ve.

The hermit stood like a pillar of stone, his eyes fixed on a
psalm-book on which his elbow rested, and which was sprinkled with big
red characters; it was very, very old, so old that God alone knew to
what period it belonged; and on a broad stone a yellow wax-candle
blazed with a red flame and a blue smoke that was as dense as a cloud.
The old man approached the praying saint and, again falling on his
knees, said:

"Good-evening, holy father!"

The hermit was so absorbed in his litany that he heard nothing. So our
old man spoke louder. The hermit did not stir, but made him a sign
with his crutch to move aside. The old man stood aloof till the hermit
had finished his prayer. When it was over, he raised his eyebrows and
began:

"My son, what do you seek from me in this dark, cheerless abode? For
many centuries my eyes have seen no human face, and now I wonder what
has led your footsteps hither."

The old man answered:

"I kiss your right hand. My unhappiness has brought me here. I have
lived with my wife many years, but we have no children, and I should
like to have an heir when I behold our Lord's glorious face."

The hermit took an apple, and, after having blessed it, cut it in two,
and said:

"Take these two halves of the apple; give this one to your wife, eat
the other yourself, and in God's name do not wander over the world
so."

The old man took the gift, kissed the hermit's right hand and feet,
and left the cave. Entering the dense forest, he walked a long time
before he came to the meadows. There a terrible thirst and burning
sensation in the throat seized upon him. What should he do, for he
found no water? He did precisely what he was destined to do. He took
the half apple and ate it. But instead of the half intended for him,
he ate his wife's. He had scarcely swallowed it when he felt as if he
could go no further. So he sank down on the grass where a quantity of
yellow cheese-wort was growing, and fell sound asleep. And the angel
of the Lord came down from Heaven, and watched beside him. When he
awoke, what did his eyes behold? The wonder of wonders! The most
marvelous of marvels! By his side, among the herbs, a little child was
crying and moving its tiny hands. The angel brought some basil and
some water that had been consecrated nine years, sprinkled the child,
and christened it, giving it the name of "Little Wild-Rose." The old
man, happier than he had ever been at the sight of the pretty li