And as the servants were slow in obeying, Crondas cried to them:
"Come, come, hurry up! Our lord is waiting."
He was in haste to see the death of the peasant; but the poor man said to those who were about to tie him:
"Oh, let me make a last prayer, I beg of you!"
And, though Crondas begged the lord not to grant this request, the lord extended his hand to command the servants to grant to the peasant that which he had asked; and, as he did so, he saw Crondas make a sign of impatience.
The peasant, dropping his sad, haggard eyes, was about to kneel on a stone not far from where his lord was sitting; but, seeing on the stone a little lady-bug just at the place where his knee was at rest, he put it to one side gently, with his hand, so as not to crush it. Then, kneeling down, he began to pray.
As the lord watched him, he noticed that the little creature, whose life he had just spared, suddenly opened its bright wings and, taking flight, lighted on Crondas's left hand. Crondas, for no reason except that he was perhaps annoyed at having to wait so long for the execution, put a finger of his right hand on the insect, and almost crushed it. When he lifted it, a pair of broken red wings faintly quivered.
At this moment the peasant, having finished his prayer, rose from the stone. The lord, descending from his throne, cried suddenly:
"Let that man go! Do not kill him; he is not my brother's murderer. That is impossible!"
While speaking thus, the lord kept his eyes fixed on the face of Crondas, which suddenly grew white with fear. However, Crondas approached his master, saying: