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.But no one answered his cries and he found nothing in the woods exceptthe wild animals.For many days he wandered through the forest, surviving on nuts and berries, drinking from the stream hewas afraid to let vanish from his sight.Until one day he found himself at the end of the forest, and staring into a field beyond.In the middle of that field was abeautiful building, like nothing he could remember ever seeing.Entranced by it, the boy immediately set off towards it, fearand exhaustion falling away.The building was surrounded by a high wall, but by climbing a nearby tree the boy managed to go over the wall and into amagnificent garden.There, too exhausted to move, lulled by the sweet smell of flowers and fruit, he fell asleep beneath alarge bush.He was wakened by the sound of singing, the voice too beautiful for him to believe it was real.Peaking out from behind thebush that hid him, the boy stared in wonder at the singer - a wondrous man, surely a lord, sang as he walked in the garden.He was dressed in splendid gold and silver clothes, but his voice was more splendid by far.The boy stared, unable to lookaway.Eventually the lord stopped wandering the garden and paused beneath the apple tree at the garden's center.The tree outshone everything else in the garden, with leaves so vibrant and green they paled the finest jewels, and theapples hanging amongst the branches were the color of pure gold, heavy and large.The splendid lord reached up andpicked one apple, and the boy was sad to hear the singing stop, except he saw how happy the apple made the lord.The lord finished eating the apple and resumed singing, but his steps led him away from the tree and eventually from thegarden.Saddened, the boy hid back beneath his bush and waited for night to fall.When it was dark, he quickly stolewhatever he could reach, but never did he go near the lord's splendid tree of golden apples.After he had eaten, hereturned to his bush and fell asleep.Every day he waited for the splendid lord to appear, and listened to him sing, and watched as he ate a golden apple.Bynight he helped himself to the garden food, and cleaned as best he could in the little pond in the corner, and went to sleepbeneath his bush.Until one day the lord did not appear, and the boy began to grow anxious.Where was he? Was something wrong? Had thelord gotten lost? Sad to think that he might never see the lord again, anxious to hear that lovely voice, worried that the lordwould not be happy without his apple, the boy waited until dark and then ventured to the apple tree.Climbing it, he picked asingle golden apple and then walked slowly toward the end of the garden where the lord always vanished and the boy hadnever been brave enough to go.At the end of the garden was a door, and it led to a maze of beautiful rooms.But they were no people, only an awful silenceto fill them.Through them the boy wandered, holding tightly to the shining, golden apple.Just as he began to despair, tothink that he had once again lost himself and would never see the splendid lord again, he came across a room moremagnificent than all the others.In this room, sitting by a window, was the splendid lord.The boy froze in the doorway, tooscared to move forward.The splendid lord must have sensed something, for he suddenly looked up, and was surprised to see someone standing inthe doorway.He beckoned the boy forward, and asked what he was doing.Shyly the boy explained, and when he finishedhe held out the golden apple to which he'd so desperately clung.Smiling, the splendid lord accepted the apple and kissed the top of the boy's head, and declared that forever after the boyshould stay with him, and when he was too busy to visit the garden, the boy would bring the golden apples to him.Then hetook the boy into his arms and began to sing, and the boy knew he was lost no more."What a pretty story& " Sonya said."It almost makes me want to cry.How sad that it's no longer told."Dym smiled."It is not as forgotten as you might think.Many of my priests come from very far away
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