).
This is a legend about a hermit who lived
long ago. He lived high up on the mountain-
side in a tiny cave; his food was roots
and acorns, a bit of bread given by a
peasant, or a cheese brought by a woman
who wanted his prayers; his work was
praying, and thinking about God. For
forty years he lived so, preaching to the
people, praying for them, comforting them
in trouble, and, most of all, worshiping
in his heart. There was just one thing he
cared about: it was to make his soul so
pure and perfect that it could be one of the
stones in God's great Temple of Heaven.
One day, after the forty years, he had a
great longing to know how far along he
had got with his work,--how it looked to
the Heavenly Father. And he prayed that
he might be shown a man--
"Whose soul in the heavenly grace had grown
To the selfsame measure as his own;
Whose treasure on the celestial shore
Could neither be less than his nor more."
As he looked up from his prayer, a
white-robed angel stood in the path before
him. The hermit bowed before the
messenger with great gladness, for he knew
that his wish was answered. "Go to the
nearest town," the angel said, "and there,
in the public square, you will find a
mountebank (a clown) making the people laugh
for money. He is the man you seek, his
soul has grown to the selfsame stature as
your own; his treasure on the celestial
shore is neither less than yours nor more.
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