“I called to my father: ‘Come back-come back!’”
“Thou shouldst have called to God, my Fanchon.”
“I loved my father, and I called to him.”
“Thou shouldst love God.”
“I knew my father first. If God loved thee, He would answer thy prayer. Dost thou not hear the cracking of the cedar trees and the cry of the wolves—they are afraid. All day and all night the rain and wind come down, and the birds and wild fowl have no peace. I kissed—His feet, and my throat was full of tears; but I called in my heart. Yet the storm and the dark stay, and my father does not come.”
“Let us be patient, my Fanchon.”
“He went to guide the priest across the hills. Why does not God guide him back?”
“My Fanchon, let us be patient.”
“The priest was young, and my father has grey hair.”
“Wilt thou not be patient, my child?”