Fair is the earth,
Fair is God's heaven;
Fair is the pilgrim-path of the soul.
Singing we go
Through the fair realms of earth,
Seeking the way to our heavenly goal.
Races shall come,
And shall pass away:
And the world from age to age shall roll;
But the heavenly tones
Of our pilgrim song
Shall echo still in the joyous soul.
First heard of shepherds,
By angels sung,
Wide it has spread since that glad morn:
Peace upon earth!
Rejoice all men,
For unto us is a Savior born[1].
[_The mother places both her hands on Sigurd's head, and they look into
one another's eyes; he then rests his head upon her breast._]
[Footnote 1: This song is borrowed by Björnson from the Danish poet B.S.
Ingemann, although it is slightly altered for its present use.]
Copyrighted by Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston.
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