means one could reach the hidden springs. So in time it came to pass
that there was scarcely a tree on the mountain which bore not some
traveler's mark; there was scarcely a rock that had not a cairn of
stones upon it.

In early times there was One who came up from the sea and made the
journey over the mountain and across the desert by a way so fair that
the memory of it became a part of the story of the forest. Men spoke
to each other of his way, and many wished to find it out, that haply
they might walk therein. He, too, had left a Chart, which those who
followed him had carefully kept, and from which they had drawn help in
many times of need.

The way he went was not the shortest way, nor was it the easiest. The
ways that are short and easy lead not over the mountain. But his was
the most _repaying_ way. It led by the noblest trees, the fairest
outlooks, the sweetest springs, the greenest pastures, and the shadow
of great rocks in the desert. And the chart of his way which he left
was very simple and very plain--easy to understand. Even a child might
use it. And, indeed, there were many children who did so.

On this chart were the chief landmarks of the region--the mountain with
its forest, the desert with its green oases, the paths to the hidden
springs. But there were not many details. The old cairns were not
marked upon it, and when two paths led alike over the mountain, there
was no sign to show that one was to be taken rather than the other.
Not much was said as to what food one should take, or what raiment one
should wear, or by what means one should defend himself. But there
were many simple directions as to how one should act on the road, and
by what signs he should know the right path. One ought to look upward,
and not downward; to look forward, and not backward; to be always ready
to give a helping hand to his neighbor: and whomsoever one meets is
one's neighbor, he said.

As to the desert, one need not dread it; nor should one fear the river,
for the lands beyond it were sweet and fair. Moreover, one should
learn to know the forest, that he might choose his course wisely. And
this knowledge each one should seek for himself. For, as he said, "If
the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."

There were many who followed his way and gave heed to his precepts.
The path seemed dangerous at times, especially at the outset; for it
lay along dizzy heights, through tangled underwo