The Star Child went out of the gate of the city and came to the for—est．
It was a beautiful forest；the trees were beautiful，but other plants grew SO thick under the trees that it was difficult to press through them，and they cut his skin．He could not find the piece of white gold any．．where．He looked for it from morning till midday and on until sunset．At sunset he turned back weeping，because he knew that he would be beat—en．
As the Star Child came tO the edge of the wood，he heard a cry．He saw a rabbit，“Set me free!Set me free!”it cried．。
“I am a salve，”said the Star Child．“but I can give you freedom．’’So he set the rabbit free．
The rabbit answered，“You have given me freedom．What shall I give you?’’
“I’m looking for a piece of white gold．I can’t find it anywhere．If I don’t take it back to my master，he’11 beat me．’’“Come with me，”said the rbit，“ald I’11 lead you to it．I knowwhere it iS hidden．”
So the Star Child went with the rabbit and found the piece of whitegold．hidden in a tree．The rabbit ran away and the St￡ur Child went tow~ds the city．At the gate of the city there was a man whose face and sl(in hadbeen eaten away by~arful illness．He had a grey cloth coveting his faceto hide it frOm people passing by SO that they might not be sick at thesight of it．Two holes were cut in the cloth for his eyes．When he saw theStar Child coming．he rang a little bell and cried out，“Give me a piece ofmoney or I shall die of hunger．’’“I have only one piece of money．”said the Staur Child．“If I do nottake it to my master．he’11 beat me．”
The sick man said sadly：“Please，oh please give me some money，orI shall die of hunger．”The Staur Child felt SO sorry for him that he gave him the piece of white gold．
When the Star Child came to the magician”S house，the magician opened the door and brought him in．“Have you got the piece of whitegold?”
“No，”sajd the Star Child，“I haven’t．”
So the magician beat him．Then he said，“Eat!”But he did not givehim any bread，he said，“Drink，”but he gave him a cup with no water init．
On the next day t11e magician came to him and said，“Bring me thepiece of yellow gold today．If you don’t bring it,I’11 beat you twice as hard as yes~ay and keep you as my slave．’’The Star Child went to the forest．He tried all day to find the piece of yellow gold，but could not find it anywhere．At sunset he sat down and began to weep．As he was weeping，the little rabbit came to him．
“Why are you weeping?”said the rabbit．“What are you looking for in the forest?”
“I’m looking for a piece of yellow gold which is hidden here．If I don’t find it，my master will beat me and keep me as his slave．”
“Follow me，”said the rabbit，and it ran through the forest till it came to a little stream．The piece of yellow gold was lying in the sand at the bottom．
“How shall I thank you?”said the Star Child：“This is the secOnd time you have helped me．’’
“You helped me the first time，”said the rabbit and ran quicklv a—way．
The Star Child took the piece of yellow gold and hurried back tO the city．The sick beggar saw him coming，he knelt down and cried．“Give me a piece of money，or I shall die of hunger!’’
The Star Child said，“I have only one piece of yellow gold．If I don’t take it to my master，he’11 beat me and keep me as his slave．"，The sick man wept．and the Star Child felt SO sorry for him that he gave him the piece of yellow gold．
When the Star Child came to the magician’S house．the magician opened the door and took him in．
“Have you got the piece of yellow gold?’’
“No，”said the Star Child．“I haven’t．’’
Then the magician beat him and put him back in the prison．On the next day the magician came to him and said，“If you；me the piece of red gold today，I’11 set you free．But，if you，don’t bringit，I’11 kill you．”
The Star Child went to the forest．He looked for the piece of redgold all day．but be could not find it．In the evening he sat down andwept．As he was weeping the little rabbit came to him．The rabbit said．“The piece of red gold that you are looking for is in the cave behindyou．So don’t weep any more but be glad．’’
“How shall I thank you?”said the Star Child．“This is the thirdtime that you have helped me．’’
“You helped me the first time，”said the rabbit and ran quickly a—way．
The Star Child went into the cave and in the farthest comer he foundthe piece of red gold．He hurried back to the city．The sick man saw himcoming；he stood in the middle of the road and cried OUt to him，“Giveme the piece of red gold or I must die．”The Star Child gave him the piece of red gold，saying，“Your need isgreater than mine．’’But he was very sad because he knew what wouldhappen to him．
As the Star Child passed through the gate of the city，the soldiersbowed down to him，saying，“How beautiful our lord is!”A crowd ofpeople followed him and cried out，“There is no one SO beautiful in thewhole world!”The Star Child wept and said to himself，“They arelaughing at me because I am so unhappy．”
There was such a crowd that he lost his way and found at last that hewas in the great square．The king’S palace was in that square．The gate of the palace opened．The high officer of the city ran out tomeet him，and bowed low to him．They said，“You are our lord for whomwe have been waiting．You are the son of our king．’’
The Star Child answered，“I am not a king’S son：I am the child of apoor beggar—woman．Why do you say that I am beautiful?I know that Iam ugly—ugly as a toad or a snake．”
Then an officer held up a mirror and asked：“Why does my lord saythat he is not beautiful?’’
The Star Child looked，and he saw that his face was as it had been before，but in his eyes there was something which he had not seen there before．There was love and kindness．
The high officers knelt down and said to him，“The wise men longago told US that our king would come tO US on this day．Take this crownand this scepter and be our king．’’
The Star Child said，“It is not right that I should be your king，be—cause I have treated my mother badly．I can’t rest until I have found herand asked her tO forgive me．Let me go，for I must wander again over theworld．I mustn’t stay here even if you give me the crown and the scep—ter．’’
He turned away from them towards the street which led to the gate。of the city．Among the crowd which pressed round the soldiers he saw thebeggar—woman who was his mother，and at her side stood the sick manwho had sat by the road．