OLD FRIENDS AND NEW LIFE
IT was spring again, and the trees and hedges were in bloom. The grass
was so fresh and so green that Stefeli feasted her eyes on it as she
walked through the meadows with her schoolbag on her back.
Stefeli was coming home on the last day of school. No more study until
winter. How lovely that day had been the year before when she had
walked home with Vinzi, talking over the days ahead. Then there lay
before them the whole beautiful summer with its long days on the sunny
pasture. But what would happen this summer? Stefeli foresaw many long
hot days in the house with the tiresome knitting, and not a single day
on the pasture. When she thought about it she sat down in the meadow
and sobbed aloud.
But Stefeli never cried very long, and when she remembered that two
days before she had seen half-ripe strawberries behind the barn, she
jumped up quickly; she would toss her schoolbag in the hall and then
gather the berries. But when she flung open the door, she stood riveted
to the spot in surprise. Her mother sat talking quite confidentially
with a stranger, and beside him sat a boy the size of Vinzi, who was
taking a lively part in the conversation.
"Of course that is the little daughter," the man said, glancing toward
the door. "Come here, Stefeli; we are not strangers. I am Cousin Lorenz
and this is Jos, Vinzi's good friend."
The delighted Stefeli went forward to greet them both; anyone whom
Vinzi loved was particularly welcome when she was feeling so forlorn.
She shook hands with Cousin Lorenz for he looked at her with such
kindly eyes, and then stepped up to Jos, who smiled at her as though to
say, "We'll get along nicely together."
Stefeli turned to face her Cousin Lorenz and asked, "Jos is going to
stay with us the whole summer; isn't that so? Just as long as Vinzi
stayed with you."
Her cousin laughed heartily, and said, "That is surely a fine welcome!
We will see what your father thinks. I wish you would take Jos outdoors
for a while."
Stefeli did not wait for him to ask twice, but took Jos by the hand and
drew him happily along. He must see everything in stable and barn, in
garden and hen-house.
While they were gone, Vinzenz Lesa came in from his work and greeted
his guest with evident pleasure; it was good to see his happy,
contented cousin just when he was so depressed.
[Illustration]
After the first greetings, Lorenz said, "We were worried because we
did not hear anything more from you, and my wife gave me no rest. She
feared we might not see your Vinzi until late in the summer, and we
want him with us all summer. It occurred to me that I would bring our
Jos to you for a while, as we had arranged, and then later the two
boys could come to us until winter. But your wife now tells me Vinzi
is away, that I cannot even see him, and as to his coming up to us,
that is out of the question. My wife will be bitterly disappointed; you
cannot conceive how she loves the boy, but he deserves it."
Hospitable Stefeli soon thought Jos ought certainly to have something
to eat, and came leading him into the room like an old friend.
As Jos went up to greet him, Vinzenz Lesa looked into the lad's open
countenance with both pain and pleasure.
"He will be as big as you are, Lorenz," he declared after looking Jos
over critically again. "He must be a great help to you already."
Mrs. Lesa had withdrawn some time before, and now came to the door to
signal to Stefeli, who immediately began to lay the table.
"Your wife has a good helper, too," said Cousin Lorenz, who approved
the way the little girl went about her work.
The mother now came in to spread her table with the best larder and
cellar provided, for to feast those who had shown such kindness to her
Vinzi was a keen delight.
"You must stay with us a few days, cousin," said she as she sat
opposite him at table and saw to it that their plates were replenished
with second servings of the ham which looked tempting indeed against
the green leaves of the tender lettuce her garden had supplied. "You
must leave Jos with us for several weeks at least."
"You make it easy for one to wish to stay, cousin," said Lorenz. "I
chose to come on Saturday in order to spend Sunday with you, so I will
gladly remain if you say so, but I must return home on Monday. As to
the boy, Cousin Vinzenz shall settle that; I leave it to him."
"There's plenty of time for that," said the latter deliberately. "We
will take a walk through the fields tomorrow morning. You would like to
look over the farm, wouldn't you. We can talk over things then."
"Look at the cow stable, father, above everything else," cried Jos
with enthusiasm, who had remained silent out of respect for his Cousin
Vinzenz. But the impression he had received in the stable was so
powerful, he must speak now. "There certainly are no finer cows than
those in his stable, and they are as clean as though they had just been
washed."
"I thought the cattle would please you," remarked his father.
Early the next afternoon the two men wandered off through the verdant
fields that belonged to the Lesa farm, and Mrs. Lesa took the children
up the sunny slope where the first strawberries were ripening. She knew
that walk would please them, and besides, the men wished to be alone
to talk. Looking at the blossoming trees, the lush grass, the fields
promising bountiful harvests, Vinzenz and Lorenz reached the high
ground where the woods began. Before they stepped into the woodland
path, Lorenz paused to gaze down on the dwelling that looked so
inviting among the tall walnut trees.
"Vinzenz, you are a lucky man!" he exclaimed. "Peace and happiness at
home, and surrounded by acres that could not be more beautiful, all of
them your own."
"Yes, and over in Freiburg another place with twice as many cattle as
here, and a grass crop to fill the haymow to the roof," but the furrows
on Vinzenz's forehead grew deeper and deeper as though each thing he
mentioned was worse than the last. "Twelve cheeses a year are made from
that milk."
"Vinzenz, you have no reason to be downhearted," said his cousin with
laughter in his eyes. "I never knew the paternal estate belonged to
you. Two such farms for your own! Certainly God has showered you with
blessings. Yet you look as though you had nothing but bad weather for
your share."
"It's easy for you to talk," said Vinzenz savagely. "You have three
strong sons who are happy in their work. Joy and success are ahead of
you. But after all my effort, I must look on while a beautiful estate
goes to ruin. I cannot be in two places at one time, and my only son
won't open his eyes to see the fine career awaiting him. Hundreds would
envy him. When I inherited this farm, I left my father's homestead,
where every tree was a comrade and every head of cattle had grown up
under my eyes. I was not happy to leave it, but everything here had
gone to ruin. No stranger would have undertaken to restore it, but I
said to myself, 'You will do it for the sake of your son. In a few
years he will be old enough to manage it and you can go home again.'
Well, the farm has been put into shape quicker than I expected. You
yourself say it looks like a blossoming garden from one end to the
other. Must I see it go to ruin, or shall I let my homestead run down?
Now tell me, what do you think? Do you think singing and piping can
take the place of caring for an estate? You see how everything stands
with me!"
"Matters are not half as bad as you think," rejoined Lorenz cheerfully.
"You have a boy who will amount to something some day, rest assured of
that, cousin. And you have a girl besides, of whom any father could be
proud. Let six or seven years pass. You are such a robust man you can
keep the two farms in condition until then, with some help. By that
time you can settle your daughter here; she will know how to manage
it, and you can return to your homestead. I wouldn't wonder if someone
would pop up who would be willing to share the work and the management
with your daughter. Then your farm will have the right care."
Lorenz had started to walk on, but now he suddenly paused to say, "But
I have forgotten to ask the principal question. Do you want to keep Jos
or shall I take him home? He is fairly quick to learn."
"I can see that," remarked Vinzenz. "You will miss him, and I am
already in your debt for Vinzi was of no assistance to you in any way."
But Lorenz remonstrated. Vinzenz ought to hear what his wife would have
to say about that; she would tell him quite a different story, and with
reason. It was she who had urged him to bring Jos to them. She had
never allowed any of her boys to stay away even over night, but she was
sure Jos could learn only good things with the parents of such a boy as
Vinzi.
"Now tell me frankly," concluded Lorenz, "is there any other reason you
hesitate to keep Jos?"
"That is my only reason," was the decided answer.
"Then he will stay with you and you can send him home whenever it suits
you best."
Lorenz now quickened his pace for he wished to have time to have a
pleasant chat with Stefeli and her mother, with both of whom he had
established a close friendship.
When he bade Stefeli farewell, as he was leaving before she would be up
in the morning, he gave her his hand, but she refused to say good-bye,
and in the morning she was standing at the door long before sunrise to
meet him as he came downstairs. She had grown so fond of him it was
no task to get up early to see him off. Then, too, she had something
on her mind and when he came down stairs, she asked eagerly, "Can Jos
stay? Can he stay all summer?"
"Yes, yes," answered Lorenz with a smile. "Until your father sends him
home."
Mrs. Lesa had made a pot of fragrant coffee and cooked a hearty
breakfast to fortify him on his homeward journey, and now Vinzenz
came in with Jos. The boy had been up before Stefeli and when he had
found the stable open had gone in to inspect the cows, first one, then
another. His exclamations of admiration greatly pleased Vinzenz, who
looked on as he went from stall to stall.
After many hearty handshakes, Lorenz started on his way. Vinzenz wished
to accompany him to the border of his estate, and the others went as
far as the corner of the garden.
When the men were out of sight, Stefeli asked quickly, "Will you go to
the pasture, so that I can go too?"
"Yes, I will. But it does not matter what I wish to do," answered Jos,
"for I am not master here."
"Oh, if only I could be master!" sighed Stefeli.
Her father soon returned and as her mother was working among her
vegetables, he met all three in the garden. He approached Jos, behind
whom Stefeli stood for she was eager to see and to hear what would
happen.
"It seems to me you find real pleasure in the cows. Will you take over
their pasturing, Jos?" he asked. "On the pasture you shall be your own
master. I will give you entire charge of them, for you know what is
necessary. The child will go with you. She knows the work pretty well
and is acquainted with all the roads and paths. How does that suit you?"
"Oh, there is nothing I would love better than that!" exclaimed
Jos while Stefeli leaped with joy and dashed off to make hurried
preparations for the day.
Stefeli had never imagined matters could come around so happily. How
fine to be outdoors again, to follow her good friends the cows out to
the pasture and to sit once more in the shade of the ash tree! But even
if she had not been filled with happiness on her own account, Stefeli
would have been glad because Jos was so delighted with everything he
saw. All her old friends were there, and four splendid red-and-white
cows had been added to the herd; her father had brought them from
Freiburg himself. A new Schwarzeli was also there, and even if it was
not the same one as last year, it galloped from one end of the pasture
to the other with the same friskiness, and over bridges and fences too,
if they did not catch her in time.
Jos must learn to know them all as well as she did, so she enumerated
the characteristics of each; and they would learn about the four new
cows together.
Jos showed the greatest zeal to learn everything and remembered it all
after one telling. Stefeli was amazed at the way he anticipated what
a cow would do. He would go over to an animal before it started off
on a run and would stroke and pacify it. He would catch Schwarzeli
by the tail just as she was going to make a first bound to rush down
the pasture like the wind. It was as though he could always tell just
when they had it in mind to tear off. So it was not necessary to do
much running after them and Jos kept saying, "Sit down under the tree,
Stefeli; I can easily manage them."
And that was the truth. He learned the ways of them all so quickly,
even of the newcomers, that they opened their great eyes in
astonishment when their attempts to gallop off were frustrated. But
with all his sharp watching, Jos found time to leap for sheer joy
and to yodel so that the song reechoed from the hills. His voice was
so strong and melodious that Stefeli was charmed with it and kept
pleading, "Sing again, Jos; sing once more!"
The mornings always passed so quickly that the two looked at one
another in doubt when they heard the bell sound from the distance.
Could it be midday? Then Stefeli spread out their lunch in the good old
way under the ash tree and after a searching look at the herd which had
settled down peacefully to rest in the sunshine, Jos seated himself by
Stefeli, quite willing to eat.
"I am sure no one can arrange a table out in the pasture like you do,
Stefeli," said he with admiration, and ate with keen relish.
The afternoons passed as rapidly as the mornings and as they strolled
homeward in the bright evening, Stefeli said, "It was so lovely today!
I wish every day could be just like it."
"I too," agreed Jos.
Vinzenz Lesa stood at the corner of his barn watching as the herd
approached. First Jos ran along one side, then along the other, to keep
the cows in file instead of letting them scatter here and there.
"A smart, orderly boy," he thought as he went forward to take charge of
the homecomers.
Now came a series of days which passed so happily that Stefeli's wish
seemed to be fulfilled.
"It's just as if Vinzi were here again, isn't it, mother, since Jos
came?" asked Stefeli one evening as she came in flushed with joy while
Jos as usual stayed out with Vinzenz.
"Yes," replied the mother. "As long as we cannot have Vinzi with us, I
am glad that Jos takes his place. I love him as much as if he belonged
to us."
Jos was always the first one up in the morning, and if the stable was
locked, he would find something to do in the barn, and Vinzenz always
found him busy about some sensible task.
Stefeli grew impatient mornings when the two did not come into the
house until the very last moment when the coffee was already on the
table, and on their return, Jos could not be induced to leave his cows
until the last one had been watered and was comfortably bedded on the
straw.
Everything that grew, that was planted and harvested was a pleasure to
Jos, and he wanted to help with it.
At first Vinzenz Lesa had said to his wife bitterly, "Look at him! He
enjoys everything and goes to his work with a zeal as if the farm were
his own. Just see his pleasure in the life! And the other boy, for whom
all the work is done, has no eyes to see it!"
And then matters came about so that Mrs. Lesa could find happiness in
it all, for her husband talked to her about Jos every day, though in a
different way. He could now say quite cheerfully, "That lad has four
eyes in his head. He sees everything, even the things he might easily
overlook and that would never be noticed by the farmhand. I can depend
on him as on no one else."
Mrs. Lesa watched her husband's increasing pleasure in the boy with
gratitude, for he was in much better humor than for a long time. During
the quiet afternoons which were hers since Stefeli was on the pasture
again, she sat in her room and let her thoughts stray in the same
direction day after day. She pondered about her Vinzi. Would he return
at the end of the year to take up the life his father wished, and so
perhaps be unhappy? Or had he chosen a new path which would forever
estrange him from his father? She would hold imaginary conversations
with him, and be startled by the slightest noise, thinking her boy
might have returned suddenly.
She was thus occupied one afternoon when the front door opened and she
heard the trample of feet in the hall. She hurried to the door and when
she opened it, a strong, manly voice said, "Old acquaintances, Mrs.
Lesa, seeking shelter in your house."
At the same moment, one little hand grasped hers, and then another. By
that time she saw who it was and exclaimed with heartfelt pleasure,
"Welcome, Alida and Hugo! Welcome, Mr. Thornau! So you are back in our
part of the country again?"
"Not exactly," said Mr. Thornau, returning her vigorous handshake,
"unless you take us in. If you say no, we must wander again. I have to
tell you first of all that I am bringing you two children who no longer
have a mother. Both of them wanted to come here and nowhere else."
Mrs. Lesa was won over already. "Poor children!" said she to herself,
and as she turned to him she added, "and poor father!" Then aloud, "Mr.
Thornau, will you stay till evening? My husband will be home then, and
you can talk it over with him."
"And what does his wife say?" he asked.
"She would be glad to take the place of mother for a time, if she
could."
"Then all is well!"
Vinzenz Lesa was surprised to find the three guests sitting under his
walnut trees, but there was not much time for astonishment as Mr.
Thornau stepped up to him and eloquently accounted for his visit. He
said he was convinced Mr. Lesa would not close his door on him, still
less on his children, both of whom desired to spend the whole summer at
his house. He had come with the firm conviction he would not be turned
away. Mr. Lesa must not propose another place known to both of them,
for the children would not go there, and he would not force them to
do so. It was a case of the Lesa house or back home again, for it was
impossible for him to remain with them just then and equally impossible
to leave them alone anywhere else.
Vinzenz Lesa was not displeased to hear that it was his house or none.
However, one could not tell what these children would bring into his
house; one knew so little about them. But after a little deliberation,
he said, "Talk it over with my wife, sir; taking care of the children
would be her affair."
"I will be glad to do so," replied Mr. Thornau and turned quickly
to her to ask, "Then everything is settled, is it not? For you have
already said yes in your heart," and he heartily shook hands with her,
for this was the case as she had decided long ago to keep the children
and bestow on them all her love and care.
Mr. Thornau now wished to depart, but Mrs. Lesa suggested that it would
be well for him to tell her what he wished the children to do and what
their amusements were to be. Her own children led a very simple life,
she said.
He replied that he wished nothing better for his two than to be out on
the pasture from morning to night; the rest he would leave to her. He
regretted that Alida's study of music had been given up, for he had
delighted in it. But now his chief desire was that they should grow
strong and ruddy and return to him looking as rugged as Mrs. Lesa's
children. Then he drew her aside and pointing to the sad, pale Hugo,
added:
"I give him into your special care. He was never very strong or merry,
but since his mother has died, he has no life, no joy, no interest in
anything, and the doctor ordered him away." Then with a hasty farewell
till fall, when they, would all meet again, he left them.
Just then Jos and Stefeli came up to the stable with the herd. They
were chatting merrily until Jos went on and Stefeli came slowly to the
house. She was in no hurry, for her mother would be busy in the kitchen
and Jos would not come in for another hour or so. But suddenly she
sighted two figures there by the strawberry bed! With a shout of joy
Stefeli dashed up to Alida and Hugo, and the girls greeted one another
with exclamations of delight.
"But where is Vinzi?" asked Alida, and Stefeli informed her how long he
had been gone, and no one knew when he would return.
Alida looked her disappointment but Stefeli, always ready with some
consolation, said, "I am sure he will come home while you are here.
Then there is Jos—you are sure to like him. You are going to stay with
us the whole summer?"
Alida nodded and replied, "And we are to be out on the pasture every
day; that was papa's order. But it will be a little tedious without
Vinzi."
Stefeli assured her it was never tedious on the pasture, and so it
proved. Day after day the merry company marched out to the sunny
pasture, and Mrs. Lesa saw that they enjoyed a nourishing midday meal
under the shade of the ash tree. Alida was in ecstasy over this free
life. What joy to march off in the early morning! What bliss to breathe
the exhilarating air and to hear the birds warbling in the trees until
it sounded like a great song of joy lifted to Heaven.
On the first morning, Stefeli awoke Alida early, as had been agreed,
and both girls, fresh and full of enterprise, stood waiting by the barn
for Jos, who was loosening the cows from their chains. Hugo had come
down from his room to go out to the pasture with them as his father
had ordered, but looked so wan and pale that Mrs. Lesa led him back to
his room, straightened the pillows on his bed and told him to rest a
little longer; there was no hurry about going to the pasture; she would
take him out later, to show him the way. He need not get up so early
hereafter.
For the first time since he had lost his mother, Hugo felt a motherly
hand was caring for him and a great love for Mrs. Lesa filled his heart
from that day. In these first days the silent, grieving boy passed
many hours with her and found much comfort in the sympathetic way she
listened when he talked about his mother, which he always did when they
were alone together.
The good her warm interest did him was soon plain to be seen, and one
day he came downstairs as early as on that first morning. He looked
much stronger now, and to Mrs. Lesa's joy, begged to go right out to
the pasture. Until then he had always preferred staying in the house
until she had sent him off, and she always accompanied him part of the
way.
Hugo found Jos alone, singing and yodeling as he strolled about with
his herd. It was as though Hugo saw the fine animals for the first
time and he began to ask all sorts of questions, for he observed them
closely and found a great difference in their behavior as well as in
their appearance. This discovery caused him considerable surprise for
he had thought that cows were just cows, one the same as the other.
Jos was in his element and launched into an eloquent description of
the habits of his cattle. With the insight into the characteristics of
each member of the herd that Jos gave him, Hugo wanted to hear more and
more. And all he had to do was to ask for Jos knew all he wished to
learn, and could describe everything so vividly that their enjoyment
was mutual. Hugo soon learned what fodder produces the best milk, and
how milk is handled to make the best butter and cheese. He was also
told that the creameries preferred Vinzenz Lesa's milk because his cows
were of the finest breed and kept so clean.
The two boys were engaged in lively conversation when Stefeli ran up
and much to their surprise began to lay out the midday meal under the
ash tree. Stefeli was well pleased that neither of them had noticed how
late it was, for she had tarried over-long with Alida. The four of them
soon sat down to their lunch in a particularly merry mood, for they
were happy because Hugo was so bright.
"Let us be a family from now on," suggested Alida, "for then we will
keep together like this all the time. Hugo is the landlord and I am his
sister, the young spinster of the estate. Jos is our manager."
"Then Stefeli can be the mistress," Hugo added.
"What are you thinking of, Hugo?" demanded Jos. "Stefeli cooks for us
and lays the table. She couldn't be the wife of the landlord: she must
be the manager's wife."
"Jos is right," decided Alida.
"Then the landlord will have a mother, and that's much better than a
wife," declared Hugo. "When Mrs. Lesa visits us some day, you will have
to receive her as the landlord's mother and make a great banquet for
her."
This idea was highly approved, and they immediately began to discuss
how the festival should be celebrated. Alida invented the most
astonishing plans, including the use of torches and rockets, until Jos
declared:
"Our cows will jump over the fences in fright, and the people at the
feast will have to run after them in their holiday clothes."
This idea brought bursts of laughter from all four, but they soon
dropped the discussion and lay down to rest in the deep shade. Fanned
by the leafy boughs overhead, they slept as well as if they had been
lying on a prince's bed, and the fresh air and warm sunshine brought a
ruddy glow to Hugo's pale cheeks.
That evening when the quartet wandered home, Hugo turned aside with
Jos, and both boys disappeared in the stable.
"Now he's begun it too," mourned Stefeli. "I wonder what they have to
do in there!"
"Just let him go," remarked Alida. "He's much happier when he's with
Jos, like today; I've noticed that."