At first the sight of the King sitting so bent and sorrowful on the
throne with a face as frowning and sad as a storm frightened
Gladheart. But he took courage and stood as straight as he could in
front of the throne, and began to play on the fiddle a tune that he
had learned while he was in the fields with his sheep.
It was a lovable tune, like a dozen birds and a little wandering wind
and the voice of a rippling brook all joined with the sounds of the
little earth singers, the bees, the katydids, and the crickets. As the
King listened, his bent shoulders straightened and his face became
bright with smiles. He reached out his hands to Gladheart. "I heard
that tune once before when I was a boy," he said. "It makes me well to
hear it now. What is it about, lad?"
"It is about the spring, your majesty," said Gladheart. "It is the
song that I learned from the fields when winter was over. If your
majesty will come with me to my sheep pasture, you may hear it there
every day."
No one could understand why the King was suddenly so well or why he
went often to sit with Gladheart and the sheep, but they were all very
happy over it. And they gave Gladheart the riches and the honor that
they had promised whoever could heal their King.
THE EASTER STORY
It was late in the fall when Fuzzy Caterpillar gave up.
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