“My Bird! My beautiful Bird!” he cried, “where are you?” He sought eagerly among the branches above him. The song came almost uninterruptedly, and David followed each note. At last his eye caught the sunlight on the iridescent wings; he fell on his knees, eager face upturned to the tiny woodland creature.
Yes, it was the Blue Bird, the same wondrous and exquisite being that he had known and followed so faithfully, and then forgotten. A vision drifted before his eyes ... the little cottage in which he had been born ... the woodlands ... the beautiful little old lady to whom he had brought the water, and then ... the Blue Bird. Yes, there it was again. He lifted his hands and stretched them upwards, up toward the clear blue sky and the great sun above.
“I must follow the Bird!” he cried. “Now I know and understand the longing in my heart.”
He rose from his knees and returned to Ruth. He found her sitting upon the ground, the chain of forget-me-nots looped round her, the crown which they had made still lending its beauty to her golden hair. Her head rested against the rough bark of the pine tree. Her hands lay folded in her lap; her eyes were closed, and tears had left their trail unheeded upon her cheeks.
“Ruth!” he whispered, “you have been weeping.”
She opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. The lashes, he saw, were still heavy with tears.
“Yes,” she answered simply. “The song is so beautiful—! I never knew before that one could weep because a thing is beautiful, but the tears seem to come from deep down—deeper down than any tears that I have ever known. I have no wish to sob as one does in sorrow, but I could not help weeping. It is the strangest experience I have ever had.”
“Come,” said David, taking her hand. “I want to show you the Blue Bird.”
Together they sought the Bird. When they had found it they gazed and gazed. David told her of the old woman, of her beauty and sweetness, of the long, long trail that he had followed before reaching the Cobbler’s Cottage.
She listened to his story. “Yes, David,” she said—and she tried not to let a shadow of sadness enter her voice—“you must follow the Blue Bird. I will help you in any way I can.”