Chapter 126
The Will-o'-the-Wisp Is in the Town, Says the Moor WomanTHERE was a man who once knew many stories, but they had
slipped away from him—so he said. The Story that used to visit him
of its own accord no longer came and knocked at his door. And why
did it come no longer? It is true enough that for days and years
the man had not thought of it, had not expected it to come and
knock; and if he had expected it, it would certainly not have come;
for without there was war, and within was the care and sorrow that
war brings with it.
The stork and the swallows came back from their long
journey, for they thought of no danger; and, behold, when they
arrived, the nest was burnt, the habitations of men were burnt, the
hedges were all in disorder, and everything seemed gone, and th
