Mani and Eruch knew that sometimes the shepherds left their flocks of sheep on the field. Usually they made a pen, or fence, of thorny branches. Then they put the sheep inside the pen so that the animals were protected.

Eruch spoke again. "Can you see? he asked.

Mani strained her eyes. Some of the sheep were white. They were moving about restlessly. Because of that, she was able to see them.

"Yes," she said. "I can see the sheep."

"No, look to the left," Eruch pointed. "Can you see what's there?"

It was quite dark, but as Mani looked, she saw a darker shape. It looked like a big rock, a short distance from the sheep pen.

Thoughts raced through Mani’s mind. There is no big rock in the middle of the field, she thought. Then suddenly she realized what it was. It was not a rock. It was a person. Someone was sitting there as still as a rock with a blanket around him.

"Oh, it's the shepherd," Mani exclaimed.

“Yes, Eruch nodded." Because it is dark and the sheep cannot see, they think that their shepherd has left them. They think that he is not there. They are restless, calling out to him, searching everywhere for him.

"But the shepherd is sitting there all the time. He is watching over his flock, protecting them. He will sit like that, very still, all night long. He will not move from there.

"And when the dawn comes, the sheep will see that their shepherd has never left them. He has been there all the time."

This helped Mani to realize that Meher Baba had not really gone away. She could not see him any more, but, like the Good Shepherd, he was still there. It was just as Meher Baba once said: