And when Id finished and sat drowsing over my plate, he spoke again. Wilt thou sleep now, boy?
A corner, Master, I said. A little out-of-the-way place by the fire, if it isnt too much trouble.
He pointed. Sleep there, boy, he said, and all at once I saw a bed which I had no more seen than I had the table a great bed with huge pillows and comforters of softest down. And I smiled my thanks and crept into the bed, and, because I was young and very tired, I fell asleep almost at once without even stopping to think about how very strange all of this had been.
But in my sleep I knew that he who had brought me in out of the storm and fed me and cared for me was watching through the long, snowy night, and I slept even more securely in the comforting warmth of his care.