So he came near and thfew stones at her She looked at hj m with in her eyes．The woodcutter saw what the Star Child was doing．He ran to him and said，“Why are so hard of heart?What has this poor woman done to you to make you treat her like that?”
The Star Child was angry．“What right have you to question me?I’m not yo．ur son．”
“That is true，”said the woodcutter，“but 1 was sorry for you when I found you in the forest；1 was sad because you looked helpless；SO I helped you．’’
When the old woman heard this she gave a loud cry and fell to the ground．The woodcutter carried her into the house and his wife took care of her．When she opened her eyes．They brought food to her，but she would not eat or drink．
She asked，“Did you say that the child was found in the forest?Was that ten years ago--just ten years ago today?”
“Yes，”said the woodcutter．“I found him in the forest just ten years ago today．’’
“Had he a coat of gold with silver stars on it?”
“Yes．”said the woodcutter．He took the coat out of the box and showed it to her．
“He is my little son whom I lost in the forest．I have wandered over the whole world trying to find him．’’The woodcutter went out and called to the Star Child：“Go into the hose．You will find your mother waiting there for you．’’
The Star Child ran into the house，but when he saw who was waiting for him，he laughed：“where is my mother?I see only this dirty old beg—gar—woman．’’The woman said：“I’m your motherHe said．“I’m not your son!You are dirty and ugly．Go away!Don’t let me see your face again!”
“But you are indeed my son whom I lost in the forest，”she cried．She fell on her knees and held out her arms to him．“Thieves stole youfrom me and left you tO die．But I knew you when I saw you，and I knewthe coat of cloth——of——gold with silver stars．So please--please comewith me．I have wandered over the whole world trying to find you．Comewith me，my son，for I need your love．’’
But the Star Child did not move．He shut his heart against her．No sound was heard except the sound of a woman seeping in pain．
At last he spoke，and his voice was hard and angry．“If it is true that you are my mother，it would have been better if you had stayed away．Ithought that 1 was the child of some star，not the child of a beggar womanas you tell me．So go!Go away and let me never see you again!”
“Won’t you kiss me before I go?”she cried．“I have suffered SOmuch to find you．’’
“No．”said the Star Child，“1 would rather kiss a toad or a snake!”
So the woman went away，weeping，into the forest．The Star Child was glad and ran back to play with his friends．But，hen they saw himcoming，they said，“Go away!We won’t let you play with US．’’Andthey drove him out of the garden．“Why did they say that to me?”thought the Star Child．“I’11 go tothe water and look into it and it will tell me that I’m beautiful．”
So he went to the water and looked into it．His face was like the face Of a toad．and his skin was like the skin of a snake．He fell on the grass and wept，and said to himself，“This thing has come to me because I have done wrong．I have driven away my mother．I have been proud and un—kind to her—I 11 go and look for her through the whole world，and 1 won’t rest until I find her．”
So he ran away into the forest．He called to his mother．but there was no answer．He called for her all day．When the sun went down，he lay down to sleep on a bed of leaves．All the animals ran away from him，and the birds flew away because they remembered what he had done to them．
In the morning he rose up and went on through the forest．He asked everything he met，“Have you seen my mother?”But the animals said．“You put out our eyes．You threw stones at US．”And the birds said，“You cut our wings．You stole our eggs．’’The Star Child wept and asked them to forgive him and went on through the forest．
0n the third day he came out of the forest and went down into open country．When he passed through villages，the children threw stones at him，and the men drove him away because they feared he might bring sickness to their animals．
He could not hear anything of the old woman who was his mother．He wandered for three years．Sometimes he seemed to see her on the road in front of him and he called to her and ran after her．but he never reached her，and people who lived near the road said，“No，we haven’t seen her．There wasn’t anybody on the road．”They touched their heads and laughed at him．One evening he came to the gates of a great city which stood near a fiver．The soldier at the gate would not let him go in．“What do you want here?”he said．
“I am looking for my mother，”he answered．“Please let me pass．because she may be in this city．“Indeed your mother will not be pleased when she sees you．You areuglier than a toad or a snake．Go away!Your mother isn’t in this city．”
Another soldier said，“Who is your mother and why are you tryingtO find her?”
He answered，“My mother is a beggar—as I am too．I have treatedher very badly．Please let me pass SO that she may forgive me．”But theywould not let him go in．
As he turned away weeping．an officer came．
“Who is trying to enter this city?”he asked．
“A beggar，”they answered，“and he is the child of a beggar．So weare driving him away．’’
“No!”said the officer laughing．“We’11 sell this thing for a slave．The price will be the price of a loaf of bread．’’A strange old man was passing．He said，“I’11 buy him at thatprice．’’He paid the money and took the Star Child by the hand and led himinto the city．They went along many streets and came to a little door．The old mantouched the door with his ring，and it opened．They went down five stepsinto a garden．Then the old man put a cloth over the Star Child’S eyes and pushed him along．When the cloth was taken away，he saw that hewas in a prison，lit only by a small lamp．The old man gave him a piece of bread and said“Eat!”And hegave him a cup ofwater and said“Drink!”Then the old man went out；he Rhut and barred the door．
The old man was one of the best magicians in the world．
One the next day he came to the Star Child and said．“There is a small forest near the south gate of the city．In it there are three pieces of gold：one is of white gold，one is of yellow gold，and the third is of red gold．Today you must bring me the piece of white gold．If you don’t bring it back，I’11 beat you．Go!At sunset I’11 be waiting for you at the door of the garden．’’Then he put a cloth over the eyes of the Star Child and led him through the house and the garden and up the five steps．He touched the door with his ring and it opened，and he sent him into the Street．
