--- title: A Sleep and a Dream., part 8 — The descent of the sun: A cycle of birth · full text with trees description: A Sleep and a Dream., part 8, «The descent of the sun: A cycle of birth» by Unknown: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: So she sat with her eyes closed; fearing to open them, lest she should see she knew not what among the shadows of the trees. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg68641/10/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [The descent of the sun: A cycle of birth](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg68641/) / A Sleep and a Dream., part 8 # A Sleep and a Dream., part 8 A Sleep and a Dream., part 8 of «The descent of the sun: A cycle of birth» by Unknown: the whole text, 89 sentences and 1810 words. 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So she sat with her eyes closed; fearing to open them, lest she should see she knew not what among the shadows of the trees.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") And then the waning moon rose, and poured through the interstices of the leaves beams faint and pallid, as if sharing her own terror.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") And at last, unable to endure any longer the silence and the solitude, she rose up and began to move slowly, with hesitating steps, through the dark wood, not knowing where to go, yet not daring to stay where she was.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") And suddenly, as she went, she looked before her, and there, in an open space, again she saw her husband, lying still under a tree.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") Instantly she stopped, and stood, balanced in the swing of vacillation.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") For the joy of reunion, and the desire of safety, and the fear of solitude drew her towards him like a threefold cord: while the memory of her deception, and the fear of illusion, and the anticipation of unknown danger, fixed her to the ground like roots.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") And she wavered and swayed on her feet, like a young shoot fanned by opposing breezes: while large tears fell from her eyes, like drops of camphor from a moonstone\[1\].[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") And as she stood there doubting whether he were dead or alive, for his face was wan in the light of the pallid moon, his eyes opened, and met her own.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") And he sprang up, and ran towards her, while she remained unable to stir, and took her in his arms, while she shrank from his embrace.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") And he exclaimed: The sight of thee has lifted me out of the mouth of death, for I had determined to abandon the body.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") And then he said again: Alas! and why, O thou of the lovely eyes, dost thou shrink from me?[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") But Shrí remained silent, torn by suspicion, and shaken by the beating of her own heart.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") And ever and anon she raised her eyes, and looked at him in doubt.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") And then at last she said slowly: Art thou indeed my husband? is it really thyself and no one else?[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") Then he said: What is thy question or thy doubt?[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") Hast thou forgotten me already?[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") Surely it is but a little while since I lost thee in the palace of Indirálayá.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") Then said Shrí, sighing: There came to me but now one who resembled thee in every feature, and deceived me: and even now, I shudder when I think of it, lest thou too should be another such as he.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") Then he said: Dear, thou art weak, and a dream has deceived thee: but this time, it is no dream.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") Know that I am none other than myself, and thou art with me.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") Let me dispel thy terror with a kiss.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") And he bent down, and she raised her face with a smile, saying to herself: It was nothing but a dream.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") But even as she touched his face, it changed, and became gigantic and misshapen, with a large tongue that hung out of lips that resembled those of a cow; and it broke out into loud laughter, and disappeared.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") But Shrí fell to the ground, as if menaced by the outstretched forefinger of death.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") \[1\] The Hindoos have a superstition, illustrated in a previous page, that moonstones in the rays of the moon distil a sort of lunar syrup, nectar or camphor, supposed to be composed of the substance of the moon.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") XV.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") The Dead of Night[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") So she lay, all night long: and when at length the day dawned, she came, though with difficulty, back to herself.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") And she tried to rise, but could not, for her limbs refused to do their duty.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") So she lay there, cold as snow, and shivering like the surface of a lake ruffled by the wind.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") Then gradually the sun left his home in the eastern mountain, and ascended the sky.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") And warmed by his beams, a little of her strength returned: and after a while, she rose to her feet, which wandered away, and carried her where they would, until they brought her to another forest pool.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") And there she lay down, and leaned and drank of its water.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") And she looked into its mirror, and saw herself, slender and emaciated as the old moon, but pale and colourless as that moon at mid-day\[1\].[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") And her long hair fell down over her shoulder into the water.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") Then she bound up that wet hair into a knot, and remained all day by the pool, not endeavouring to go further: for she said to herself: Rather let me stay here to perish of hunger, or furnish myself food to some wild beast, than continue my journey through a wood filled with illusions worse than a hundred deaths.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") For they wear the guise of a friend, and so finding entrance into my heart sting it like serpents, turning into poison the nectar of him whom most of all I long to see.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") Surely my sins in a former birth were terrible in their enormity: for I have suffered in this existence pain sufficient for many lives.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") And now I feel that I cannot long endure, for my strength is becoming exhausted.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") O that I could indeed find my husband, were it only to die in his arms\![40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") So she sat by the pool, grieving like a female \_chakrawáka\_ for her mate, while the sun made, like the enemy of Bali, but three steps over the sky.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") And when at last he sank, she also grew weary, and fell asleep on the edge of the pool.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") And in her dreams she saw her husband, and drank her fill of the nectar of his embraces.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") And then, in the dead of night, she awoke, and sat up, and looked, and lo! there in the moonlight she saw him again, silently sitting beside her.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") And she leaped to her feet in agony, and turned to fly, and screamed aloud.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") For there stood before her another husband on the other side.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") Then suddenly the whole wood was full of laughter.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") And her reason fled, and she became mad.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") And she exclaimed: Out on this wood, for it is full of husbands\![49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") And she began to run through the wood, shutting her eyes, and stopping her ears.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") \[1\] The same idea is beautifully put by Butler in Hudibras, where he calls the sun's light on the moon a[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") Mysterious veil, of brightness made, That's both her lustre and her shade.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") XVI.[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") Before Dawn[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") And now, by the decree of destiny, it so happened, that Umra-Singh, having wandered through the whole world looking for his wife, roaming up and down in the forest, was lying asleep in another place, close to that very pool.[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") And suddenly he laughed in his sleep.[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") For in his dreams he had found again the Land of the Lotus of the Sun. And he stood once more in the moonlit hall, beside the golden couch.[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") Then slowly, slowly, he raised the pall, and looked long at the face of Shrí.[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") But as he gazed, it became apeish, and stuck out at him a large red tongue.[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") And he saw before him, not Shrí, but the old Wairágí.[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") Then a shout of laughter rang in his ears, mingled with the voices of criers and the din of drums; and he started to his feet awake, with an icy sweat on his brow.[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") And as he stood there, doubting still, for the laughter in his waking ears, whether he woke or slept, he looked before him, and saw in the moonlight the figure of a woman, running towards him: and instantly he knew her to be Shrí.[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") For out of the shadow of her floating hair her great eyes glittered in the moon like the blade of his own sword, and flashed into the night before her like lightning from a dark blue cloud.[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") And he ran to meet her with a shout of joy.[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics") But Shrí, when she saw him coming, stopped short, and began to laugh like one possessed by a vampire.[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") And crying: What, another! she turned and fled away from him faster than ever, covering her eyes with her hands.[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") But Umra-Singh was so astonished, that he stood like a tree, rooted to the ground: saying to himself: Is it reality, or is it a dream?[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") Yonder she flies from me in terror as if I were an enemy.[68](68/ "tree and pragmatics") And then, seized with frenzy, he began to pursue her, calling aloud: Shrí\![69](69/ "tree and pragmatics") Shrí\![70](70/ "tree and pragmatics") So they ran through the wood in the moonlight, in and out of the trees, like a spotted panther and a black antelope.[71](71/ "tree and pragmatics") And suddenly, Shrí slipped and fell.[72](72/ "tree and pragmatics") And a tawny lion leaped out of the wood, before the eyes of Umra-Singh, and stood over her as she lay.[73](73/ "tree and pragmatics") Then Umra-Singh turned white with fear, and uttered a groan.[74](74/ "tree and pragmatics") And in a moment he reached them as he ran, and struck at the lion, with all his force, a blow of his sword.[75](75/ "tree and pragmatics") Then lo! that phantom lion vanished, for he was but an illusion of the crafty Nightwalker.[76](76/ "tree and pragmatics") But the sword fell, sharp and true, on the shoulder of Shrí, and cut through to her heart.[77](77/ "tree and pragmatics") Then Umra-Singh fell on his knees beside her with a wail, and took his darling in his arms, while her blood gushed out over him like a river, carrying away her life.[78](78/ "tree and pragmatics") And as his hot tears fell on her face like rain, Shrí opened her dying eyes: and instantly they were full of peace, for she knew that it was her husband at last.[79](79/ "tree and pragmatics") And she said slowly: Weep not for me, O my lord, for I have attained the emancipation of union with thee.[80](80/ "tree and pragmatics") All day long, I have sought thee: but I have found thee in the evening, before my sun goes down: that is enough.[81](81/ "tree and pragmatics") Dawn.[82](82/ "tree and pragmatics") And at that very moment, the curse came to an end.[83](83/ "tree and pragmatics") Then those two erring lovers regained their immortal natures.[84](84/ "tree and pragmatics") And they looked at one another, dazed and bewildered, for they thought that they had awoken from a dream.[85](85/ "tree and pragmatics") And their spirits rose out of those mortal bodies which they had abandoned, and soared away to their heavenly home, locked in each other's arms.[86](86/ "tree and pragmatics") But Maheshwara, from his seat on Kailàs, saw them go.[87](87/ "tree and pragmatics") And perceiving all, by the power of his mystical intuition, he said to himself: There are those two foolish lovers rejoicing to have awoken from a dream; not knowing that it was but a dream within a dream, and that they are still asleep.[88](88/ "tree and pragmatics") And he laughed aloud: and the thunder of the shout of his laughter rolled and reverberated, and rattled in the blue hollows of Himálaya, like the sound of a drum.[89](89/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [A Sleep and a Dream., part 7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg68641/9/) - ↑ back to [The descent of the sun: A cycle of birth](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg68641/)