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78 the birthday of the hermit A HERMIT HAD SO ENDEARED himself to the defenseless animals of the forest and field that they wanted to bring him presents on his birthday as a sign of their affection. The day when it came was mild and sunny, and the creatures he had protected so well gathered at the appointed place and chattered gaily. Since the hermit had loved birds more than all other living things, it was fitting that the present the birds made for him should be the finest of all. It was a blanket of the softest and most beautiful down imaginable. The migratory birds had gathered the material from every part of the earth; then the weaving birds had taken it and had woven it into gaily colored patterns. The birds with their soft and brilliant blanket flew at [ 152 ] the head of the column, moving their wings slowly and singing the song they had composed in honor of the hermit, a song which told in detail of the merciful things he had done for their kind; after them came the squirrels , the hares, the fawns, and the other small animals, each bearing his individual gift of flowers, fruits, or honey. And so the procession moved happily until they reached the side of the mountain and saw the hermit's cave in front of them. At that instant the animals became quiet, listened, and looked at one another; and in the silence they heard plainly the groans and cries of pain that came from inside the cave. They sped anxiously to the cave's opening and peered in, and what they saw' made them drop their gifts and start back in dismay, for the hermit with his feet and hands caught in vises lay twisting on a mattress of thorns. The animals, thinking their friend had been thus treated by some barbarous enemy, ran forward to release him, but the hermit stopped them, saying that since this w'as his birthday, he was reminded anew' of his sins and 'was undergoing this pain as an atonement for them; then, moving his head from side to side, he cried out, "Leave me to my suffering! I am not worthy of your sympathy! I am completely vile!" The birds and the small animals, seeing they could do nothing, turned sadly and went away, wondering how one so merciful to others could be so merciless to himself. [ 153 ] ...

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