"I am not so certain of that," interrupted the Hog. "I have noticed your
kind and I ever see some of myself in them. Your star is a delusion."
The Boy answered by painting the flower and setting the notes of the
bird's song to music.
The Hog looked at the boy and said: "His soul is attuned by nature. The
meddler in him is slain."
"I can all but touch my star," cried the Boy.
"I am not so certain of that," remarked the Snake. "I have watched your
kind and ever see some of myself in them. Stings are nearer than stars."
The Boy answered by meditating upon the picture and music. The Snake
departed, saying that stings and stars cannot keep company.
The Boy journeyed on, ever led by the star. Some distance away the Mule
was bemoaning the presence of his heels and trying to rid himself of
them by kicking a tree. The Hog was dividing his time between looking
into a brook and rubbing his snout on a rock to shorten it. The Snake
lay dead of its own bite. The Boy journeyed on, led by an ever inviting
star.