The Horror A horror more terrible then fires - wars - epidemics - or bandits, this overwhelming horror is the weak character of man, the distrust and selfishness feeding each characters continual suspicion of his fellow man, always expecting the worst of them. The priest describes this horrific human trait and the world it creates with but a few lines; “It’s horrible. If men do not tell the truth, do not trust one another, …showed first 75 words of 431 total…

…showed last 75 words of 431 total…continuing chaotic disorder of the world, as seen with the commoner stealing the child’s possessions for his own self interest. If for not the introduction of the baby then we would have been left with an ending that left the woodcutter lost in a guilty stupor, the priest would have remained with a feeling of lost faith while the commoner would have remained the same selfish being regardless of what has transpired before him.