hands shook. The young king went to watch one of the cloth-makers. The man looked at him angrily. But unlike me, he wears fine clothes. And while I am hungry, he has too much food. But they pay us too little and we die. Men call us free, but we are slaves. But these things do not matter to you. You are not one of us: your face is too happy. Then the young king saw that the cloth-maker was making gold cloth. He felt a sudden fear. He was in his own room in the palace.
Through the window, he saw the golden moon hanging in the sky. He dreamed that he was on a ship. Hundreds of slaves were working on the ship. They were wearing only simple cloths round their waists, and each man was tied to the man next to him.
The hot sun shone down on them without pity. A man ran up and down between the slaves. He hit them until the blood came. At last the ship stopped near some land.
The seamen took one of the youngest slaves, tied a stone to his feet and let him down over the side of the ship. After some time they pulled him out of the water.
He had a pearl in his right hand. The seamen took it from him, then pushed him back into the water. The young slave came up again and again; each time he brought with him a beautiful pearl. The seamen put the pearls in a green bag. Then the slave came up for the last time. This time he brought the best pearl of all. It was shaped like the full moon and it was brighter than the morning star.
But the face of the slave was strangely white. He fell down on the ship, and blood came from his ears and mouth. Through the window, the stars were growing weak and daylight was coming. He was walking through a dark forest full of strange fruit and flowers. He continued walking until he came out of the forest. There he saw a great crowd of men, working in a dry river. They were making large holes in the ground and breaking the rocks with tools.
The young king turned and saw an old man standing behind him, with a mirror in his hand. He woke up with a great cry. Bright sunlight was shining into the room, and in the garden outside birds were singing in the trees. Servants brought the coat made of gold cloth.
Other servants placed the crown and fine jewels in front of him. The young king looked at the lovely things. They were very beautiful. I will not wear them. Some of them thought that he was joking. They laughed.
This cloth was made by the white hands of pain. There is blood in the jewels and death in the heart of the pearl. A dream is only a dream — it is not real. We cannot worry about the people who work for us. And if you do not wear these clothes and this crown, you will not look like a king.
How will the people know that you are king? I did not wear fine clothes when I came into the palace. I will go out of the palace in the same way. Go, all of you. Only this boy may stay. Only one servant, a boy, stayed with the king.
The young king opened a big box and took out a rough coat. This was his coat in the days when he watched animals on the hillside for the forester. The young king also took out a stick from the forest. He made it into a circle and put it on his head. The young king left his room. The government officers were waiting for him. He got up on his horse and rode out through the great gates of the palace towards the church. The boy ran with him. The people in the streets laughed. When we make these things, we can buy bread.
Go back to your palace and put on your kings clothes. Why are you worrying about us? His eyes filled with tears as he rode through the angry cries of the people. The boy became afraid and left him. At the great gate of the church, the soldiers tried to stop him. The most important priest in the church was waiting to crown the new king.
He saw the young king in his poor clothes, and he went to meet him. What crown shall I crown you with? This should be a day of great happiness. But God has made us this way, and He is wiser than you.
He walked past the High Priest and went down on his knees. Suddenly a loud noise came from the street outside. Where is the king who is dressed as a servant? He cannot be our king! Then sunlight shone down through the coloured glass of the church windows. It changed his coat into a coat that was more beautiful than one of gold cloth. From the dead stick, white flowers grew that were more beautiful than pearls.
The wild roses on his head shone brighter than jewels. He stood there dressed as a king. The light of God filled the place and there was music and singing. The people fell on their knees. She was twelve years old. The little princess was playing with her friends in the sun-filled palace garden. From a window in the palace, the king watched her. The Infanta looked just like her mother. The king thought sadly about his young French queen. She died soon after her child was born, before she saw the beautiful flowers in the garden and the fruit on the trees.
His love was great, and he could not hide her body in the ground. So an Egyptian doctor worked on her body. It stayed as fresh after death as it was in life. Twelve years later, it still lay in the small palace church. Once every month the king went there and fell down on his knees by her side.
My queen! Memories of his married life returned to him. The Infanta had the same pretty ways as the queen. She moved her head in the same way when she talked. She had the same proud, beautiful mouth, the same wonderful smile.
But the king felt very sad. He could not enjoy the children laughing or the sunny garden. When the Infanta looked up again at the window, he was not there. Where is he? Has he has gone to that dark little church where I cannot go?
He is very silly! The sun is shining so brightly and everyone is so happy! Don Pedro, her uncle, went with her. The Camarera went too. She was a great lady who looked after the Infanta. At the show, some boys rode on wooden horses, dressed in bright clothes. An Indian man played music on a pipe and made magic.
He covered the sand with a cloth, and a tree grew up out of it. Then flowers grew on the tree. He brought eggs out of his nose. Then he took one egg and changed it into a little bird. The bird flew away, and the children were excited and happy. Some schoolboys did a beautiful dance. Then some Africans sat in a ring and played music.
Another man brought in a dog. The animal stood up on its back legs and danced. But the funniest thing was the dancing of an ugly little dwarf. He had very short legs and a very big head.
The children laughed and laughed at him. The Camarera told the Infanta to be quieter. A princess must not laugh so loudly. The dwarf was found by two rich Spanish men when he was running wild in the forest. His father happily sold his ugly child to them, and they took him to the palace as a surprise for the Infanta. There was one very funny thing about the dwarf.
He did not seem to know how strange and ugly he looked. He seemed quite happy! When the children laughed, he laughed too. The Infanta was very amused by him.
He could not keep his eyes off her; he seemed to dance just for her. At the end of his dance, she took a white rose out of her hair and threw it to him. He caught the flower and kissed it.
Then he put his hand on his heart and went down on one knee in front of her. He was smiling, and his little eyes were bright. The Infanta laughed at this for a long time. She wanted the dwarf to dance again. The Infanta should go back to the palace for her birthday dinner. The dwarf can dance again for you later. He ran out into the garden, kissed the white rose and jumped up and down happily.
She wants me to dance for her a second time. He told the birds, but did not stop singing. Perhaps their song was about him and lnfanta. Oh, I want to be with her in the palace. I can be her friend and play with her and teach her nice things. I can make a pipe and play music on it for her. I can teach her how to call the birds. She must come to the forest and play with me. We will dance on the fresh grass.
When she is tired, I will find a soft bank of flowers for her. Then she can rest on it. The doors and windows were shut to keep out the midday heat. Then he saw a little door which was open. He went through it. He was in a beautiful room. There was gold everywhere, and the floor was made of coloured stones. But the little Infanta was not there. The dwarf came to a second room. In the centre there was a big round table with red books on it.
This was the room where the government officers met. The little dwarf was afraid, but he thought of the pretty Infanta. I will tell her that I love her. I will ask her to come away with me after my dance. I know that she will come to the forest with me. He went into the next room. This was the brightest and the most beautiful of all the rooms. The tables and chairs were made of silver, and the floor was of sea-green stone.
But he was not alone! He saw someone — a small person — standing in the shadow at the other end of the room. Watching him! He shouted with excitement, and moved out into the sunlight. As he moved, the other one moved too. He saw it clearly. This was not the Infanta! It was a terrible, ugly thing. It was not shaped like other people. It had short legs and long arms, and its big head was covered with long black hair.
He looked angrily at it, and it looked angrily back at him. He laughed, and it laughed. He went towards it, and it came to meet him. He could see everything in this wall of clear water. Every picture, every chair, every table.
He took the white rose and kissed it. That other one had a rose too! It kissed it and pressed it to its heart. He was looking at himself in a mirror! When he realized this, he fell down on the floor. He cried.
He was the ugly one! The children laughed at him, not with him. The little Infanta did not love him; she only laughed at his ugliness. There were no mirrors there and I never knew. Why did he sell me so other people could laugh at me? He pulled the white rose to pieces and threw the pieces away. The other one did the same.
When he looked at it, it looked at him with a face full of pain. He covered his eyes and lay in the shadow. He was lying on the floor and hitting it with his hands in the strangest way. They shouted happily and stood round and watched. He lay there, crying very quietly. Then he made a strange noise and put his hand on his side. Then he fell back and lay there. The Infanta was angry and called her uncle. Tell him to dance for me! That is very sad, because he is very, very ugly.
Even the king laughed at him. He did not want to live, and he is dead. It was covered with gold, its eyes were bright blue jewels, and a red jewel hung from its waist. Everyone thought that it was very beautiful. The other birds were all in Egypt now.
Then he saw the statue. But as he put his head under his wing, a large drop of water fell on him. He looked up. But as he opened his wings, a third drop fell. He looked up and saw — Ah! What did he see? The eyes of the Happy Prince were full of tears. Tears ran down his golden face. The face was very beautiful in the moonlight, and the bird felt sorry for him. I am wet with your tears. But I did not know what tears were.
I lived in a palace where there was no sadness. In the daytime I played with my friends in a beautiful garden, and in the evening I danced. There was a high wall round the garden. But I did not know what lay on the other side.
So I was called the Happy Prince. I was pleased with my little world. Now I am dead, and they have put me up here. I can see all the unhappiness of my city. My heart now is made of a cheap metal. But even that poor heart can feel, and so I cry. Through an open window, I can see a woman at a table.
Her face is very thin and she has rough, red hands. Her little boy is lying on a bed in the corner of the room. He is very ill. He is crying because she can only give him water from the river. Little bird, will you take my red jewel to her? I cannot move from here. The boy is crying and his mother is so unhappy.
Tomorrow I will take the jewel. He passed the palace and heard the sound of dancing. A beautiful girl was at a window with her lover. At last he came to the poor little house and looked inside. The boy was lying on the bed. The mother was asleep; she was so tired. He flew in and put the great red jewel on the table. Then he flew round the bed, moving the air around the boys face with his wings. I think I am getting better.
Then the bird flew back to the Happy Prince. The little bird fell asleep. A clever man saw him. I must write that down! When the moon came up, he flew back to the Happy Prince. He is sitting at a table that is covered with papers.
At his side there are some dead flowers. He is trying to finish a story. But he is very cold and he cannot write. There is no fire in the room, and he is weak and hungry. The young man can sell it and buy wood and food. He can finish his story. It was easy to get in because there was a hole in the roof.
When he looked up, a beautiful blue jewel was lying on the dead flowers. Now I can finish writing this story! He watched the seamen working on the ships. Dear prince, I must leave you; but I will never forget you.
She is selling eggs. Her eggs have fallen on the ground and they are broken. She has no money to take home. Her father will hit her.
Take out my other eye and give it to her. You will not be able to see! He flew to the girl and put the jewel in her hand. She ran home, laughing. Then the bird flew back to the prince. The next day he stayed with the prince. He told the prince stories about the strange lands that he knew. Fly over my city, little bird. Tell me what you see there. He saw the rich eating, and drinking in their beautiful houses.
He saw the poor people sitting at the gate. He flew into the dark streets and saw the white faces of hungry children with sad eyes. Under a bridge, two little boys were lying close together to keep warm. Then the bird flew back and told the prince. Ice followed the snow, and hung down from the roofs of the houses. Everyone wore thick coats. The little bird became colder. He did not leave the prince, because he loved him too much.
But he was dying. Kiss me, because I love you. Then there was a strange sound inside the statue. CRACK — the metal heart broke into two pieces. Early next morning, an important man in the city was walking below with two of his friends. He looked up at the statue. He looks like a beggar. A stream of bright metal ran out. We mus: throw it away. Sometimes he did not catch much. But sometimes the fish came in from the deep sea and swam into his nets.
Then he took them and sold them in the town. One evening the net was very heavy. The young fisherman laughed. He pulled and pulled, and the net came nearer and nearer to the boat. At last it came to the top of the water. There were no fish in it - only a sleeping mermaid. Her hair was like gold; her body was silver and pearl. She was very beautiful. The young fisherman picked her up in his arms.
When he touched her, she opened her deep-blue eyes with fear. She tried to escape, but he held her tightly. She began to cry. He only has me and he is old and alone. When I call you, you must come to me. You must come to me and sing. The fish love the song of the People of the Sea. They will come and my nets will be full.
The fisherman opened his arms, and she disappeared into the water. She came up out of the water and sang the songs of the People of the Sea. She sang about the gardens of the sea. The big fish came in from the deep sea to listen to her songs. Then the young fisherman threw his nets round them and caught them. When his boat was full, the mermaid disappeared into the sea. The mermaid never came close to him. Once he tried to touch her, but she went down into the water.
He did not see her again that day. Each day the sound of her voice became sweeter in his ears. He forgot about his nets and his boat. The fish came, but he did not see them.
He sat in his boat and listened. Darkness closed round him, and the moonlight changed his brown arms to silver. Take me as your husband. Send away your soul, and I will love you. I cannot see it.
I cannot touch it. Of course I will send it away! We will live in the deepest part of the sea, and you will show me the wonderful things in your songs. But I cannot marry her because I have a soul. Tell me how to send my soul away. I do not need it. Your soul was given to you by God. It is the most important thing that you have. It is like the gold and jewels of kings. The People of the Sea have no souls and, like animals, do not know right from wrong.
She is more beautiful than the morning star, and whiter than the moon. I will give my soul for her body. I must send my soul away. Go away! The young fisherman went into the city. What can we do with it? Sell us your body and become a slave, but do not talk about your soul. The priest tells me that a soul costs more than gold and jewels. I do not understand. At last he remembered that there was a witch near the beach. He ran along the sand to the place where she lived.
She knew by magic that he was coming. She laughed and waited for him. And the market-sellers laughed at me. So I have come to you. But tell me how I can lose my soul. I can have all the gold and silver that I want. What shall I do? Nothing more? Tonight you will come to the top of the mountain. Stand near the tree on the top of the mountain and wait for me. When the moon is full, I will be with you. Then we will dance together on the grass. Then he ran happily back to the town.
The witch watched him as he went. The sea lay far down below, and the shadows of the fishing boats moved on the water. At midnight the witches came flying through the air. There is a stranger here! She wore a gold dress and her long red hair flew out behind her. She pulled him out into the moonlight and began to dance with him. The other witches began to dance too, round and round. Then there was the sound of a horse, but he could not see a horse. He felt afraid. She put her arms round his neck.
He knew that something terrible was watching him. Then he saw someone under the shadow of a rock. It was a man, dressed in black. His face was white, but his mouth was like a red flower. His hands were white and heavy with rings. He watched the young fisherman as he danced.
Suddenly the dancers stopped and went to kiss the mans hands. He smiled proudly, but he was still looking at the fisherman. He did not know why he called it.
The witches cried out and flew away. The man closed his eyes in pain. He called to his horse, jumped up on to its back, then turned and looked sadly at the fisherman. The witch with the red hair tried to fly away too, but the fisherman caught her arm and held her. There were tears in her green eyes. He pushed her away. Stand by the sea, with your back to the moon. Cut your shadow away from your feet and order your soul to leave you. Then he began to climb down the mountain.
How have I hurt you? My love is calling me. His shadow lay in front of him. There is no love or kindness in the world, and I am afraid. I do not need you. It stood up in front of him. It was just like him. He stepped back and put away the knife.
He was afraid. The little mermaid came up to meet him. She put her arms round his neck and kissed him. Then they went down into the sea. The soul went away, crying. I want to tell you about the wonderful things that I have seen. All wise things come from the east. I arrived at a city, walked through its streets and came to the garden of its god. There was no god there, only a metal mirror on a stone table. It shows everything on earth. When you have this mirror, you know everything.
Nothing is hidden from you. Take me as your soul again, and you will be wiser than all the wise men. When I left you, I travelled to the south.
All gold and jewels come from the south. After many days I came to Ashtar. The king of that city has a special ring on his finger. If you have that ring, you are richer than all the kings in the world. The soldiers hit me, but they could not hurt me. Please leave here tonight. Come with me and take it. You will be richer than all the kings in this world.
On my journeys I came to a city where there is a house near the river. Seamen come to that house and drink wine. As I sat there, an old man came in. He played music, and a girl came and danced. Her face was covered and I could not see it. But her white feet moved like little birds. They were the most beautiful feet that I have ever seen.
It was the most wonderful dancing. She could not dance. It is only a short journey, and then I can return to my love.
The soul cried with happiness and went into him. They travelled all that night and came to a city. As they walked along a street of jewellers, the young fisherman saw a fine silver cup. But then the young fisherman threw the cup away. As they walked along the street, the young fisherman saw a child with a pot of water. Then they left the city quickly. But then the young fisherman became angry. It was wrong. The young fisherman sat down and rested. After some time, a man came past them.
I have no friends in this city. Come with me to my house. Kill him and take his gold. We need it. There was a knife near his bed, and there were three bags of gold. The young fisherman put out his hand and touched the knife, but the man woke up. Why did you tell me to take his gold?
Why have you done this to me? I forget my love when I am with you. Then, with the little knife, he tried to cut away the shadow of the body which is the soul. You must keep me with you for ever. I will call her. I will tell her about the bad tilings that I have done. There are the dancing girls of Samaris. They laugh while they dance.
Come with me to that city. He travelled back to the place where his love sang. He called to the little mermaid, but she did not come. He built a hut in the rocks and he called to the mermaid every morning and every night. But she never came up out of the sea to meet him. Now I will offer him good things, and perhaps he will come with me. I will tell you about people who are hungry, poor and sick. Let me into your heart and then I can be part of you again.
As he spoke, a great sound of crying came from the sea. One of the People of the Sea was dead. The young fisherman left his hut and ran down to the water. Black waves hurried in to the land and they brought with them the body of the little mermaid. The fisherman threw himself down next to her and held her in his arms. And when the young King heard this he gave a great cry, and woke, and through the window he saw the long grey fingers of the dawn clutching at the fading stars.
He thought that he was wandering through a dim wood, hung with strange fruits and with beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders hissed at him as he went by, and the bright parrots flew screaming from branch to branch. Huge tortoises lay asleep upon the hot mud. The trees were full of apes and peacocks. On and on he went, till he reached the outskirts of the wood, and there he saw an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of a dried-up river.
They swarmed up the crag like ants. They dug deep pits in the ground and went down into them. Some of them cleft the rocks with great axes; others grabbled in the sand. They tore up the cactus by its roots, and trampled on the scarlet blossoms. They hurried about, calling to each other, and no man was idle. From the darkness of a cavern Death and Avarice watched them, and Death said, 'I am weary; give me a third of them and let me go. But Avarice shook her head. And Death laughed, and took a cup, and dipped it into a pool of water, and out of the cup rose Ague.
She passed through the great multitude, and a third of them lay dead. A cold mist followed her, and the water-snakes ran by her side. And when Avarice saw that a third of the multitude was dead she beat her breast and wept. She beat her barren bosom and cried aloud. There is war in the mountains of Tartary, and the kings of each side are calling to thee. The Afghans have slain the black ox, and are marching to battle.
They have beaten upon their shields with their spears, and have put on their helmets of iron. What is my valley to thee, that thou should'st tarry in it? Get thee gone, and come here no more. But Avarice shut her hand, and clenched her teeth. And Death laughed, and took up a black stone, and threw it into the forest, and out of a thicket of wild hemlock came Fever in a robe of flame.
She passed through the multitude, and touched them, and each man that she touched died. The grass withered beneath her feet as she walked. And Avarice shuddered, and put ashes on her head.
There is famine in the walled cities of India, and the cisterns of Samarcand have run dry. There is famine in the walled cities of Egypt, and the locusts have come up from the desert.
The Nile has not overflowed its banks, and the priests have cursed Isis and Osiris. Get thee gone to those who need thee, and leave me my servants. And Death laughed again, and he whistled through his fingers, and a woman came flying through the air. Plague was written upon her forehead, and a crowd of lean vultures wheeled round her. She covered the valley with her wings, and no man was left alive. And Avarice fled shrieking through the forest, and Death leaped upon his red horse and galloped away, and his galloping was faster than the wind.
And out of the slime at the bottom of the valley crept dragons and horrible things with scales, and the jackals came trotting along the sand, sniffing up the air with their nostrils. And the young King wept, and said: 'Who were these men and for what were they seeking? And the young King started, and, turning round, he saw a man habited as a pilgrim and holding in his hand a mirror of silver.
And the pilgrim answered: 'Look in this mirror, and thou shalt see him. And he looked in the mirror, and, seeing his own face, he gave a great cry and woke, and the bright sunlight was streaming into the room, and from the trees of the garden and pleasaunce the birds were singing.
And the Chamberlain and the high officers of State came in and made obeisance to him, and the pages brought him the robe of tissued gold, and set the crown and the sceptre before him. And the young King looked at them, and they were beautiful. More beautiful were they than aught that he had ever seen.
But he remembered his dreams, and he said to his lords: 'Take these things away, for I will not wear them. And the courtiers were amazed, and some of them laughed, for they thought that he was jesting. But he spake sternly to them again, and said: 'Take these things away, and hide them from me. Though it be the day of my coronation, I will not wear them. For on the loom of Sorrow, and by the white hands of Pain, has this my robe been woven. There is Blood in the heart of the ruby, and Death in the heart of the pearl.
And when the courtiers heard them they looked at each other and whispered, saying: 'Surely he is mad; for what is a dream but a dream, and a vision but a vision?
They are not real things that one should heed them. And what have we to do with the lives of those who toil for us? Shall a man not eat bread till he has seen the sower, nor drink wine till he has talked with the vinedresser?
And the Chamberlain spake to the young King, and said, 'My lord, I pray thee set aside these black thoughts of thine, and put on this fair robe, and set this crown upon thy head. For how shall the people know that thou art a king, if thou hast not a king's raiment? And the young King looked at him. And yet I will not wear this robe, nor will I be crowned with this crown, but even as I came to the palace so will I go forth from it. And he bade them all leave him, save one page whom he kept as his companion, a lad a year younger than himself.
Him he kept for his service, and when he had bathed himself in clear water, he opened a great painted chest, and from it he took the leathern tunic and rough sheepskin cloak that he had worn when he had watched on the hillside the shaggy goats of the goatherd. These he put on, and in his hand he took his rude shepherd's staff. And the little page opened his big blue eyes in wonder, and said smiling to him, 'My lord, I see thy robe and thy sceptre, but where is thy crown?
And the young King plucked a spray of wild briar that was climbing over the balcony, and bent it, and made a circlet of it, and set it on his own head.
And thus attired he passed out of his chamber into the Great Hall, where the nobles were waiting for him. And the nobles made merry, and some of them cried out to him, 'My lord, the people wait for their king, and thou showest them a beggar,' and others were wroth and said, 'He brings shame upon our state, and is unworthy to be our master.
And the people laughed and said, 'It is the King's fool who is riding by,' and they mocked him. And he drew rein and said, 'Nay, but I am the King. And a man came out of the crowd and spake bitterly to him, and said, 'Sir, knowest thou not that out of the luxury of the rich cometh the life of the poor? By your pomp we are nurtured, and your vices give us bread.
To toil for a hard master is bitter, but to have no master to toil for is more bitter still. Thinkest thou that the ravens will feed us?
And what cure hast thou for these things? Wilt thou say to the buyer, "Thou shalt buy for so much," and to the seller, "Thou shalt sell at this price? Therefore go back to thy Palace and put on thy purple and fine linen. What hast thou to do with us, and what we suffer?
And the young King's eyes filled with tears, and he rode on through the murmurs of the people, and the little page grew afraid and left him. And when he reached the great portal of the cathedral, the soldiers thrust their halberts out and said, 'What dost thou seek here?
None enters by this door but the King. And his face flushed with anger, and he said to them, 'I am the King,' and waved their halberts aside and passed in. And when the old Bishop saw him coming in his goatherd's dress, he rose up in wonder from his throne, and went to meet him, and said to him, 'My son, is this a king's apparel?
And with what crown shall I crown thee, and what sceptre shall I place in thy hand? Surely this should be to thee a day of joy, and not a day of abasement. And he told him his three dreams. And when the Bishop had heard them he knit his brows, and said, 'My son, I am an old man, and in the winter of my days, and I know that many evil things are done in the wide world.
The fierce robbers come down from the mountains, and carry off the little children, and sell them to the Moors. The lions lie in wait for the caravans, and leap upon the camels.
The wild boar roots up the corn in the valley, and the foxes gnaw the vines upon the hill. The pirates lay waste the sea-coast and burn the ships of the fishermen, and take their nets from them. In the salt-marshes live the lepers; they have houses of wattled reeds, and none may come nigh them. The beggars wander through the cities, and eat their food with the dogs. Canst thou make these things not to be? Wilt thou take the leper for thy bedfellow, and set the beggar at thy board?
Shall the lion do thy bidding, and the wild boar obey thee? Is not He who made misery wiser than thou art? Wherefore I praise thee not for this that thou hast done, but I bid thee ride back to the Palace and make thy face glad, and put on the raiment that beseemeth a king, and with the crown of gold I will crown thee, and the sceptre of pearl will I place in thy hand.
And as for thy dreams, think no more of them. The burden of this world is too great for one man to bear, and the world's sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer. He stood before the image of Christ, and on his right hand and on his left were the marvellous vessels of gold, the chalice with the yellow wine, and the vial with the holy oil. He knelt before the image of Christ, and the great candles burned brightly by the jewelled shrine, and the smoke of the incense curled in thin blue wreaths through the dome.
He bowed his head in prayer, and the priests in their stiff copes crept away from the altar. And suddenly a wild tumult came from the street outside, and in entered the nobles with drawn swords and nodding plumes, and shields of polished steel. Surely we will slay him, for he is unworthy to rule over us. And the young King bowed his head again, and prayed, and when he had finished his prayer he rose up, and turning round he looked at them sadly.
And lo! The dead staff blossomed, and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls. The dry thorn blossomed, and bare roses that were redder than rubies.
Whiter than fine pearls were the lilies, and their stems were of bright silver. Redder than male rubies were the roses, and their leaves were of beaten gold. He stood there in the raiment of a king, and the gates of the jewelled shrine flew open, and from the crystal of the many-rayed monstrance shone a marvellous and mystical light. He stood there in a king's raiment, and the Glory of God filled the place, and the saints in their carven niches seemed to move.
In the fair raiment of a king he stood before them, and the organ pealed out its music, and the trumpeters blew upon their trumpets, and the singing boys sang. And the people fell upon their knees in awe, and the nobles sheathed their swords and did homage, and the Bishop's face grew pale, and his hands trembled.
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