he went into the churchyard; and, by his father’s grave, he offered up a
prayer, and said, “Farewell.”
As he passed through the fields, all the flowers looked fresh and beautiful
in the warm sunshine, and nodded in the wind, as if they wished to say,
“Welcome to the green wood, where all is fresh and bright.”
Then Jean turned to have one more look at the old church, in which he
had been christened in his infancy, and where his father had taken him
every Sunday to hear the service and join in singing the psalms. As he
looked at the old tower, he espied the ringer standing at one of the narrow
openings, with his little pointed red cap on his head, and shading his eyes
from the sun with his bent arm. Jean nodded farewell to him, and the little
ringer waved his red cap, laid his hand on his heart, and kissed his hand to
him a great many times, to show that he felt kindly towards him, and
wished him a prosperous journey.
Jean continued his journey, and thought of all the wonderful things he
should see in the large, beautiful world, till he found himself farther away
from home than ever he had been before. He did not even know the names
of the places he passed through, and could scarcely understand the language
of the people he met, for he was far away, in a strange land. The first night
he slept on a haystack, out in the fields, for there was no other bed for him;
but it seemed to him so nice and comfortable that even a king need not wish
for a better. The field, the brook, the haystack, with the blue sky above,
formed a beautiful sleeping-room. The green grass, with the little red and
white flowers, was the carpet; the elder-bushes and the hedges of wild roses
looked like garlands on the walls; and for a bath he could have the clear,
fresh water of the brook; while the rushes bowed their heads to him, to wish
him good morning and good evening. The moon, like a large lamp, hung
high up in the blue ceiling, and he had no fear of its setting fire to his
curtains. Jean slept here quite safely all night; and when he awoke, the sun
was up, and all the little birds were singing round him, “Good morning,
good morning. Are you not up yet?”
