Chapter 7 Ⅱ-4

31 The general walked up to the silent and angry king, saluted and reported to the king: "The village has been punished, the men have been beaten to lie down in the dust, and the women are hiding in unlit houses trembling, terrified. Dare to cry." The chief priest stood up and blessed the king, and said loudly, "God's grace be with your majesty forever." The buffoon couldn't help laughing out loud when he heard this, which made the whole court panic-stricken; and the king's dark brow wrinkled even tighter. "The honor of the throne," said the minister, "is based on the greatness of your majesty and the benevolence of the Almighty."

The buffoon laughed even louder, and the king snapped, "Let's have fun, no matter the occasion!" "God has bestowed upon your Majesty so much Grace," said the Harlequin, "and all that God has bestowed on me is the gift of laughing." "This talent will kill you," said the king, taking his sword with his right hand. The Harlequin, however, stood up and laughed until he could no longer laugh. A shadow of terror hangs over the court, for they hear the laughter echoing in the depths of God's silence. 33 They brutally tore to pieces the rug that generations had woven in their prayers to welcome the best hopes in the world.

The great token of love lay in a heap of fragments; and there was nothing left on the ruined altar to remind the savages that their God had come to earth.In a frenzied fire they seemed to burn their futures to ashes, and with them their flowering seasons. A piercing cry rang out from the sky, "Victory to the mob!" The haggard and aged children whispered to each other: Time goes round and round; we are driven to run without destination, Creation is like a blind man's groping. I said to myself: "Stop your singing, the songs are only dedicated to those who are coming, and the endless disputes are only for the real things."

This road that is always lying down is like a person who leans his ear to the ground and listens to the sound of footsteps. Today, he found no sign of guests coming, nor did he see a house near the road. My lute said: "Throw me in the dust and trample on me." I stared at the dust on the side of the road, and a petite flower bloomed among the thorns, and I cried, "The hope of the world is not dead." The sky bends over the horizon and whispers to the earth; a waiting silence fills the air.I saw the leaves of the palm trees clapping their hands to the rhythm of the inaudible music, and the moon and the shimmering stillness of the lake exchanged glances.

Dalu said to me: "Don't be afraid of anything!" And my lute said: "Please lend me your song!"