Well, I
did not wait to hear more but set off down the path he had shown. Before noon
I saw the great pine tree, so thick and glossy and green that no rain could
go through it. The basin that hung from it was of beaten gold and the icy-cold
spring water bubbled and steamed beneath. Not far away stood a small stone chapel,
while before me was the great rock made of emerald and full of holes like a
sieve. At the foot of the rock were four red rubies flaming brighter than the
sun when it rises in the east.
I wasted
no more time, but dipped the basin into the water and sprinkled it on the rock,
where it sizzled and spat. I think I must have poured too much. The minute I'd
done it, I wished I hadn't. Yet I wanted to see the marvel of the storm - which
wasn't a good idea, I must admit.
For all
at once the sky ripped open and lightning shot from more than fourteen directions,
dazzling my eyes. The clouds hurled snow and rain and hail so hard that a hundred
times I thought I must be dead from the thunderbolts that fell about me.Trees
groaned as they crashed to the ground, split by the cruel lightning, while above
even the roar of the thunder came the pounding of hooves and the terrified squeals
as every deer and bison and wild boar in the place fled for its life, dodging
the shattered tree-trunks and the thrashing branches.
In terror
I hid beneath the pine tree - yet I felt sure that God would not let the storm
rage for long, and all in a moment it stopped as suddenly as it had begun. When
I saw the air clear and pure, and knew that I was safe, I was full of such joy
that all my fear was soon forgotten. And I saw that the great pine tree was
full of every kind of bird, so that every branch and twig was hidden by them,
singing the sweetest song I ever heard. 
No two sang the same tune - each one was singing its own song - and yet all
together they sounded so beautiful, as though each one was singing its part
in one great song of joy and delight. I listened in wonder and felt such joy
then as I am sure no-one ever has or ever will unless he goes there and hears
what I heard.
The birds are singing in harmony like a choir.
What might a Medieval
choir have sounded like?
