Much-Afraid woke early the next morning without fear. "Probably sometime today I will be able to start for the High Places with the Shepherd and the thought so excited her she could hardly eat her breakfast! In fact, she found herself singing! "My faults he does not see, but loves the beauty that shall be."
The morning wore on and still he had not come for her. But just after midday, something terrible came, invading her--her terrible relatives. They tramped with their feet and yelled with their voices until she was surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was grateful that Craven was not with them. They had purposely left him at home. Still they were determined to overrule Much-Afraid's objections to the marriage, get her out of the cottage and to one of their own dwellings where they had power to coerce her.
The whole gang talked on and on, while poor Much-Afraid sat cowering in their midst, beginning to feel bewildered and incoherent with fear. She was almost at the point of giving in when they all stopped talking at once and turned toward the window.
Now came a distant sound of a man's voice raised in song, singing one of the old songs which Much-Afraid knew from long ago. It seemed as though all other sounds were hushed to stillness on that quiet afternoon as the Shepherd sang while passing the cottage. The cottage itself was listening, and all within it. "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away with me; the flowers are appearing, and beckon unto thee." And Much-Afraid knew with agonizing pain that the Shepherd was calling!` And she knew she must respond!
But, the next moment she felt someone's hand over her mouth, and other hands gripping her firmly, holding her in the chair, And as the Shepherd passed, the words of the song and the bleating of his sheep died away. It was then discovered that Much-Afraid had fainted. The Fearings decided therefore that they would remain in the cottage until darkness fell, and put Much-Afraid in bed, gagged, so she could not be carried off And one would be left to guard her until the morning.
Much-Afraid gradually regained her senses and was horrified. She dare not cry out for help or her guard would awaken, and it was later than she had anticipated when she realized her neighbor next door was already up and about. But she surprised herself and sprang from her bed to the window, shouting to her neighbor, "Valiant! Valiant! Come and help me. Quickly come! Help!" And her neighbor heard and ran to the cottage , trying the door. But it was locked, so Valiant ran to a front window and cried out, threatening, "Get out of this house right now, every one of you Fears, or I shall call the Chief Shepherd who owns this cottage. Out with you now!"
The effect was magical. All of the fears poured out pell-mell, tumbling over one another to get away. And Mrs. Valiant, once a prisoner of the fears herself, assured the trembling girl with all of her kindness,"We'll have some tea and you'll feel better."
Then she went away and Much-Afraid was left alone in her cottage. For hours she lay sleepless on her bed, bruised in mind, tossing and turning. She felt uneasy, trying to think if she had forgotten something. And the new thorn in her heart was throbbing and aching. She could hardly bear it. Then all of a sudden, it came to her. "The Shepherd already called me! Just as he promised! Why didn't I go out to him?" Then she remembered the FEARS! "Supposing he has gone already and left me behind!"
She immediately knew what he would have thought---that she had changed her mind! "No! I haven't changed my mind! I am not afraid! Not any more!" Yet he had urged her to be ready. Perhaps he has already gone..without her! She had failed to respond to his call of Love. Now, Love had gone away! She was devastated. But she began to remember another old song, "I sought but I could not find him, And now I will rise and go----"\
She could not go quickly because of her lameness, but limped along the village streets toward the open fields and the sheepfolds. And she whispered to herself, "O Shepherd, when you said that Love and pain go together, how truly you spoke."
This ends the story for today. More tomorrow. Have you ever come to the point that when you love someone there is often pain? For if we love someone, we feel each pain that our loved one feels. And there is pain in this world, isn't there? Pain is good, for at least we are able to "feel"! If we couldn't feel pain, we wouldn't feel love.
And wouldn't becomes couldn't far too often!
Jo INMN
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