How the Mountains | |||
“I once knew a man,”said the Singing Mouse, “who had seen the mountains in the wintertime, when they were covered deep in snow. It is the belief of most menthat the mountains are then asleep, but this man said that they are notasleep, but that they have only drawn over their heads the whitecouncil-robes, for then they are sitting in council. Now the mountainsare very old and wise. This man told me he heard strange sounds comingfrom under the council-robes of the mountains then, voices notdistinctly heard, but wonderfuland strong and of a sort to make one fear. “This man told me that once he heard the mountains tell of atime when they ate up the plains. ‘Once man was a dweller of theplains,’ sang the mountains in a great song; ‘there man dugand strove. Never he lifted up the eye, but at his feet, at his feet,there he still gazed down. The clouds bore not up his gaze, neither didthe hills comfort him. Things false, of no worth, these man sought andprized. Though we whispered to him, still he made deaf his ear. Then we,the mountains, we the strong, the just, the wise, we rose, we settogether our shoulders and so marched on. Thus we ate up the plain. Nowwe stand where once man was, for man lifted not up his eyes. Therefore,now let man look up, let him not make small his gaze. We thestrong, we the just, the wise, we shall eat up the plain. For on ourbrows sits the light, about our heads is the calm. That which is highshall in the days prevail. We the strong, the just, the wise, this wehave said!’
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“This man told me that he could not hear all the song that the mountains chanted, nor all they whispered among themselves. But he thought they said that they had swallowed up and consumed one race of beings who became fixed only upon the winning of what they called wealth, and had crushed out this wealth and burned up their precious things. This may be true, for to-day men visit the mountains to dig there for wealth, and this which they call gold is found much scattered, as though it had been crumbled and burned and blown wide over the earth upon the four winds. For these reasons this man thought that the mountains had once eaten up the plains; and that perhaps at some time they might do this again.”
The Savage and | ||
“Once,” said the Singing Mouse, “I knew aman who found a little dog, starved, beneath a building where it hadbeen left. He took it and fed it; and each time he held out his hand togive it food, it bit his hand, knowing not that he was its friend. Manytimes he fed it, and always it bit his hand. It was a long time beforeit learned that the man was its friend. It was but a savage. He fed itpatiently, and so after a time the dog bit him no more, having learnedthat he was its friend. When it had ceased to be savage, it loved him.The man gave it neither blow nor unkindness, and fed it, knowing that hewas older and morewise and that in time it might love him. So at last it did; and this mayoften happen for those who wait, large and kind and patient; and sooften friends are made.” | ||
