The sun was almost setting. The clouds were turning a rosy red. They were so bright that the city itself seemed to share in their glory.
"Jerusalem the Blessed!" said Miriam, in a low voice.
"There is papa. We are late about getting home and so is he," said Esther. "Now we can have his company."
Her father had already seen his wife and the girls, and was smiling at them.
It was a warm evening, yet he wore his fur-trimmed, round velvet hat over the tight-fitting cap that never left his head in the daytime. A long lock of hair hung down on each side of his face, as it always did after he was dressed for the day.
"Bless you, my little ones," he said, as Esther and Miriam each seized a hand. "Now tell me what you have seen while you were shopping."
The children chattered as they do everywhere in the world. They described the market and the people, the camels and the shopkeepers.
"We were coming to your store when we found how late it was. Then we thought it would be closed, and you on your way home. And so you were," said Esther, laughingly.
By the time the children had reached their own door, they were so tired they thought only of bed and sleep. They were even too tired to care about their supper.