The night darkened. Our days works had been done. We thought that the last guest had arrived for the night and the doors in the village were all shut. Only some said, the King was to come. We laughed and said “No, it can not be!"
It seemed there were knocks at the door and we said it was nothing but the wind. We put out the lamp and lay to sleep. Only some said, “It is the messenger!” We laughed and said, “No, it must be the wind!”
There came a sound in the dead of the night. We sleepily thought it was the distant thunder. The earth shook, the walls rocked, and it troubled us in our sleep. Only some said, it was the sound of wheels. We said in a drowsy grumble, “No, it must be the rumbling of clouds.”
The night was still dark when the drum sounded. The voice came “Wake up. Delay not!" We pressed our hands on our heart and shuddered with fear. Some said, “Lo, there is the King’s flag!"
