He sat and rested, and looked at the children with such kind eyes that they came about him, and told him all they knew; about the five puppies in the barn, and the thrush’s nest with four blue eggs, and the shore where the gold shells grew: and the man nodded, and understood all about it.
By-and-by he asked for a cup of water, and they brought it to him in the best cup, with the gold sprigs on it, then he thanked the children, and rose and went on his way; but before he went he laid his hand on their heads for a moment, and the touch went warm to their hearts.
The children stood by the wall and watched the man as he went slowly along. The sun was setting, and the light fell in long slanting rays across the road.
“He looks so tired!” said one of the children.
“But he was so kind!” said another.
“See!” said the littlest one. “How the sun shines on his hair! it looks like a crown of gold.”
[C] From “The Golden Windows,” by Laura E. Richards; published by Little, Brown & Company, Boston. Used by permission of the publishers.
