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 in 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 . When he woke up he saw something strange lying on a bank a little way off , amidst long trails of pink roses . The old man got up , rubbed his eyes , and went to see what it was , when , to his surprise and joy , it proved to be a little girl about two years old , with a skin as pink and white as the roses above her . He took her gently in his arms , but she did not seem at all frightened , and only jumped and crowed with delight ; and the old man wrapped his cloak round her , and set off for home as fast as his legs would carry him . When they were close to the cottage where they lived he laid the child in a pail that was standing near the door , and ran into the house , crying : ` Come quickly , wife , quickly , for I have brought you a daughter , with hair of gold and eyes like stars ! '
XXXXX this wonderful news the old woman flew downstairs , almost tumbling down ill her eagerness to see the treasure ; but when her husband led her to the pail it was perfectly empty !
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