CHAPTER XVIII
THE DEEPEST PLACE IN THE WOOD
It was on the hottest day of all the hot days of summer that Eric foundthe deepest place in the Forest. He wandered into it while he waslooking for Wild Thyme. Ivra had been no good to him that day. She wasusually ready to play in any weather; but on this, the hottest day ofthe year, she stayed indoors, where it was a little cooler, and lying onthe settle she drew paper dolls on birch bark, and afterwards cut themout. Yes, even fairy children love paper dolls and Ivra loved them morethan most. Eric wanted her to go swimming in the stream, but he teasedher to in vain, for she was entranced with the dolls and would hardlylift her eyes from them.
Helma was swinging in a vine swing she had made for herself high in atree above the garden. One of the Little People was perched on a leafjust over her head, and they were chattering together like equals. Theireager voices floated down to Eric standing disconsolate near the doorstone. But Helma usually knew when her children were in trouble, nomatter how tiny the trouble, and so before Eric had stood there long ordug up more than a bushel of earth with his bare toes, she leaned overthe nest and called to him.
"Why don't you go and play with Wild Thyme? She doesn't mind the heat.Every one else is staying quiet till sundown."
Wild Thyme was a happy thought, and Eric walked away in search of her.But she was in the very last place he would have thought to look on sucha scorching day, and that is how he missed her. She was lying fulllength on the hot burnt grass in the field at the Forest's edge, lovingthe heat and sunshine, which covered her like a mantle. If Eric had seenher it is probable he would not have known her or stopped to look twice.He would have thought her just a little patch of the flower that isnamed for her.
So he wandered on and on, looking high and low and all about for her,and he went deeper and deeper into the Forest. The deeper he went thecooler it became, for the forest roof kept out the sunshine. The lightgrew dimmer and dimmer too. Eric had never been so far in before andeverything was strange to him.
He saw no Forest People except a little brown goblin who peered at himfrom some underbrush and then scuttled away into the darkness of denserbrush. Eric had never seen a goblin before, but he had no fear ofgoblins, and so this one did not bother him at all. He heard othersscuttling and squeaking, and one threw a chunk of gray moss at him. Hestopped and picked it up and threw it back with a laugh in the directionit had come from.
"Come out and play, why don't you?" he called. "I know where there's afine swimming pool." But there was no answer to his invitation. Insteadthere was sudden and utter silence. He was disappointed, for he did wanta playmate, and he had almost given up looking for Wild Thyme.
After walking for a long while he came at last to one of the windings ofthe Forest stream, and gratefully stepped into the shallow, clear water,dark with shadows. His feet were burning, and his head was hot. So hedrank a long drink of the cold, delicious water, ducked his head, andfinally washed his face. Then he waded on with no purpose in mind nowbut just to keep his feet in the water.
It was so he came to the deepest place; where not even Ivra had everbeen. It was almost cool there, and more like twilight than earlyafternoon. And right in the deepest place, in a nest of smooth leaves,with his feet in the water, lay Wild Star. When Eric first caught sightof him he thought he was asleep, for his wings were lying on the leaveshalf folded and dropped, and his knees were higher than his head. Butwhen Eric went close enough to see his eyes he knew that he was verywide awake, for they were wide open, watchful and intent,--and purplelike the early morning. Such wide-awake eyes were startling in such asleepy, still place. Eric expected him to spread his wings in a flashand dart away. But the wings stayed half open, purple shadows on theleaves, and Wild Star did not even raise his head. Only his eyes greetedEric.
But Eric knew without words that Wild Star was glad to see him. So hestepped up out of the water and stretched himself on a mound of silverymoss near by. With his chin resting in his palms and his elbowssupporting, he faced the Wind Creature, his clear blue eyes open to theintent purple ones.
It was Wild Star who spoke first.
"I thought, little Eric, you would have crossed the sea before this, andbe out of the Forest. I expected to find you next fall on the other sideof the world."
Eric was amazed, for he had not said one word of his dream about that toany one. "How did you know I wanted to go?" he cried.
"Oh, you are an Earth Child, after all, and I knew you would want to begoing on, as soon as you saw the sea."
"But _why_ do I want to go on?" asked Eric, his face clouding with thepuzzle of it. "I am so happy here, and Helma is my mother now. Therecan't be another mother across the sea for me. And if there were Iwouldn't want her,--not after Helma! No, Helma is my only mother, andIvra is my comrade. And still I want to leave them,--and go on and awayover there. It is very funny."
"No," said Wild Star. "It isn't funny. You are a growing Earth Child,not a fairy. It is your own kind calling you. It is the music of yourhuman life."
"I don't know what you mean," said Eric.
"It is like this: you know when you begin to sing a song, you go on andon to the end without thinking about it at all. It is the theme thatcarries you. Well, a human life is made like a song,--it carries itselfalong. You do not stop to think why. It can't stop in the middle, on onechord, for long. Yours now is resting, on a chord of happiness. But soonit will go on again. You want it to. Life in the Forest, though, isn'tlike that. Here it is music without any theme, like the music we danceto. Thrum, thrum, thrum, thrummmmmmmm. But there is more than that to anEarth Child's life. It runs on like this stream. The stream is happyhere in the Forest, too, but it goes on seeking the sea just the same."
There was a long stillness while Eric looked down into the green depthsof the water. At last he asked, "But how could I ever get across thesea? And when I got there how could I get back?"
"Time enough to think about getting back when you are there," laughedWild Star. "But as to getting there, Helma is the one to tell you that.She has been an Earth Child, too, you know. She felt just as you did,that spring night on the shore. She has felt it many times. It is onlyIvra that keeps her in the Forest. Ivra docs not belong out in the worldof humans, and Helma will never leave her. But she will understandyour longing. All you have to do is tell her."
Eric clapped his hands, a habit he had caught from Ivra. "Oh, I shallcross in a ship," he cried, "and see all the foreign lands. And when Icome back, think of the World Stories I shall have to tell Helma andIvra!"
He sprang up in his joy, and felt as though he had wings on hisshoulders like Wild Star, and had only to spread them out to go beatingaround the world. For a second the Wind Creature and the Earth Childlooked very much alike. And indeed, the only difference was that WildStar had to wait for the wind, and Eric need wait for no wind or noseason. His wings were _inside of his head_, but they were as strong asWild Star's. And he had only to spread them and lift them to go anywherehe wanted.
Now he wanted to get back to Helma and tell her all about it. Wild Starpointed him the shortest way, and off he ran, jumping the stream and themoss beds beyond, and disappearing into the underbrush.
"I'll look for you next time the other side of the world!" Wild Starshouted after him.
It was twilight when he reached home. Helma and Ivra were sitting on thedoor stone, hand in hand. They made room for Eric. But he did notsnuggle up. He stayed erect, his face lifted towards the first dimstars, and told Helma all about his wanting to go away from them outthrough the Forest and across the sea, and all that Wild Star had saidabout music and Earth People's lives. And he told her, too, of thevision of success he had had when he caught Wild Thyme that first day byher bushy hair.
Helma listened quietly, and said nothing for many minutes after he wasthrough. But at last she spoke, putting a hushing hand on Eric'sdreamful head.
"I understand," she said. "I knew you would want to go on sometime. AndI have a friend ac
ross there who will help us. He has a school for boysand I got to know him very well behind the gray stone wall. He asked meabout the Forest and you children. And he said that Eric sometime wouldsurely want to go back to humans, and when he did he would help him. Heunderstands boys. It is to him you had better go, Eric, and when you arereally ready I will tell you how, and start you on your way."
Eric sighed with contentment, and leaned his head against Helma'sshoulder.
But Ivra stayed at her mother's other side, as still and silent as ashadow. Soon the fireflies began their nightly dance in the garden. ButIvra did not go darting after them as usual to make their dance theswifter. And Eric's head was too full of dreams and his eyes too full ofvisions of the sea to notice them at all.