zed his mother, and she recognized him.
She greeted him by neighing. And when they were both in the great
heavenly meadow the horse was filled with joy in finding again his old
companions in misery and in seeing them happy forever.
There were some who had drawn stones along the slippery pavements of
cities, and they had been beaten with whips, and had finally fallen
under the weight of the wagons. There were some who with bandaged
eyes had turned the merry-go-rounds ten hours a day. There were mares
killed in bullfights before the eyes of young girls, who, rosy with
joy, watched the intestines of these unhappy beasts sweep the hot sand
of the arena. There were many more, and then still more.
And they all grazed eternally in the great plain of divine
tranquillity.
Moreover, the other animals were happy here also.
The cats, mysterious and delicate, did not even obey the _Bon Dieu_
who smiled upon them. They played with the end of a string patting
it lightly with an important air, out of which they made a sort of
mystery.
The good mother-dogs spent their time nursing their little ones. The
fish swam about without fear of the fisherman. The birds flew without
dread of the hunter. And everything was like this.
There were no men in this Paradise.
OF CHARITY TOWARD BEASTS
There is in the look of beasts a profound light and gentle sorrow,
which fills me with such understanding that my soul opens like a
hospice to all the sorrows of animals.
They are forever in my heart, as when I see a tired horse, his nose
drooping to the ground, asleep in the nocturnal rain, before a cafe;
or the agony of a cat crushed beneath a carriage; or a wounded sparrow
who has found refuge in a hole in a wall. Were it not for the feeling
that it is undignified for a man, I would kneel before such patience
and such torments, for I seem to see a halo around the heads of these
mournful creatures, a real halo, as large as the universe, placed
there by God Himself.
Yesterday I was at a fair, and watched the merry-go-round. There was
an ass among the wooden animals. The sight of it almost made me weep,
because I was reminded of those living martyrs, its brothers.
I wanted to pray, and to say to it: "Little ass, you are my brother.
They say that you are stupid, because you are incapable of doing evil.
You go your slow pace, and seem to think as you walk: 'See! I cannot
go any faster...The poor make use of me, because they ne
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