. Long years of sinful life had
seared their marks into his face; yet now, at the sound of that
familiar voice, somewhat of the old-time boyish look came back,
and in the yearning of the anguished eyes I seemed to see the
shepherd's son again.

"'The Master!' cried Dimas, and he stretched forth his neck that
he might see him that spake.

"'O Dimas, how art thou changed!' cried the Master, yet there
was in his voice no tone of rebuke save that which cometh of
love.

"Then Dimas wept, and in that hour he forgot his pain. And the
Master's consoling voice and the Master's presence there wrought
in the dying criminal such a new spirit, that when at last his
head fell upon his bosom, and the men about the cross said that
he was dead, it seemed as if I shined not upon a felon's face,
but upon the face of the gentle shepherd lad, the son of Benoni.

"And shining on that dead and peaceful face, I bethought me of
the little Master's words that he had spoken under the old
olive-tree upon the hill-side: 'Your eyes behold the promised
glory now, O Dimas,' I whispered, 'for with the Master you walk
in Paradise.'"

Ah, little Dear-my-Soul, you know--you know whereof the moonbeam
spake. The shepherd's bones are dust, the flocks are scattered,
the old olive-tree is gone, the flowers of the hill-side are
withered, and none knoweth where the grave of Dimas is made. But
last night, again, there shined a star over Bethlehem, and the
angels descended from the sky to earth, and the stars sang
together in glory. And the bells,--hear them, little
Dear-my-Soul, how sweetly they are ringing,--the bells bear us
the good tidings of great joy this Christmas morning, that our
Christ is born, and that with him he bringeth peace on earth and
good-will toward men.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Mouse and The Moonbeam, by Eugene Field

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