“Ruth!” he cried, almost as if he expected her really to hear him. “Ruth, where are you? I have been away from you so long! How have you been all this long time? Where are you? Are you still at the Cobbler’s cottage?”
There was no answer save the song of a distant bird, which broke on the peaceful air unheeded, for David was deep in thought. From this time on, he grew more and more restless. The old Woman noticed it and smiled quietly to herself, but she said nothing, for she wished David to speak first.
“Mother,” he said one day—for he had learned to call her that—“Mother, I can’t stay here any longer: I must go on! I want to find the Tree in the midst of the Garden. That is what I started out to find. I thought the Blue Bird would have taken me there, but he has not, after all.”
“Did you follow him?” asked the old Woman gently.
“Yes,” said David.
“How long did you follow him?” she asked.
“Till he led me here.”
“Then what happened?”
“Why, then—I—forgot—about him,” said David thoughtfully.
“Yes,” said the old Woman, “it is just so. But you should never forget about him, David; else how can he guide you?”