that thedates were as easy to reach as the buds on a brier bush. It probablyknew that its crown was full of date clusters, but how should a humanbeing reach such a height?
The man had already seen how beyond all reach the date clusters hung. Hedid not even raise his head. He begged his wife not to long for theimpossible.
But the child, who had toddled about by himself and played with sticksand straws, had heard the mother's outcry.
Of course the little one could not imagine that his mother should notget everything she wished for. The instant she said dates, he began tostare at the tree. He pondered and pondered how he should bring down thedates. His forehead was almost drawn into wrinkles under the goldencurls. At last a smile stole over his face. He had found the way. Hewent up to the palm and stroked it with his little hand, and said, in asweet, childish voice:
"Palm, bend thee! Palm, bend thee!"
But what was that, what was that? The palm leaves rustled as if ahurricane had passed through them, and up and down the long trunktraveled shudder upon shudder. And the tree felt that the little one wasits superior. It could not resist him.
And it bowed its long trunk before the child, as people bow beforeprinces. In a great bow it bent itself towards the ground, and finallyit came down so far that the big crown with the trembling leaves sweptthe desert sand.
The child appeared to be neither frightened nor surprised; with a joyouscry he loosened cluster after cluster from the old palm's crown. When hehad plucked enough dates, and the tree still lay on the ground, thechild came back again and caressed it and said, in the gentlest voice:
"Palm, raise thee! Palm, raise thee!"
Slowly and reverently the big tree raised itself on its slender trunk,while the leaves played like harps.
"Now I know for whom they are playing the death melody," said the palmto itself when it stood erect once more. "It is not for any of thesepeople."
The man and the woman sank upon their knees and thanked God.
"Thou hast seen our agony and removed it. Thou art the Powerful One whobendest the palm-trunk like a reed. What enemy should we fear when Thystrength protects us?"
The next time a caravan passed through the desert, the travelers sawthat the great palm's leaf-crown had withered.
"How can this be?" said a traveler. "This palm was not to die before ithad seen a King greater than Solomon."
"Mayhap it hath seen him," answered another of the desert travelers.
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In Nazareth]
IN NAZARETH
Once, when Jesus was only five years old, he sat on the doorstep outsidehis father's workshop, in Nazareth, and made clay cuckoos from a lump ofclay which the potter across the way had given him. He was happier thanusual. All the children in the quarter had told Jesus that the potterwas a disobliging man, who wouldn't let himself be coaxed, either bysoft glances or honeyed words, and he had never dared ask aught of him.But, you see, he hardly knew how it had come about. He had only stood onhis doorstep and, with yearning eyes, looked upon the neighbor workingat his molds, and then that neighbor had come over from his stall andgiven him so much clay that it would have been enough to finish a wholewine jug.
On the stoop of the next house sat Judas, his face covered with bruisesand his clothes full of rents, which he had acquired during hiscontinual fights with street urchins. For the moment he was quiet, heneither quarreled nor fought, but worked with a bit of clay, just asJesus did. But this clay he had not been able to procure for himself. Hehardly dared venture within sight of the potter, who complained that hewas in the habit of throwing stones at his fragile wares, and would havedriven him away with a good beating. It was Jesus who had divided hisportion with him.
When the two children had finished their clay cuckoos, they stood thebirds up in a ring in front of them. These looked just as clay cuckooshave always looked. They had big, round lumps to stand on in place offeet, short tails, no necks, and almost imperceptible wings.
But, at all events, one saw at once a difference in the work of thelittle playmates. Judas' birds were so crooked that they tumbled overcontinually; and no matter how hard he worked with his clumsy littlefingers, he couldn't get their bodies neat and well formed. Now and thenhe glanced slyly at Jesus, to see how he managed to make his birds assmooth and even as the oak-leaves in the forests on Mount Tabor.
As bird after bird was finished, Jesus became happier and happier. Eachlooked more beautiful to him than the last, and he regarded them allwith pride and affection. They were to be his playmates, his littlebrothers; they should sleep in his bed, keep him company, and sing tohim when his mother left him. Never before had he thought himself sorich; never again could he feel alone or forsaken.
The big brawny water-carrier came walking along, and right after himcame the huckster, who sat joggingly on his donkey between the largeempty willow baskets. The water-carrier laid his hand on Jesus' curlyhead and asked him about his birds; and Jesus told him that they hadnames and that they could sing. All the little birds were come to himfrom foreign lands, and told him things which only he and they knew. AndJesus spoke in such a way that both the water-carrier and the hucksterforgot about their tasks for a full hour, to listen to him.
But when they wished to go farther, Jesus pointed to Judas. "See whatpretty birds Judas makes!" he said.
Then the huckster good-naturedly stopped his donkey and asked Judas ifhis birds also had names and could sing. But Judas knew nothing of this.He was stubbornly silent and did not raise his eyes from his work, andthe huckster angrily kicked one of his birds and rode on.
In this manner the afternoon passed, and the sun sank so far down thatits beams could come in through the low city gate, which stood at theend of the street and was decorated with a Roman Eagle. This sunshine,which came at the close of the day, was perfectly rose-red--as if it hadbecome mixed with blood--and it colored everything which came in itspath, as it filtered through the narrow street. It painted the potter'svessels as well as the log which creaked under the woodman's saw, andthe white veil that covered Mary's face.
But the loveliest of all was the sun's reflection as it shone on thelittle water-puddles which had gathered in the big, uneven cracks in thestones that covered the street. Suddenly Jesus stuck his hand in thepuddle nearest him. He had conceived the idea that he would paint hisgray birds with the sparkling sunbeams which had given such pretty colorto the water, the house-walls, and everything around him.
The sunshine took pleasure in letting itself be captured by him, likepaint in a paint pot; and when Jesus spread it over the little claybirds, it lay still and bedecked them from head to feet with adiamond-like luster.
Judas, who every now and then looked at Jesus to see if he made more andprettier birds than his, gave a shriek of delight when he saw how Jesuspainted his clay cuckoos with the sunshine, which he caught from thewater pools. Judas also dipped his hand in the shining water and triedto catch the sunshine.
But the sunshine wouldn't be caught by him. It slipped through hisfingers; and no matter how fast he tried to move his hands to get holdof it, it got away, and he couldn't procure a pinch of color for hispoor birds.
"Wait, Judas!" said Jesus. "I'll come and paint your birds."
"No, you shan't touch them!" cried Judas. "They're good enough as theyare."
He rose, his eyebrows contracted into an ugly frown, his lipscompressed. And he put his broad foot on the birds and transformed them,one after another, into little flat pieces of clay.
When all his birds were destroyed, he walked over to Jesus, who sat andcaressed his birds--that glittered like jewels. Judas regarded them fora moment in silence, then he raised his foot and crushed one of them.
When Judas took his foot away and saw the entire little bird changedinto a cake of clay, he felt so relieved that he began to laugh, andraised his foot to crush another.
"Judas," said Jesus, "what are you doing
? Don't you see that they arealive and can sing?"
But Judas laughed and crushed still another bird.
Jesus looked around for help. Judas was heavily built and Jesus had notthe strength to hold him back. He glanced around for his mother. She wasnot far away, but before she could have gone there, Judas would have hadample time to destroy the birds. The tears sprang to Jesus' eyes. Judashad already crushed four of his birds. There were only three left.
He was annoyed with his birds, who stood so calmly and let themselves betrampled upon without paying the slightest attention to the danger.Jesus clapped his hands to awaken them; then he shouted: "Fly, fly!"
Then the three birds began to move their tiny wings, and, flutteringanxiously, they succeeded in swinging themselves up to the eaves of thehouse, where they were safe.
But when Judas saw that the birds took to their wings and flew at
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