It grely ligogeturning toed after t embrace. Lise led deep into tretc on ionless; for a long time ared into t profoundly, desperately, greedily, as t time, as to stay a hours.

    c-minded, still half asleep.

    quot;Youre a; he said finally.

    urned art.

    quot;Ive got to go no; s sad. quot;I didnt  to ;

    quot;ell, Im a er all, were ;

    quot;I am,quot; said Lise. quot;But you belong to ter.quot;

    quot;I no longer belong to ter. Im like you, completely alone, o go. But Ill go ;

    Lise looked away.

    quot;You cant come  go to my  me, because I stayed out all nig my   believe me.quot;

    Goldmund remembered Narcissuss prediction. So ts  was.

    quot;Ive made a mistake t; ;I  t you and I ay toget to let me sleep and run off  saying fare;

    quot;O get angry and beat me, per my s me, s s normal. But I didnt  you to beat me, too.quot;

    o her hand.

    quot;Lise,quot; ;I  beat you, not no ever. ouldnt you ratay s you?quot;

    Sugged to get her hand free.

    quot;No, no, no,quot; sears in

    time sarted to run. Clasping botreaming eyes, sood silently and c sorry for  po set  sorry for tle sorry for  been lucky apparently; alone and a little stunned,  in ted. But ill tired and eager for sleep; never  so exed. time to be uner. Immediately  back to sleep and woke only wood  around him.

    rested noo t exle, tender feelings. s ran after to asted, smelled, touc to floilled so many heir place!

    Field and retc. Beyond it migo time ting, ready to receive o do udent able return. Noy,  of it, it contained e, its sky ; s blue-green infinity. No bell called  of bed, to mass, to class, to meals.

    O delicious memories! omacripped teetiny, slimy kernels, plucked more and still more, stuffed s er s. till quite green, but  into t a .

    As ered t, ed and ate and cooled off. Blue  grass; broterflies rose and vanis. Saint Genevieve  like tory. o meet  find a age in t, . Or per diggers lived in t; o speak to t   to meet somebody, anybody. But   for a long time, today, tomorro meeting anyone. t, too, o be accepted, if it  ter not to too muco take they came.

    apping and tried to find it. For a long time ried in vain to catc of t last c for a runk of tree, all alone, tap-tap-tapping, turning its busy .  a pity t one couldnt speak to animals. It o call a greeting up to to say a friendly  its life in trees per its s joys. Oransform oneself!

    o draimes, during o draylus on ing tablet, and florees, animals, peoples  ures of ion, like a small God, o to a cluster of leaves sprouting on a brancop of a tree. For  often surprised arted suddenly turned into a leaf or a tree, t of a fisail, someones eyebros  to be able to transform oneself, , to transform tablet. Goldmund longed to become a ops,  trong beak, keeping balance ail feat of t and strong among trees.

    Goldmund met many animals on . te a number of   of tare at urn and run off, ears folded back, ail.  didnt move; it  a live snake, only an empty skin.  up and examined it carefully: a beautiful gray and brotern ran do; it ened, t iff, narroo to a er, on ic leaves, brancing t—a stag per tell. For a long time ood panting . terrified, ened in tion taken, ill listening  long after everyt again.

    find  of t; o spend t t a bed of moss, trying to imagine  , if o stay in it forever. t  misfortune. Living on berries er all not impossible, nor o build a  for ually, pero make a fire. But living alone forever and ever, among tly sleeping tree trunks,  ran a speak—t  to see people, not to say good morning and good nigo anyone; no more faces and eyes to look into; no more girls and o look at, no more kisses; never again to play t game of lips and legs, t e, , ry to become an animal, a bear or a stag, even if it meant forsaking tion of o be a bear and love a s be bad,  least be mucter to keep ones reason and language and all t, and vegetate alone, sad and unloved.

    Before falling asleep in ened to tic nig, y and fear. to live omed to te  along o to pine and fir. o live  for daybreak arve .

    t  explain, suffered infinite anguis and lay time, deeply disturbed.  yesterday and today o sleep  saying  up, knelt beside erday and today. Soon he was asleep again.

    In t t ten o drusted o tinued to aking ion from t one point o a completely smootretc— very traiger o remind er co  really only two days ago?

    It took ion: cultivated land, strips of field s, meadopatrodden; ions of it  a fealks of barley and c tilled land; everyt tle footpats, ted, bleac people. After a s o a crucifix at t and prayed to t. Coming around truding nose of a  of a sree. Deliger ran to a long rouger and noticed c of trees; toucill more t sounded so pleasantly ing t o meet him, a welcome.

    igated a bit and t from  a small boy -blue eyes. An eart s mud and er . ,  mud beto balls, used one knee for pressing and shaping.

    quot;God bless you, little boy,quot; Goldmund said in a very friendly voice. ttle boy looked up, saranger, opened o a kitc er t noon glare,  see anyt first. ian greeting, just in case, but t tened c comforted tiny old ood up in to  tranger.

    quot;God bless you, mot; Goldmund cried. quot;May all ts bless your kind face; I  seen a ;

    ttle old   simple, from farsig understanding.

    quot; is it you ?quot; she asked suspiciously.

    Goldmund took roked it lightly.

    quot;I  to say God bless you, little grandmot a time for t.quot;

    into t do, aring at tranger erest and curiosity, but still ready to cry and run off at any moment. t a second piece from t it over to Goldmund.

    quot;t; ;May God re;

    quot;Is your belly empty?quot; asked the woman.

    quot;Not really. Its full of blueberries.quot;

    quot;ell, eat t;

    quot;From Mariabronn, from ter.quot;

    quot;Are you a preac;

    quot;No. Im a student. Im traveling.quot;

    S tle on  Goldmund take a fees and led tside into t;;

    quot;Not muc;

    quot;No. s ;

    quot;;

    quot;Ill? Is o die?quot;

    quot; in t oo ;

    quot;Is o die?quot;

    quot;I dont kno;

    quot;ell, let  cook my soup. ;

    S kindling, as muced, and c on t, and . According to a precise, secret system, sly in ttle y c into the flames.

    At  Goldmund dreer from t in ttle, t table and benc ures—all tiful and good, smelled of food and peace, of people and s, and told  ty in t-grandmottle boy. en  say anytill looked a little frig he was no longer crying.

    tly surprised to find a stranger in t to start cursing. Distrustfully, oo see . ted o eat  doil t gone and t .

    Goldmund asked if  stay until tomorro enoug tside, for o find a bed.

    t he boy by her side.

    S take part in tion; but during tive eyes took possession of tranger. iced e neck and smoot iful gestures. inguis most of all s drarangers voice. Sone, ting le  sounded like a caress. So go on listening to his voice much longer.

    After table. Goldmund side to ing on its loo ter. o do  ted o move on so soon. Just t  in  under t and let it run full. ;If youre still around onig  be taken in before tomorroill be t;

    o crong arms lift t;  , disappearing in t, grateful and deeply content, listening to ter. Some time later  in, looked for t smelled of fire, soot, and milk. A moment ago it ill been ser and  erritory. it out.

    Beyond t iful urdy old oaks in s grass. rolling among trunks. range it o name ting; everyt ? itain intonation in ly t perle, discreet emanation of to kno once range, like a subtle, secret language;   language. o ty about tall blond  kind of body, gestures, kisses—probably altoget from Lise.  t, aut black tle gasps? en ill today?  tiful and  it ransitory! tery. Not so long ago  ting to come to  so calm per neitery nor lust roubling and burdening it. Rat for some crime one  committed but  along o t t migself bore somet — not beautiful to feel alloo give t fully, not completely range pain penetrate  penetrated Narcissuss virtue and le fear, transitory? o muse like ten, to thinker?

    Still, it iful to be alive.  to o tiny, narroed trembled, just as in a tle?  speak  to speak to eaco be lucky, find a special friends unate t love did not need  anding and foolis blind at t of ecstasy; only te s of tcen t express it! Not all could be expressed—and yet, again and again one felt to speak, to think.

    udied tiny plant; ily,  strange intelligence tem. Virgils verses iful, and ill, t  elligent, beautiful and meaningful as tiny leaves climbing tem.  pleasure, asy,  o be able to create just one suc no man o do t—no !

    up and found ted. ted. It iful to be ing like t the woman was on her way, bringing him so much love.

    Sied a cted it and laid it out before him.

    quot;For you,quot; s;Eat!quot;

    quot;Later,quot; ;Im not  me see tiful t me.quot;

    S  many beautiful trong ty lips, strong gleaming teetrong arms t  on te and delicate. S kno made a s, luring sound in , and le  before,  made sounds like t. S srong; sed to break ill ce in all its strength her.

    t, sigy, sore  stay. Goldmund remained alone, er did e it in solitude. No ely dark.