THE HERMIT AND THE BEASTS
Once there lived among the green hills a hermit. He was pure of spirit and white of heart. And all the animals of the land and all the fowls of the air came to him in pairs and he spoke unto
them. They heard him gladly, and they would gather near unto him, and would not go until
nightfall, when he would send them away, entrusting them to the wind and the woods with his
blessing.
Upon an evening as he was speaking of love, a leopard raised her head and said to the hermit,
"You speak to us of loving. Tell us, Sir, where is your mate?"
And the hermit said, "I have no mate."
Then a great cry of surprise rose from the company of beasts and fowls, and they began to
say among themselves, "How can he tell us of loving and mating when he himself knows
naught thereof?" And quietly and in distain they left him alone.
That night the hermit lay upon his mat with his face earthward, and he wept bitterly and beat
his hands upon his breast.
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