“the storks are come，” was said in the GREat house on the banks of the Nile， where thelord lay in the hall on his downy cushions， covered with a leopard skin， scarcely alive， yet notdead， waiting and hoping for the lotus-flower from the deep moorland in the far north.Relatives and servants were standing by his couch， when the two beautiful swans who hadcome with the storks flew into the hall. They threw off their soft white plumage， and two lovelyfemale forms approached the pale， sick old man， and threw back their long hair， and whenHelga bent over her grandfather， redness came back to his cheeks， his eyes brightened，and life returned to his benumbed limbs. The old man rose up with health and energy renewed;daughter and grandchild welcomed him as joyfully as if with a morning greeting after a long andtroubled dream.
Joy reigned through the whole house， as well as in the stork's nest; although there thechief cause was really the good food， especially the quantities of frogs， which seemed tospring out of the ground in swarms.
then the learned men hastened to note down， in flying characters， the story of the twoprincesses， and spoke of the arrival of the health-giving flower as a mighty event， which hadbeen a blessing to the house and the land. Meanwhile， the stork-papa told the story to hisfamily in his own way; but not till they had eaten and were satisfied; otherwise they wouldhave had something else to do than to listen to stories.
“Well，” said the stork-mamma， when she had heard it， “you will be made something ofat last; I suppose they can do nothing less.”
“What could I be made?” said stork-papa; “what have I done?— just nothing.”
“You have done more than all the rest，” she replied. “But for you and the youngsters thetwo young princesses would never have seen Egypt again， and the recovery of the old manwould not have been effected. You will become something. They must certainly give you adoctor's hood， and our young ones will inherit it， and their children after them， and so on.You already look like an Egyptian doctor， at least in my eyes.”
“I cannot quite remember the words I heard when I listened on the roof，” said stork-papa， while relating the story to his family; “all I know is， that what the wise men said wasso complicated and so learned， that they received not only rank， but presents; even thehead cook at the GREat house was honored with a mark of distinction， most likely for thesoup.”
“And what did you receive?” said the stork-mamma. “They certainly ought not to forget themost important person in the affair， as you really are. The learned men have done nothing atall but use their tongues. Surely they will not overlook you.”
Late in the night， while the gentle sleep of peace rested on the now happy house， therewas still one watcher. It was not stork-papa， who， although he stood on guard on one leg，could sleep soundly. Helga alone was awake. She leaned over the balcony， gazing at thesparkling stars that shone clearer and brighter in the pure air than they had done in thenorth， and yet they were the same stars. She thought of the Viking's wife in the wildmoorland， of the gentle eyes of her foster-mother， and of the tears she had shed over thepoor frog-child that now lived in splendor and starry beauty by the waters of the Nile， with airbalmy and sweet as spring. She thought of the love that dwelt in the breast of the heathenwoman， love that had been shown to a wretched creature， hateful as a human being， andhideous when in the form of an animal. She looked at the glittering stars， and thought of theradiance that had shone forth on the forehead of the dead man， as she had fled with him overthe woodland and moor. Tones were awakened in her memory; words which she had heardhim speak as they rode onward， when she was carried， wondering and trembling， throughthe air; words from the GREat Fountain of love， the highest love that embraces all the humanrace. What had not been won and achieved by this love?
Day and night beautiful Helga was absorbed in the contemplation of the GREat amount ofher happiness， and lost herself in the contemplation， like a child who turns hurriedly fromthe giver to examine the beautiful gifts. She was over-powered with her good fortune， whichseemed always increasing， and therefore what might it become in the future? Had she notbeen brought by a wonderful miracle to all this joy and happiness? And in these thoughts sheindulged， until at last she thought no more of the Giver. It was the over-abundance ofyouthful spirits unfolding its wings for a daring flight. Her eyes sparkled with energy， whensuddenly arose a loud noise in the court below， and the daring thought vanished. She lookeddown， and saw two large ostriches running round quickly in narrow circles; she had neverseen these creatures before，—great， coarse， clumsy-looking birds with curious wings thatlooked as if they had been clipped， and the birds themselves had the appearance of havingbeen roughly used. She inquired about them， and for the first time heard the legend whichthe Egyptians relate respecting the ostrich.
Once， say they， the ostriches were a beautiful and glorious race of birds， with large，strong wings. One evening the other large birds of the forest said to the ostrich， “Brother，shall we fly to the river to-morrow morning to drink， God willing?” and the ostrichanswered， “I will.”
With the break of day， therefore， they commenced their flight; first rising high in theair， towards the sun， which is the eye of God; still higher and higher the ostrich flew， farabove the other birds， proudly approaching the light， trusting in its own strength， andthinking not of the Giver， or saying， “if God will.” When suddenly the avenging angel drewback the veil from the flaming ocean of sunlight， and in a moment the wings of the proud birdwere scorched and shrivelled， and they sunk miserably to the earth. Since that time theostrich and his race have never been able to rise in the air; they can only fly terror-strickenalong the ground， or run round and round in narrow circles. It is a warning to mankind， thatin all our thoughts and schemes， and in every action we undertake， we should say， “if Godwill.”
then Helga bowed her head thoughtfully andseriously， and looked at the circling ostrich， aswith timid fear and simple pleasure it glanced at itsown GREat shadow on the sunlit walls. And thestory of the ostrich sunk deeply into the heart andmind of Helga： a life of happiness， both in thepresent and in the future， seemed secure for her，and what was yet to come might be the best of all，God willing.