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C onstance M alitska Leila's Harp F ar aw ay in th e E a st th ree k in gs lived, long ago — M elchior, K aspar and B alth asar. N o t only w ere th ey k in gs, th ey w ere sch o lars, w ho stu died th e stars and could foresee th e fu tu re. Suddenly one n ig h t a com et appeared in th e sk y. T h ese w ise k in gs had been exp ectin g it, and k n ew it as th e sign th a t a Child w as born in Judea, w ho w ould becom e th e Savior of th e w orld. A nd th ey decided to m ake th e jou rn ey to g reet him . One o f th e k in gs, M elchior had a d augh ter, you n g L eila. She w as b eau tifu l, like a sp rin g flow er, b u t m ute. W hen sh e w as six, sh e w as frig h ten ed b y a lion roar in g, th a t had intruded from th e d esert, up to th e very palace w alls. A fter th a t sh e becam e m u te, and very sad. F or sh e car ried m an y th o u g h ts and q ues tion s m her m ind, m an y em o tio n s in her h eart th a t sh e could n ot u tter. Soon her ear becam e m ore se n sitiv e ; and sh e listen ed to th e sp lash in g o f w ater in th e palace fou n tain s, to th e ch irp ing of birds and th e ru stle o f palm s in h er fa th e r’s gardens. R ejoicin g at h er grow in g aw aren ess o f lovely sounds, k in g M elchior ordered a sm all golden harp for her. A nd you n g L eila sp en t her days p layin g on th e harp w ith an ea g le’s feath er, as w as th e cu stom in th e E ast. A s th e day for th e jou rn ey of th e th ree k in gs neared, L eila b egged her fa th er to tak e her along. T hrough sig n s sh e m ade it clear sh e w ould like to g reet th e Child. N eith er k in g M elchior nor th e queen-m other w ould con sen t. T hey said: th e lon g jou rn ey is dangerous for ad ults, how m uch m ore for a you n g child . . . T hen L eila b rou gh t h er gold en harp, and p u ttin g it am ong h er fa th e r ’s lu ggage, m ad e it understood sh e w an ted to p re sen t th is precious to y to th e new born Child. T he th ree k in gs traveled on cam els, w ith num erous servan ts, and carried rich g ifts. G olden jew elry, perfum ed in cen ses from A rabia, precious h oly oil and bal sam . A nd ever b efore th em th e com et lead th e w ay. T he w ise m en exp ected to ar rive at th e w alls of a m a g n ifi cent palace to g reet th e fu tu re ruler of th e w orld. To th eir a s ton ish m en t th e great star stop ped over a poor stable, along th e road. T he k in gs stopped too. D e scen d ing from th eir cam els, th ey en tered th e stab le w ith th eir g ifts. T here w as th e C hild, h is M other and old Joseph, th e ox and th e donkey and th e sm all birds, in th e ch ink s o f th e roof. T he w ise m en fell on th eir k nees b efore Jesu s and greeted him . T h ey k new in th eir h earts, th a t alth ou gh born in p overty h e w as k in g of th e w orld. In th eir h u m ility th ey realized th a t no g ift th ey m ig h t o ffer w as w orth y of H is glory. H e had no need o f gold, for H is kingdom w as n ot o f th is w orld. N or did h e need perfum ed in cen ses, used b y pagan p riests for th eir idols. G rief filled th e h earts o f th ese w ise m en at n ot b ein g able to p resen t a g ift to th is poor C hild, alth ou gh th ey w ere rich and m ig h ty rulers. O f a sudden k in g M elchior rem em bered L eila’s g ift in h is lu ggage, th e sm all golden harp, th e only com fort of h is sp eech less d augh ter. H esi ta tin g ly h e b rou gh t it, and laid it in th e C hild’s crib. T he sm all Jesu s seized it w ith joy, and tou ch ed th e cords. A nd a m u sic floated as w as n ever heard b e fore b y th e w ise m en, alth ou gh th ese rulers had fin e m u sicians and sin gers at th eir cou rts. K in g M elchior’s h eart shook w ith a great happiness. W hen h e arrived at h is capi tal, and entered w ith h is serv an ts in to h is palace court, su d denly he heard a ch ild ’s sin gin g, in th e g a rd en : “In th e stab le, in th e crib T he H oly Child is restin g — A nd listen in g to m y harp sounds — ” — L eila! Is sh e sin g in g ? T he k in g w as am azed, alth ou gh even in th a t fa r -o ff stab le he had a stron g im p ression som eth in g w as happening. — Y es, sh e is sin gin g, stated th e queen m other. A nd sh e re lated h ow L eila, in a certain d ay at a certain tim e suddenly clapped her hands, and called ou t: “M other, I am sp eak in g.” K in g M elchior com pared th e tim e. T hen, in aw e and w onder, th a t at th e very m om ent, w hen h e had p ut L eila’s golden harp in sm all J esu s’ crib, it w as th e sam e, h e fell on h is k nees, and b ow in g tow ards B eth leh em cried ou t in a loud voice: “T ru ly God w as born th ere.” T ranslated b y Jean W olcott P iper НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — ГРУДЕНЬ, 1962 1 7
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