It hung high up in the heavens, and after they had followed it for some hours it slowly turned its course eastwards, and stopped above a cave in the rocks.

And there the strangers who had ridden out of the east to seek for truth, there they found truth and life, there they found a child, a child who was as tender and beautiful as a rosebud in the moonlight, a little child born to poor people, and other poor folk stood round and offered the very last of their possessions, and were full of joy.
Dusky Balthasar peered inside.

Had he ever seen eyes shine as in this shepherd's cave?
It seemed to him that he saw a new light and a new life there; but he could not understand it.

And in the air he heard a strange song, more a suggestion than words: "You will be blessed! You will live for ever!" The strangers hearkened.

What was that?
You will be blessed, and you will live for ever! For us happiness is to be found only in non-existence.