to Prince
Jesus--

"'Leave My harem and My palace, and My date trees and My running
waters. Descend to earth for the welfare of men. There Thou shalt
be like a little child, and Thou shalt live poor amongst the poor.
Suffering shall be Thy daily bread, and Thou shalt weep so profusely
that Thy tears shall form rivers, in which the tired slave shall bathe
with delight. Go, My Son!'

"Prince Jesus obeyed the good Lord, and He came down to earth, to a
place named Bethlehem of Judaea. And He walked in fields, amidst the
flowering anemones, saying to His companion--

"'Blessed are they who hunger, for I will lead them to My Father's
table! Blessed are they who thirst, for they shall drink of the
fountains of heaven! Blessed are they who weep, for I will dry their
tears with veils finer than those of the almehs!'

"That is why the poor loved Him, and believed in Him. But the rich hated
Him; fearing that He should raise the poor above them. At that time,
Cleopatra and Caesar were powerful on the earth. They both hated Jesus,
and they ordered the judges and priests to put Him to death. To obey the
Queen of Egypt, the princes of Syria erected a cross on a high mountain,
and they caused Jesus to die on this cross. But women washed His corpse,
and buried it; and Prince Jesus, having broken the door of His tomb,
rose again to the good Lord, His Father.

"And, from that time, all those who believed in Him go to heaven.

"The Lord God opens His arms, and says to them--

"'Ye are welcome, because ye love the Prince, My Son. Wash, and then
eat.'

"They bathe to the sound of beautiful music, and, all the time they are
eating, they see almehs dancing, and they listen to tales that never
end. They are dearer to the good Lord God than the light of His eyes,
because they are His guests, and they shall have for their portion the
carpets of His house, and the pomegranates of His gardens."

Ahmes often spoke in this strain, and thus taught the truth to Thais.
She wondered, and said--

"I should like to eat the pomegranates of the good Lord."

Ahmes replied--

"Only those who are baptised may taste the fruits of heaven."

And Thais asked to be baptised. Seeing by this that she believed in
Jesus, the slave resolved to instruct her more fully, so that, being
baptised, she might enter the Church; and he loved her as his spiritual
daughter.

The child, unloved and uncared for by its selfish parents, had no bed
in the house. She