# Haïta — Can Such Things Be? character guide

> Haïta in Can Such Things Be? by Ambrose Bierce.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Thou, thy

**First appearance:** 0045-ha-ta-the-shepherd

## Snapshot

A solitary shepherd who tends his flock and thanks Hastur for keeping the wolves at bay, until a radiant maiden arrives to test what he truly wants.

## Who they are

Haïta lives alone in a valley cave, faithful to his sheep and to the god Hastur, dutiful even toward a feeble hermit he feeds with ewe's milk and oat cake. When a beautiful maiden appears beside him and offers companionship, he ruins it by wishing she were a man so they could wrestle and race—and she vanishes, leaving flood and danger behind. Thrice she returns, thrice he fails to accept her as she is, and his longing to know her name becomes the very thing that keeps her away.

## In the story

### [Haïta the Shepherd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se/chapters/ha-ta-the-shepherd)

The shepherd protagonist who experiences a crisis of meaning and learns that happiness comes only when unsought.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se/characters/haita
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se/characters