Now the third man went his way also; and as he went he said to himself, "How shall I keep my fire safe, that no fierce wind blow it out, and no foul vapor stifle it? I know what I will do; I will hide it in my heart, and so no harm can come to it." And he hid the fire in his heart, and carried it so, and went on.
Now by and by those three came to the end of the way, and there waited for them one in white, and his face veiled. He said to the first man, "What of your fire?"
And the man said, "I found folk struggling in darkness, and I made a torch of my fire, and showed them the way; now is it well-nigh wasted, yet still it burns."
And he in white said, "It is well; this fire shall never die."
Then came the second, and of him, too, that one asked, "What of your fire?"
And he said, "I found men shivering, with nought to warm them, and I gave my fire, that they might live, and not die."
And he in white answered again, "It is well; this fire too shall never die."
Then came the third, and answered boldly, and said, "I have brought my fire safe, through peril and through strife; lo, see it here in my heart!"
Then that one in white put aside his veil; and it was Love the Lord himself. "Alas!" he said; "what is this you have done?"
And he opened the man's heart; and inside it was a black char, and white ashes lying in it.