The Keeper of the Gate

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Fra Bennoni, gate keeper at a monastery, where monks daily give food to the poor, finds a rose on the gate and places it on the Virgin's shrine. One night he hears the music of the street carnival and unable longer to withstand its lure, hurries to the village. The revelers think he is one of themselves disguised as a monk. All night he watches the dances and makes merry with Floretta. In the morning comes the realization of what he has done. Hurrying back, conscience-stricken, he is surprised to find a monk at the gate. As he looks closer he sees that it is The Christus. The Fra, penitent and ashamed, kneels in adoration before The Christus, who vanishes as the monks pass on their way to the day's work.