[THE SHADOW]
An Angel heard a child crying one day, and came to see what ailed it. He found the little one sitting on the ground, with the sun at its back (for the day was young), looking at its own shadow, which lay on the ground before it, and weeping bitterly.
“What ails you, little one?” asked the Angel.
“The world is so dark!” said the child. “See, it is all dusky gray, and there is no beauty in it. Why must I stay in this sad, gray world?”
“Do you not hear the birds singing, and the other children calling at their play?” asked the Angel.
“Yes,” said the child; “I hear them, but I do not know where they are. I cannot see them, I see only the shadow. Moreover, if they saw it, they would not sing and call, but would weep as I do.”
The Angel lifted the child, and set it on its feet, with its face to the early sun.