"I know not," the cloud replied. "Ask the wind."
And she looked out into the wide plain, and seeing how the wind was blowing freely, she said:
"O wind! o'er the wide world flying!
Do thou pity my grief and crying!
Have pity on me!
Oh! where is my loved one? say!
Oh! where do his footsteps stray?
And does he now think of me?"
"Ask the stars," the wind replied; "they know more than I do."
So she cried to the stars:
"O stars! with your bright beams glowing!
Look down on my tears fast flowing!
Have pity, have pity on me!
Oh! where is my loved one? say!
Oh! where do his footsteps stray?
And does he now think of me?"
"Ask the moon," said the stars; "who being nearer to the earth, knows more of what happens there than we do."
So she said to the moon:
"Bright moon, as your watch you keep,
From the starry skies, o'er this land of sleep,
Look down now, and pity me!
Oh! where is my loved one? say!
Where? where do his footsteps stray?
And does he now think of me?"
"I know nothing about your loved one, princess," replied the moon; "but here comes the sun, who will surely be able to tell you."