So summoning up all his courage he plunged boldly in . How long he might have been walking there he never could have told you , when at last he reached the mouth of a cave where the darkness seemed a hundred times darker than the wood itself . Again he paused , but he felt as if something was driving him to enter , and with a beating heart he stepped in . For some minutes the silence and darkness so appalled him that he stood where he was , not daring to advance one step . Then he made a great effort and went on a few paces , and suddenly , far before him , he saw the glimmer of a light . This put new heart into him , and he directed his steps straight towards the faint rays , till he could see , sitting by it , an old hermit , with a long white beard . The hermit either did not hear the approach of his visitor , or pretended not to do so , for he took no notice , and continued to read his book . After waiting patiently for a little while , the old man fell on his knees , and said : ` Good morning , holy father ! ' But he might as well have spoken to the rock . ` Good morning , holy father , ' he said again , a little louder than before , and this time the hermit made a sign to him to come nearer . ` My son , ' whispered he , in a voice that echoed through the cavern , ` what brings you to this dark and dismal place ? Hundreds of years have passed since my eyes have rested on the face of a man , and I did not think to look on one again . ' . ` My misery has brought me here , ' replied the old man ; ' I have no child , and all our lives my wife and I have longed for one . So I left my home , and went out into the world , hoping that somewhere I might find what I was seeking . ' Then the hermit picked up an apple from the ground , and gave it to him , saying : ` Eat half of this apple , and give the rest to your wife , and cease wandering through the world . ' The old man stooped and kissed the feet of the hermit for sheer joy , and left the cave . He made his way through the forest as fast as the darkness would let him , and at length arrived in flowery fields , which dazzled him with their brightness . Suddenly he was seized with a desperate thirst , and a burning in his throat . He looked for a stream but none was to be seen , and his tongue grew more parched every moment .
At length his eyes fell on the apple , which all this while he had been holding in his hand , and XXXXX his thirst he forgot what the hermit had told him , and instead of eating merely his own half , he ate up the old woman 's also ; after that he went to sleep .
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