and the godson blessed them in his stead. The people buried the old man, and left the bread with the godson—nay, they promised to bring him still more; and so they departed.
And the godson lived there in the place of the old man. There lived the godson, and fed himself with the food that the people brought him; and he did as he had been bidden, inasmuch as he brought water in his mouth from the stream, and watered the charred stumps.
So there the godson lived for a whole year, and many people resorted to him. And the fame of him spread abroad, that he was living there in the forest, a holy man, who was saving his soul, and bringing water in his mouth from the foot of the mountains to water the charred stumps. And a multitude of people resorted to him. Yea, and rich merchants came there also and brought gifts. But the godson took nothing for himself but what was necessary, and what they gave to him he gave away to other poor people. And thus the godson went on living; one half of the day he carried water in his mouth to water the charred stumps, and the other half of the day he rested, and received those who came to see him.
And the godson began to think that perchance he had been bidden to live so, that thereby he might redeem bad with good, and buy back sins. So the godson lived after this manner for another year, and he let not a day pass without watering the stumps, and yet, for all that, not one of them began to sprout.
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