"
He gazed in all directions, but he saw no shelter where he could lodge.
It was a dark and chilly night, with wind and drizzle. It grew more
terrible and disagreeable around him every second.
This may sound strange, perhaps, but the travellers didn't seem to have
the least desire to ask for house-room on any farm. They had already
passed many parishes without knocking at a single door. Little hillside
cabins on the outskirts of the forests, which all poor wanderers are
glad to run across, they took no notice of either. One might almost be
tempted to say they deserved to have a hard time of it, since they did
not seek help where it was to be had for the asking.
But finally, when it was so dark that there was scarcely a glimmer of
light left under the skies and the two who needed sleep journeyed on in
a kind of half-sleep, they happened into a farmyard which was a long way
off from all neighbours. And not only did it lie there desolate, but it
appeared to be uninhabited as well. No smoke rose from the chimney; no
light shone through the windows; no human being moved on the place. When
the one among the three who could keep awake, saw the place, he thought:
"Now come what may, we must try to get in here. Anything better we are
not likely to find."
Soon after that, all three stood in the house-yard.
Pages:
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265