BEFORE AND AFTER THE FLOOD.
There were times when it seemed as if little Hunne could find no
resting-place for the sole of his foot, when he wandered restlessly back
and forth through the house incessantly. No one would pay any attention to
him, he was sent from one person to another, and even his mother only bade
him sit quietly at his own little table until she was at liberty to come
to him. Of course Hunne's restless moments were just those when everybody
was particularly busy, such as Saturday morning when no one had a moment
to spare. And on this particular Saturday, the child had been wandering
about the passages among the sofas and chairs which, having been put out
there during the weekly sweeping, looked as restless and out-of-place as
Hunne himself.
He spent a long time looking for his mother and he found her at last
up-stairs in the attic, but she sent him down at once, for she was busy
with the clothes for the wash. "There, dear, go and find Paula; perhaps
she is not busy just now." Hunne found Paula at the piano.
"Go away, Hunne, I must practise," said she. "I have not time to guess
your riddles; there comes Miss Hanenwinkel; ask her."
"Miss Hanenwinkel," cried the little boy, "my first you can eat but not
drink."
"O spare me, Hunne" interrupted the governess, who seemed in a hurry. "If
you break out into charades too, what will become of us? I have not a
moment to waste. See, there is Mr. Julius just getting off his horse; ask
him."
Off ran Hunne.
"Jule, nobody will guess my riddle, and even Miss Hanenwinkel is too busy,
so she sent me to ask you."
"Well, what is it, my little man? out with it," said Jule good-humoredly.
So the child repeated his "you can eat but not drink," and then stopped
short.
"Well, go on! What comes next?" said his brother, "what is the rest?"
"You must make the rest, Jule; the whole is nut-cracker."
"Oh yes, I see; that is all right. Now look here; since Miss Hanenwinkel
sent you to me to guess for her, I will send one to her by you. Now say
it over and over until you have learned it. It is rather long:"
"First cut short your laughter for me,
Then spell me a _nun_ with an _e_,
Shut quickly with meaning, one eye,
Then add me an _el_, and--good-bye--
Good-bye till I meet you again."
It did not take Hunne long to learn the lines, and he started off at once
to find the governess. She was sitting with Wili and Lili in the school
room, patiently trying to get them to finish their examples; but they were
both so absent-minded, that she was sure that they were planning something
extraordinarily mischievous. In rushed the little Hunne:
"A riddle, Miss Han--"
"No, positively no! This is not the proper time to bring me things to
guess."
The voice was very firm, almost severe, but Hunne had Jule to back him, so
he was full of courage, and he kept repeating;
"Jule told me to."
"Well, say it then quickly," said the governess, relenting a little.
And Hunne repeated the riddle very slowly but correctly.
Now Miss Hanenwinkel was a native of Bremen, and therefore very quick at
repartee, and she never hesitated for an answer. She seated herself
directly at a table, and dashed off the following in reply:
"In the long hot hours that mark my first,
My whole my second did invite
Together gaily to unite.
When the ripe nuts their coverings burst,
They did the work--he ate his share,
Then tossed the nut-shells everywhere."
"There, take this back to Mr. Julius," she said, handing the paper to
Hunne, "and tell him that as he made such a fine charade on my name, I do
not wish to be behind-hand with him. Now, after this, stay away, little
one, for we have our examples to do, and we cannot be interrupted again."
Wili and Lili for their part, did not seem to care if the examples were
interrupted. It was only too evident that they had something in their
minds; and that it disturbed their little brains to such an extent, that
work was almost impossible for them. While their teacher was busy with the
charade and little Hunne, the twins had drawn their chairs nearer and
nearer, and laid their two heads together over some very important
plans--so very important and engrossing that Miss Hanenwinkel soon closed
the book, with the remark that if the arithmetic were only some foolish
nonsensical trick or other, there might be some chance of their being
willing to work over it and understand it. She was probably right, for the
twins had certainly an unusual talent for tricks of all kinds. No sooner
was the lesson-hour over, than they rushed forth, and betook themselves to
the wash-house, where they stood gazing at the tubs of various sizes, and
whispering mysteriously.
At dinner-time, Julius taking out a paper, asked,
"Who can guess this excellent charade, composed by Miss Hanenwinkel?" and
he read it aloud.
He had scarcely finished when Rolf called out the answer, "July-us!"
Miss Hanenwinkel however said nothing about the lines which Julius had
composed on her name, for she was rather shy about the little slap at her
peculiarity of speech, that appeared in the last line.
As soon as dinner was over, Wili and Lili ran off to the wash-house again.
Saturday afternoon they had no lessons. So they had a beautiful time all
to themselves. To be sure, it was understood that the governess should
look after them a little. But when she saw the children go into the
wash-house, she took it for granted that they were going to have a grand
wash of doll's clothes, such as they often had. She was very glad that
they would be safely occupied for a few hours at least.
But the twins, be it known, had far greater aspirations this afternoon,
than for a simple doll's-wash. They had been playing with the Noah's ark,
which their father had brought them, and had thought a great deal about
the peculiar and wonderful life those people must have led in the ark at
the time of the Flood. It occurred to Lili that she should like to try
what it was like, to live in an ark, and even to take a voyage in one, and
of course Wili, as usual, agreed with her enthusiastically. Lili's plans
were all made; she had thought out all the details, for she was an
observing little maiden, and knew the uses of many things and how to turn
them to her own purposes. She chose one of the middle-sized wash-tubs for
an ark. There would be room enough for all the animals, if they would sit
quietly in their places.
Of course the animals were Schnurri and Philomele. The twins tried to coax
them to take their parts in the play. Schnurri came growling at their
call, but Philomele purred and rubbed back and forth against Lili's legs,
till the little girl took her up in her arms, and said,
"Ah, my dear little Philomele, you are a great deal nicer than that old
Schnurri."
This was the way it always was with these two creatures. The cat was
called Philomele or _nightingale_, because she purred in such a melodious
manner. The dog was named Schnurri, which means _growler_, because he had
a habit of constant growling; though he always had good reason of his own
for it. They had both been taught to live peaceably with each other, and
to do each other no mischief of any kind. Schnurri was very good about
it; followed the rule most punctiliously, and treated Philomele with great
consideration. When they ate their dinner from the same dish, he ate
slowly, because with her smaller mouth she could not take in as much at a
time as he did. But it was quite different with the cat. One moment she
seemed as friendly as possible with Schnurri, and rubbed up against him
and was playful and kind; especially if any one of the family was looking;
then suddenly, without warning, she would raise her little paw and give
him a sharp scratch behind the ear. Then he growled of course, and as this
behavior of Philomele's was very frequent, it followed that he seemed to
be constantly growling. So he got his name of Schnurri, though really
quite unjustly, for by nature he was most friendly and peaceable.
The first thing needed for the ark-voyage was water. Lili knew how the
water was brought into the wash-house when the clothes were ready for the
wash. There was a spring just opposite, with a log through which the water
flowed freely; and when they wanted to fill the tubs, they placed a long
wooden spout under the log, and let the water run through. That was simple
enough. Now Lili thought that if she could arrange the spout, so as to
lead the water to the floor of the wash-house, it would soon make a pond,
on which the tub-ark would float, all ready for the voyage. How to get the
long spout in place; that was the question.
The children debated for a while whether to ask Battiste or Trine to help
them carry out their plan. Between old Battiste and young Trine, there
were very much the same relations as between Schnurri and Philomele. The
man had been a servant in the Birkenfeld family for many years, and his
knowledge of all departments of work, in house and stable and farm caused
him to be consulted on every occasion. It must be confessed that Trine was
rather jealous of Battiste's influence, because though she had not been
very long in Mr. Birkenfeld's service herself, she had an aunt who had
lived in the family many years; indeed until she grew too old to work.
When this aunt had to give up, Trine had succeeded to her place; and so it
was that she felt that she had long established rights in the house, and
that Battiste took more upon himself than was quite fair. When any of the
family were about, she was very civil to her fellow servant, but behind
their backs she gave many a saucy word, and played tricks upon him now and
then. Just the dog and cat again!
The children understood pretty well how things stood between the two, and
profited by their petty quarrels and jealousy. Wili and Lili really would
rather have asked Trine than Battiste, for they had more hope of getting
what they wanted from her, as she took new ideas more readily than the
man, who did not like to be put out of his usual ways. But unluckily, what
they wanted was under Battiste's charge. So it was settled that Lili
should ask him to help them, while Wili held on to the cat and dog, lest
they should run away.
Battiste was out on the barn floor, arranging a collection of seeds. Here
Lili found him, and she planted herself before him with her hands behind
her back, just as she had seen her papa stand, when giving orders.
"Battiste," she said very firmly, "where is the spout that is used to fill
the tubs in the wash-house?"
Battiste lifted his face from his seeds, and looked curiously at Lili as
she stood there, as if he were waiting to hear the question again; for he
always took things moderately. At last he replied with a question in his
turn:
"Did your mamma send you to ask me?"
"No, I came of my own self."
"Then I don't know where the spout is."
"But, Battiste, I only want a little water from the spring; why can't I
have just that?"
"I know that kind of a little bird," said Battiste, grumblingly, "now a
little water, and now a little fire, and always mischief. Can't have it.
Can't give it to you."
"Oh well, I don't care," said Lili, and went straight to the kitchen,
where Trine was scouring pans.
"Trine, dear," said she coaxingly, "come and give me the water-spout.
Battiste won't let us have it. You'll get it for us, won't you?"
"Of course I will," said the maid, "a little water you might be allowed,
I'm sure. But you must wait till the old bear is out of the way; and then
I'll go and get you what you want."
After a while Trine saw Battiste coming from the barn; he went past the
house, down toward the meadows.
"Come along now," she said, and taking Lili's hand, she ran with her to
the wash-house, lifted the long wooden spout from its hiding-place, put
one end into the log, and the other into a small tub. Then she explained
to Lili that when they had enough water, they could push the spout away
from the log, and when they wanted it again, they could lift it up and put
it into the log themselves. But now she must go back to her work.
Away went Trine, and now the preparations for the voyage could begin. The
children took the lower end of the spout out of the tub, and put it down
upon the floor. Lili got into the new ark, and then Wili, and then they
lifted in the cat and the dog. Noah and his wife sat side by side, and
rejoiced over their safety and over the delightful voyage they should make
on the rising waters of the flood, as the stream from the spout flowed
merrily in upon the wash-house floor. The water rose very fast. Now, yes,
now the ark fairly floated, and Noah and his wife shouted for joy! The
flood had begun, and they were floating backward and forth upon the
surface of the water!
The wash-house floor was lower by several steps than the level of the
ground outside. The water rose and rose, and the children began to be
frightened.
"Look, Wili, we can't get out again, and it is getting very deep."
Wili gazed thoughtfully over the edge of the tub, and said, "If it gets
much deeper we shall be drowned."
And it went on getting deeper and deeper.
Pretty soon Schnurri grew restless, and sprang up, making the tub roll so
frightfully as almost to upset it. The water was now so deep that the
children could not get out without danger, and they became dreadfully
frightened, and began to cry out as loud as they could,
"We are drowning! Mamma! Battiste! Trine! We are drowning!" Then they no
longer used any words, but simply screamed, quite beside themselves with
terror. Schnurri barked and howled in sympathy, but Philomele scratched
and bit at everything within reach. Now the true character of the two
animals showed itself. The cat would not go out of the tub into the
water, and would not stay quietly in it, either, but fought like a mad
creature. But when the faithful dog found that, in spite of all the
screams and howls, no one came to their aid, he jumped into the water,
swam to the door, shook himself vigorously, and ran away. The children
screamed louder than ever, for the dog's movements had made the tub tip
back and forth, and they were well scared.
Dora had run down from her room, and was peeping through her opening in
the hedge, to try to find out the cause of these terrible cries. The
wash-house stood quite near the hedge, but she could not see anything
except the logs that carried the water to it from the spring. She heard
the cry "We are drowning!" and she ran back up-stairs, calling out,
breathless with fright,
"Aunt, aunt! two children are drowning over there! don't you hear them
call?"
Her aunt had closed all the windows, but the screams penetrated even to
her ears.
"Oh dear, what can that be?" she exclaimed, in the greatest alarm. "I hear
a terrible cry; but who says they are drowning? Mrs. Kurd! Mrs. Kurd! Mrs.
Kurd!"
Meantime, Schnurri, all dripping-wet, ran to the shed where Battiste was
shaping bean-poles for the kitchen garden. The dog rushed at Battiste,
barking furiously, seized him by the trousers, and tried to pull him
along.
"Something is amiss," said the man to himself; and taking a long
bean-pole on his shoulder, in case it should be needed, he followed
Schnurri to the wash-house. By this time the whole family had assembled
there--the mother, the governess, Julius, Paula, Rolf, Hunne, and last of
all Trine; for the cries had reached every corner of house and garden.
Battiste stretched his long pole across the water to the floating tub.
"Now, catch hold of that, and hold on tight, very tight," he said, and
pulled the ark and its occupants towards dry land. Wili and Lili were as
white as chalk from their long fright.
It was no time to question the children about this new mishap, for they
were in no condition to talk about it; so the mother wisely took each by
the hand, and led them to the seat under the apple-tree, to recover
themselves. Julius followed with little Hunne, saying, "Oh Wili and Lili,
you terrible twins, you will come to some dreadful end before long."
Old Battiste rolled up his trousers and stepped into the water in the
wash-house, to pull out the stopper from the waste pipe so that the flood
could subside from the land of Noah. Trine stood looking on. Battiste
growled at her.
"You have no more sense than the seven-year-old babies! But that is the
way things go!" for he had seen at once, who must have given them the
water-spout. Trine did not think it best to reply at that moment, as she
had been fairly caught in the wrong, but she secretly got her claws ready
to scratch when her chance came--just like Philomele. When the little
party under the apple-tree were somewhat tranquillized again, the cat came
purring and rubbing herself fawningly about Lili's feet. The child only
gave her an angry push, and turned to caress old Schnurri, who lay, still
wet, on the ground near by; while Wili patted him affectionately, saying
softly,
"You shall have all my supper to-night, old fellow."
"Mine too," said Lili, and they both understood now the real characters of
the two pets.
Hunne sat looking thoughtfully at the rescued party, and at last accosted
Jule, who was walking back and forth on the gravel path:
"Look here, Jule, what will the 'dreadful end' be like?"
"Oh it may be anything, Hunne. You see they have tried fire and water, and
next they will pull the house down about our ears, I dare say. Then we
shall lie under the ruins, and it will be all over with us."
"Shan't we be able to jump up quick, and get out of the way?" asked Hunne,
anxiously.
"We may; unless the twins should be seized with their great idea in the
middle of the night."
"You'll wake me up then Jule, won't you?" asked the little fellow
pleadingly.
Mrs. Kurd had come running at the repeated summons of Aunt Ninette, just
as Battiste had gone to save the patriarchs of the flood with his
bean-pole; and when she reached her, the tumult was stilled.
"Did you hear that, Mrs. Kurd? It was frightful! Everything is quiet now,
and I hope they are saved!"
"Oh yes, of course," said Mrs. Kurd, quite unconcernedly, "it is only the
little ones. They are always crying out about something. There isn't
really anything the matter."
"No; but children's cries are so shrill; I am shivering all over. How will
my husband stand it? No; this settles it, Mrs. Kurd. We shall go away.
This is the last drop."
With these words Mrs. Ehrenreich hurried into her husband's room to see
how he had borne the shock. He was sitting at his table, with his ears
stopped with cotton wool, and he did not hear his wife come in. He had
stuffed his ears when the first cry came, and had therefore escaped the
rest of the hubbub.
"Oh, that is very unhealthy, it is so heating for the head;" cried Aunt
Ninette, much distressed. She pulled the wool from his ears, and announced
that she should go directly after the church-service on the morrow, and
ask the pastor where they could move to, since this place was unendurable.
This plan suited Uncle Titus as well as any other; all he wanted was
quiet. Aunt Ninette, thinking over her plans, went back to her own room.
Dora stood waiting for her aunt in the passage-way. "Are we really going
away, Aunt?" she asked anxiously.
"Yes, decidedly;" replied Mrs. Ehrenreich, "we shall move on Monday."
Poor little Dora! it was a sad trial to her, to have to go away without
once having a chance to make the acquaintance of the other family; to go
into the beautiful garden, to smell those delicious flowers, and to join
the merry child-life that she had watched so closely, and yet from which
she was so entirely separated. Her future seemed swallowed up in those
stifling cotton shirts that were her fate in dull Karlsruhe. As she sat on
the side of her little bed, that night, sadly cast down by these
melancholy thoughts, she forgot the five friendly stars in the sky above.
Yet there they were, sparkling as ever, as if they were trying to speak to
their child and say, "Dora, Dora! have you quite forgotten your father's
verses?"