Taking Claus to a small clearing in the forest, the Master said: "Place
your hand upon my girdle and hold fast while we journey through the
air; for now shall we encircle the world and look upon many of the
haunts of those men from whom you are descended."
These words caused Claus to marvel, for until now he had thought
himself the only one of his kind upon the earth; yet in silence he
grasped firmly the girdle of the great Ak, his astonishment forbidding
speech.
Then the vast forest of Burzee seemed to fall away from their feet, and
the youth found himself passing swiftly through the air at a great
height.
Ere long there were spires beneath them, while buildings of many shapes
and colors met their downward view. It was a city of men, and Ak,
pausing to descend, led Claus to its inclosure. Said the Master:
"So long as you hold fast to my girdle you will remain unseen by all
mankind, though seeing clearly yourself. To release your grasp will be
to separate yourself forever from me and your home in Burzee."
One of the first laws of the Forest is obedience, and Claus had no
thought of disobeying the Master's wish. He clung fast to the girdle
and remained invisible.
Thereafter with each moment passed in the city the youth's wonder grew.
He, who had supposed himself created differently from all others, now
found the earth swarming with creatures of his own kind.
"Indeed," said Ak, "the immortals are few; but the mortals are many."
Claus looked earnestly upon his fellows. There were sad faces, gay and
reckless faces, pleasant faces, anxious faces and kindly faces, all
mingled in puzzling disorder. Some worked at tedious tasks; some
strutted in impudent conceit; some were thoughtful and grave while
others seemed happy and content. Men of many natures were there, as
everywhere, and Claus found much to please him and much to make him sad.
But especially he noted the children--first curiously, then eagerly,
then lovingly. Ragged little ones rolled in the dust of the streets,
playing with scraps and pebbles. Other children, gaily dressed, were
propped upon cushions and fed with sugar-plums. Yet the children of
the rich were not happier than those playing with the dust and pebbles,
it seemed to Claus.
"Childhood is the time of man's greatest content," said Ak, following
the youth's thoughts. "'Tis during these years of innocent pleasure
that the little ones are most free from care."
"Tell me," said Claus, "why do not all these babies fare alike?"
"Because they are born in both cottage and palace," returned the
Master. "The difference in the wealth of the parents determines the
lot of the child. Some are carefully tended and clothed in silks and
dainty linen; others are neglected and covered with rags."
"Yet all seem equally fair and sweet," said Claus, thoughtfully.
"While they are babes--yes;" agreed Ak. "Their joy is in being alive,
and they do not stop to think. In after years the doom of mankind
overtakes them, and they find they must struggle and worry, work and
fret, to gain the wealth that is so dear to the hearts of men. Such
things are unknown in the Forest where you were reared." Claus was
silent a moment. Then he asked:
"Why was I reared in the forest, among those who are not of my race?"
Then Ak, in gentle voice, told him the story of his babyhood: how he
had been abandoned at the forest's edge and left a prey to wild beasts,
and how the loving nymph Necile had rescued him and brought him to
manhood under the protection of the immortals.
"Yet I am not of them," said Claus, musingly.
"You are not of them," returned the Woodsman. "The nymph who cared for
you as a mother seems now like a sister to you; by and by, when you
grow old and gray, she will seem like a daughter. Yet another brief
span and you will be but a memory, while she remains Necile."
"Then why, if man must perish, is he born?" demanded the boy.
"Everything perishes except the world itself and its keepers," answered
Ak. "But while life lasts everything on earth has its use. The wise
seek ways to be helpful to the world, for the helpful ones are sure to
live again."
Much of this Claus failed to understand fully, but a longing seized him
to become helpful to his fellows, and he remained grave and thoughtful
while they resumed their journey.
They visited many dwellings of men in many parts of the world, watching
farmers toil in the fields, warriors dash into cruel fray, and
merchants exchange their goods for bits of white and yellow metal. And
everywhere the eyes of Claus sought out the children in love and pity,
for the thought of his own helpless babyhood was strong within him and
he yearned to give help to the innocent little ones of his race even as
he had been succored by the kindly nymph.
Day by day the Master Woodsman and his pupil traversed the earth, Ak
speaking but seldom to the youth who clung steadfastly to his girdle,
but guiding him into all places where he might become familiar with the
lives of human beings.
And at last they returned to the grand old Forest of Burzee, where the
Master set Claus down within the circle of nymphs, among whom the
pretty Necile anxiously awaited him.
The brow of the great Ak was now calm and peaceful; but the brow of
Claus had become lined with deep thought. Necile sighed at the change
in her foster-son, who until now had been ever joyous and smiling, and
the thought came to her that never again would the life of the boy be
the same as before this eventful journey with the Master.