"What shall we call him, Necile?" she asked, smiling. "He must have a name, you know."

 

"Let him be called Claus," answered Necile, "for that means 'a little one.'"

 

"Rather let him be called Neclaus,"** returned the Queen, "for that will mean 'Necile's little one.'"

 

The nymphs clapped their hands in delight, and Neclaus became the infant's name, although Necile loved best to call him Claus, and in afterdays many of her sisters followed her example.

 

Necile gathered the softest moss³ in all the forest for Claus to lie upon, and she made his bed in her own bower. Of food the infant had no lack. The nymphs searched the forest for bell-udders, which grow upon the goa-tree and when opened are found to be filled with sweet milk. And the soft-eyed does willingly gave a share of their milk to support the little stranger, while Shiegra, the lioness, often crept stealthily into Necile's bower and purred softly as she lay beside the babe and fed it.

 

So the little one flourished and grew big and sturdy day by day, while Necile taught him to speak and to walk and to play.

 

His thoughts and words were sweet and gentle, for the nymphs knew no evil and their hearts were pure and loving. He became the pet of the forest, for Ak's decree had forbidden beast or reptile⁴ to molest⁵ him, and he walked fearlessly wherever his will guided him.

 

Presently the news reached the other immortals⁶ that the nymphs of Burzee had adopted a human infant, and that the act had been sanctioned by the great Ak. Therefore many of them came to visit the little stranger, looking upon him with much interest. First the Ryls, who are first cousins to the wood-nymphs, although so differently formed. For the Ryls are required to watch over the flowers and plants, as the nymphs watch over the forest trees. They search the wide world for the food required by the roots of the flowering plants, while the brilliant colors

分享到：