er still if they had had any
children; but old though they were they had never made up their minds to
do without them, and often they would sit over the fire and talk of how
they would have brought up their children if only some had come to their
house.

One day the old man seemed sadder and more thoughtful than was common
with him, and at last he said to his wife: 'Listen to me, old woman!'

'What do you want?' asked she.

'Get me some money out of the chest, for I am going a long journey--all
through the world--to see if I cannot find a child, for my heart aches
to think that after I am dead my house will fall into the hands of a
stranger. And this let me tell you: that if I never find a child I shall
not come home again.'

Then the old man took a bag and filled it with food and money, and
throwing it over his shoulders, bade his wife farewell.

For long he wandered, and wandered, and wandered, but no child did he
see; and one morning his wanderings led him to a forest which was so
thick with trees that no light could pass through the branches. The old
man stopped when he saw this dreadful place, and at first was afraid to
go in; but he remembered that, after all, as the proverb says: 'It is
the unexpected that happens,' and perhaps in the midst of this black
spot he might find the child he was seeking. So summoning up all his
courage he plunged boldly in.

How long he might have been walking there he never could have told you,
when at last he reached the mouth of a cave where the darkness seemed a
hundred times darker than the wood itself. Again he paused, but he felt
as if something was driving him to enter, and with a beating heart he
stepped in.

For some minutes the silence and darkness so appalled him that he stood
where he was, not daring to advance one step. Then he made a great
effort and went on a few paces, and suddenly, far before him, he saw
the glimmer of a light. This put new heart into him, and he directed his
steps straight towards the faint rays, till he could see, sitting by it,
an old hermit, with a long white beard.

The hermit either did not hear the approach of his visitor, or pretended
not to do so, for he took no notice, and continued to read his book.
After waiting patiently for a little while, the old man fell on his
knees, and said: 'Good morning, holy father!' But he might as well have
spoken to the rock. 'Good morning, holy father,' he said again, a little
louder than before, an