OLD FRIENDS AND NEW LIFE
Spring was here again and all the trees and hedges were in bloom.
Stefeli could not gaze her fill at the fresh green grass, as she
wandered through the meadows with her school-bag on her back. The
golden buttercups were gleaming here and there among the grasses, and
red daisies were nodding merrily in the breeze.
Stefeli was coming home from her last day of school for that season.
How lovely that day had been a year ago when she had walked home with
Vinzi and they had discussed the joys of the coming holidays. The
whole summer had lain before them with the delightful prospect of many
perfect days on the pasture. They would sit again under the ash tree
as long as they pleased, or look for berries on the bushes. Then they
would have to chase Schwärzeli and be altogether as free as the birds
that whistled in the trees above them. But what would the coming summer
be like? Stefeli only saw before her many hot days to be spent in the
room with her hateful knitting. She would probably not be able to spend
one of them on the pasture, and at this thought she sat down on the
edge of the meadow and sighed aloud.
But Stefeli could never remain unhappy very long. Suddenly remembering
that the wild strawberries behind the barn had been nearly ripe two
days ago, she felt the need to inspect them. Quickly jumping up, she
ran towards the house first, in order to rid herself of her heavy load
of books. But hurriedly flinging open the door of the living room, she
stood stock-still upon the threshold, dumb with astonishment.
An unknown man sat opposite her mother confidentially talking to her,
and beside him was a boy of Vinzi’s age who took a lively part in the
conversation. The mother was wearing a happier face than she had shown
for a long while, and every few moments Vinzi’s name was mentioned
between them.
“I suppose this is your little daughter,” said the man, glancing
towards the door. “Come here, Stefeli, I am no stranger. I am your
Uncle Lorenz, and this is Jos, a good friend of Vinzi’s.”
Stefeli came joyfully up to greet the two whom Vinzi had loved so
dearly. They seemed very welcome just at this time when she had felt
so especially lonely. She shook Uncle Lorenz’s hand trustfully, for he
gazed at her with such friendly eyes. It also made her happy to look
at Jos, constantly smiling at her, as if he wished to say, “We’ll get
along well together.”
Stefeli turned towards her uncle and said casually, “Isn’t Jos going to
stay with us all summer? You know Vinzi stayed with you just as long as
that.”
The uncle laughed.
“I call it a real welcome to be expected to stay all summer. But we’ll
have to talk with your father and see what he says. Why don’t you take
Jos out with you a little and see how you get along together?”
This did not have to be urged. Stefeli, taking her cousin’s hand, drew
him happily after her. He must see everything in the stable and the
barn, the garden and the chicken-yard; it was just as if Vinzi were
home again and could share all her delights.
Meanwhile Vinzenz Lesa had returned from his work and upon entering
the room had greeted his guest with a surprise and visible joy. In
the state of deepening depression under which he was laboring, his
contented-looking cousin Lorenz was a welcome sight. “We so much missed
hearing from you,” said the latter after the first greetings, “that
my wife kept teasing me about your Vinzi. She feared we might not see
him all summer and we wanted to be sure to have him up again for the
season. I want him no less than she does, for we miss him ever so much.
We thought we’d bring you our Jos for a while, as we agreed to do, and
then the two boys could come up to us together till winter time. But
your wife has just told me that Vinzi has gone away. I am mighty sorry
not to see him, I must say, and my wife will be bitterly disappointed
if he does not come. You have no idea how much she thinks of Vinzi; but
he deserves it.”
The parents were glad to hear their cousin’s words about Vinzi, but
remained silent. Whenever the boy’s name was mentioned, the furrows on
Vinzenz Lesa’s brow always deepened, showing clearly that it touched
his sorest spot. His wife therefore mentioned Vinzi as little as she
could.
Considerate little Stefeli by that time had felt that it was high time
for Jos to get something to eat. She therefore came back and entered
the room hand in hand with him. The two seemed to be old friends
already.
Jos went straight up to his uncle Vinzenz to greet him. The latter
looked at the open face of the boy with a mixture of pain and delight.
Health, strength and the sheer joy of living laughed from the lad’s
eyes.
“He’ll be as big as you some day, Lorenz,” said Vinzenz, after having
measured Jos from top to toe. “He must be a real help already.”
“So he is, I can tell you!” replied Lorenz, pleased that his cousin
should find it worth while to examine his boy thoroughly.
Mrs. Lesa, who had disappeared, now opened the door and gave Stefeli a
sign. The child immediately began to set the table, taking great care
not to forget anything.
“Your wife has a good little helper, too,” said Cousin Lorenz, watching
Stefeli’s quick preparations with great approval. “My wife would like
to have her, too. You must send her up to us some day, but I can’t
guarantee that you’ll ever get her back.”
The mother now came in and set on the table the best her kitchen and
cellar could provide. It was a special delight to her to entertain
these guests who had shown Vinzi so much kindness.
“I hope you are going to stay with us a few days, cousin,” she said as
she settled down opposite to him. She kept a vigilant eye on his and
the boy’s plates and constantly supplied them with fresh rosy ham and
gold-green salad leaves from her garden. “Won’t you leave Jos here with
us for a few weeks, cousin?” she asked.
But Stefeli here pulled violently at her mother’s apron and whispered,
“Say for the summer, mother, quickly, before he says yes,” for she was
terribly afraid that the proposal might be accepted and then could not
be changed.
“Yes, I will, cousin, and I must say you don’t make it hard for one to
stay,” replied the cousin. “I came purposely on Saturday so I could
have a nice Sunday with you tomorrow. I’ll gladly stay if it suits you,
but I’ll have to leave on Monday. Vinzenz shall settle what is to be
done about my boy.”
“There is plenty of time,” replied the latter leisurely. “We’ll take a
walk across the fields tomorrow. I suppose you count on looking about
you here, and that will give us a good chance to talk.”
“Look at the cow-stable before everything else,” cried Jos
enthusiastically, who had been silent till then out of deep respect for
his uncle. But the impression he had received in the stable was too
powerful for him to be restrained. “I am sure there are no finer cows
anywhere than in uncle’s stable. They look as clean as if they had just
been watered.”
“I thought you would like them,” said his father, “and I must see them
today. Do you still have your breed from Freiburg, Vinzenz?”
“Why not?” retorted the other. “I don’t change a thing if it’s good.
Your boy seems to have eyes in his head.”
As soon as they had risen from the table, the men began their stroll
through the stable and barn. Jos and Stefeli joyfully realized their
chance to take another walk, for there were still many things for Jos
to see.
Early next afternoon the two men wandered through the blooming fields
and meadows of Lesa’s property. Mrs. Lesa was taking the children to
the sunny slope where the first strawberries were ripening, for she
knew that that would please them both. She had planned this separation,
as the men had many affairs to talk over. Busy with observations of
the blooming trees, the luscious grass and the fields which promised a
plenteous harvest, they had reached the slope where Lesa’s fine forest
ground began.
Before they started up the forest path, shaded by beautiful beech
trees, Lorenz stood still a moment, gazing down at the dwelling-house
which looked up so invitingly from the high walnut trees surrounding it.
“Vinzenz, you are a lucky man,” he said at last. “Joy and peace in your
house and everything about you in such fine shape that no one could
wish for anything better. And all this is your own property.”
“Yes, and another place in Freiburg with twice as many cows as here and
grass enough to fill the barn to the top.”
The furrow in Vinzenz Lesa’s brow grew deeper while he spoke as if
worse things yet were coming.
“I get twelve cheeses a year from the milk.”
“I see no reason for you to despair, Vinzenz,” said the other with
laughing eyes. “I never knew that the other place belonged to you as
well. So you have two fine properties. Well, I can’t help wondering
about you. Our Lord has heaped you with blessings, and you show a face
as if you had nothing but storms to battle.”
“It is easy for you to talk,” said Vinzenz grimly. “You have three
fine, strong boys, fit for work. But look at me! After all the work I
have done here, I shall have to see it go to pieces. I can’t be in two
places at once, and my son won’t open his eyes and see the fine life
that lies before him. Hundreds might envy him. When I inherited this
place, I left my father’s home, where every tree seemed like a comrade
and every piece of livestock had grown up under my very eyes. You can
believe me that I hated to go. But you have no idea how run down and
neglected this place was, and I knew that no stranger would undertake
to look after it. I said to myself that I would do it for my boy; in
a few years he would be old enough to manage it himself and then I
could go home again. I even brought the property up more quickly than
I expected to. Don’t you yourself say that it looks like a blooming
garden from one end to the other? Shall I let it run down again or
shall I let my other place go to such ruin that one can’t recognize it
any longer? Tell me what you think? Don’t you think I have good cause
to worry, and do you wonder I don’t sing and whistle? You can see now
how I stand!”
“It is not half so bad as you think,” retorted Lorenz with a cheerful
face. “You have a boy who is sure to amount to something fine one day.
But you don’t only have a boy, you have a daughter besides, who is sure
to bring you nothing but pleasure. Let six or seven years pass. You are
an active man and can easily keep up both estates till then. By that
time you can give over this place here to your girl. She’ll know how to
look after it, and you can go back home once more. I shouldn’t wonder
if somebody would turn up by then who would gladly share the work and
responsibility with her. Your place will be in good hands then.”
Lorenz was walking on but stopped once more.
“I nearly forgot to ask you the most important question,” he said.
“What do you want to do with Jos? Do you wish to keep him, or would you
rather be left by yourself? He is not slow to learn.”
“I can see that,” remarked Vinzenz. “You’ll probably miss him, and I
feel in your debt already, for Vinzi was no help to you in anything.”
Lorenz eagerly remonstrated. Vinzenz should just hear his wife on
the subject and she would tell him something else. She herself had
suggested bringing Jos to them. She had never wanted any of her boys to
go away, but since Vinzi had been with them, she thought that Jos would
learn only good things in such a household. She also maintained that
gratitude had to be shown for leaving Vinzi with them so long, besides
having the hope that Vinzi might return if Jos stayed with them for a
while and was able to serve them likewise.
“Tell me frankly,” concluded the cousin, “have you another reason for
hesitating in keeping Jos?”
“That is my only reason,” was the firm reply.
“Then Jos shall stay here and you can send him home any time it suits
you.”
Lorenz quickened his pace now, for he wished to have plenty of leisure
left to talk with cousin Stefane and her little daughter. He already
felt bound to them in great friendship.
When the evening was over, he wanted to say good-bye to Stefeli for he
had to leave early the next morning, when she would be sound asleep.
But Stefeli, giving her hand, refused to do so, and in the morning,
long before sunrise, she stood under the door and looked at her uncle
with laughing eyes. She had grown so fond of this friendly man that she
did not mind getting up so early; she had firmly made up her mind to
see him off.
But Stefeli also had another plan. As soon as her uncle was downstairs
she said casually, “Can Jos stay here now? Can he stay all summer till
fall?”
“Yes, yes,” smilingly replied the uncle, “till your father sends him
away.”
The mother had prepared steaming coffee to strengthen her relative on
his homeward journey. Jos had got up even before Stefeli and could
be heard outside with the father. The boy had seen the stable door
open and had run in to examine his uncle’s beautiful cows, one after
the other. Vinzenz seemed well pleased with this early visit. The
boy uttered one cry of admiration after another, as well as suitable
observations about the different animals. For a time the farmer watched
the boy as he went from stall to stall and looked at all the cows. But
when Jos was so lost in the contemplation of the tidy stable and its
inhabitants that he had forgotten everything else, the uncle said:
“I think we had better go to the house before your father leaves. He
might escape us otherwise.”
“Dear me, I never thought of that!” exclaimed Jos, and bounded away
like an arrow.
After many hearty shakings of the hand the uncle started on his way.
Vinzenz wished to accompany him to the borders of his property, and the
others went as far as the garden hedge.
When the men had disappeared, Stefeli asked quickly, “Jos, wouldn’t you
like to go to the pasture? Then I could, too, if you want me to.”
“Certainly. But you can’t ask me what I want,” replied Jos, “because I
am not master here.”
“Oh, I wish one could be master for once,” sighed Stefeli.
The father soon returned, and as the mother had found several things to
attend to in the vegetable garden, he met all three outside. He went up
to Jos, while Stefeli stood with round expectant eyes behind the boy.
“It seems to me you find real pleasure in the cows, Jos. Are you
willing to take charge of them and take them to the pasture?” asked
the father. “You are your own master then all day. I’ll leave you in
absolute charge of them, for you know what there is to do. The child
can go with you and can help in case of need. She knows all the roads
hereabouts and also a good deal about her business. Does that suit you?”
“Oh, yes, I’d like to do that best of all,” cried Jos, while Stefeli
leaped for joy. Then she raced into the house after her mother, as
preparations for the day must be made at once. The father meanwhile
went to the stable with Jos, as it was time to start.
Stefeli had never pictured to herself how wonderful it would be to be
outside again and to chase her old friends and then cool off again
under the shady ash tree. Jos’s great joy in everything he saw and
experienced would have carried Stefeli along, even if she had not been
filled with happiness and joy herself. All her old acquaintances were
there again, besides four gorgeous new red and white spotted cows,
which her father had fetched from Freiburg. Another young Schwärzeli
was there, too, which galloped just as merrily from one side of the
pasture to the other as Stefeli’s other favorite had done, and often
jumped over fences and bridges if they did not catch her in time.
Stefeli remembered all their characteristics and told Jos about them.
They would get to know the four new ones before very long.
Jos grasped things eagerly and always retained his knowledge. It seemed
miraculous to Stefeli how he could outguess a cow when she wanted to
run off. Then he caressed and calmed her. He caught Schwärzeli by
the tail while giving her first bound, before she started flying off
across the pasture like the wind. It was exactly as if he could tell
by looking at them just when they wanted to escape. Not much running
had to be done, therefore, and Jos always said to the child, “Just stay
under the tree, Stefeli, I can manage them quite well alone.”
And he was right. He had learned to understand the new cows so quickly
that they made large astonished eyes when their plans to run away were
always frustrated from the start.
[Illustration: STEFELI ALWAYS SPREAD OUT THEIR LUNCH UNDER THE ASH TREE]
Beside his duties Jos found plenty of time frequently to leap up for
joy. Often he sang and yodelled so loudly that it re-echoed from all
the hills. His voice was so fine and melodious that Stefeli was
charmed by it and would beg over and over, “Sing again, Jos, sing it
for me again.” The morning always passed so quickly that the two looked
at each other questioningly when they heard the sounds of the noonday
bell from far away. It seemed hardly possible that so many hours had
already passed.
Stefeli always spread out their lunch under the ash tree in the good
old way. After a searching glance at the cows, who had quietly settled
down about them in the sunshine, Jos sat down willingly by Stefeli. He
first of all admired the neatly spread repast before him, for he had
never seen a meal set out so perfectly outdoors. The swaying branches
above gave them the needed shade.
“I am sure no one else could spread a table as well as you can,
Stefeli,” he said, full of admiration. Then he began to eat everything
Stefeli offered him with the heartiest appetite.
The afternoon passed as quickly as the morning, and when they were
strolling homewards in the bright evening light, Stefeli said, “Oh, it
was lovely today. I hope all the other days will be exactly like it.”
“I hope so, too,” repeated Jos.
Vinzenz Lesa stood at his barn and watched his herd coming home. Jos
was running alongside of the cows, first on one side and then on the
other. This kept them walking in a neat row, instead of running first
here, then there.
“A quick, orderly boy,” said Vinzenz Lesa to himself, as he slowly met
the procession on its way to the stable.
A series of perfect days followed, and the children had the happiest
times. Stefeli’s wish seemed to be fulfilled, for she fairly beamed
with joy and well-being all day long, and Jos sang and yodelled louder
every day from sheer happiness.
“It’s just as if Vinzi were back since Jos is with us. Don’t you think
so, mother?” said Stefeli, coming home one day with cheeks flushed,
partly from delight and partly from the bright light of the setting
sun. Jos as usual had stayed outside with his uncle.
“Yes,” replied the mother. “As long as we can’t have Vinzi, I am glad
Jos takes his place. I like Jos as much as if he belonged to us.”
“I, too,” said Stefeli without hesitation. “But there are three times
when I had a better time with Vinzi. In the morning, in the evening,
and on rainy days. It was much nicer then when Vinzi was at home.”
The mother well understood what Stefeli alluded to, but she asked the
child to let Jos go on his way, as he was doing his duty and it would
be wrong of her to hinder him in that.
“I have tried already, but it does no good,” said Stefeli frankly.
She was forbidden to do so again. The mother was only too glad and
grateful to see how Jos occupied himself at those times, even if
Stefeli was displeased. He did so of his own free will, and she had
noticed that it had actually improved her husband’s temper.
Jos was always the first up in the morning, and if the stable, which
was his favorite resort, was still closed, he thought of something
which had to be set in order in the barn. In this way Vinzenz would
find him busy with hammering or mending something. The boy always came
to breakfast at the very last minute when the coffee was put upon the
table. He didn’t even notice how impatiently Stefeli was waiting for
him. In the evening after their return Jos could not be lured away
from his cows till the last one had returned from watering and was
comfortably bedded on the straw.
The mother had always set the steaming pot on the table before he came
in. Stefeli never could count on running over to the wild strawberry
bed with Jos, therefore.
On rainy days Jos always disappeared entirely. He knew in the early
morning what work had to be done that day in the fields, the hills, the
woods or on the trees. When it rained, he would quickly ask his uncle,
“Can I go with the man today?”
The other always agreed, “Why not, if you don’t mind the rain?”
Rain didn’t bother Jos at all. Everything that grew and brought in
fruit interested him so much that he wanted to see it and have a hand
in it if possible. Best of all, he liked it when the wood which had
been felled had to be brought home from the forest. Then the horse was
hitched to a large lumber wagon and Jos sat on the high seat beside the
hired man. As soon as they had left the house behind them the man would
say, “There, take them if you want to drive.” Giving Jos the reins, he
stretched out full length in the wagon to sleep a little longer. Jos
knew the horse well and the horse knew him, so the matter went very
smoothly. Jos had already helped in every kind of farm work and knew
exactly when things were in order or when something was amiss. He took
hold of everything with such spirit and eagerness that he acquired an
instinct for what was needed when matters went wrong.
In the beginning Vinzenz Lesa had said to his wife in a bitter
tone,“Just look how he enjoys everything! He works with such an
eagerness, as if it were his own. Look at the pleasure he finds in it
all! And my own boy, for whom we work, has never even seen it.”
But everything had turned out to make Mrs. Lesa happy. Her husband
spoke every day in a different tone about Jos. He could say quite
cheerfully now: “The boy has four eyes in his head. He discovers what
I overlook myself and the man would never have seen. He actually sees
everything. I can entirely depend on him as on no one else, and he is
so handy that it is a pleasure to see him work.”
Mrs. Lesa saw her husband’s growing delight in their young nephew with
hearty feelings of gratitude. He was in a much better humor than he
had been for years. When during the afternoon she was sitting quietly
and undisturbed in her room, her thoughts unerringly dwelt upon Vinzi
and she pondered about his future. She wondered if he would return
after a year and take up the life his father wished him to, in which
case he would never be really happy. Or if he had definitely chosen
a new path for himself, which would forever estrange him from his
father. She lost herself in imaginary conversations with her son, and
the slightest noise made her start up, as she would think that her boy
might have suddenly returned.
So it happened one day when her thoughts had been busy with Vinzi that
the housedoor was opened and the noise of several footsteps neared
the room. Mrs. Lesa had jumped up and running to the door had quickly
opened it.
“Old friends, who are looking for shelter in your house,” said a
vigorous man’s voice.
That same instant a slight hand grasped hers, then another. Only then
could she really see them.
“Welcome! Welcome, Alida, Hugo! Welcome, Mr. Thornau!” she cried,
heartily delighted. “Are you staying in our parts again?”
“Not exactly, but we are here for the present,” said Mr. Thornau,
returning her friendly handshake. “We’ll stay here, if you will
receive us. But if you say no, we’ll have to wander home again. Before
everything else, I must tell you that I am bringing you two children
who have lost their mother. They have asked me to come here, for
nowhere else will suit them.”
Mrs. Lesa was won over already. “The poor children,” she said to
herself, “and the poor father,” she added. Then she turned to the
latter.
“Mr. Thornau,” she said, “won’t you stay here till evening when my
husband comes home? Then we can talk it over.”
“And what does his wife say?” asked Mr. Thornau.
“Oh, she would love to take their mother’s place for a time, if she
could,” replied Mrs. Lesa.
“I am glad!” he exclaimed with satisfaction.
He was willing to wait for Mr. Lesa and settled meanwhile under the
shady walnut trees with his children.
Vinzenz Lesa looked with surprise at the guests he found waiting before
his house. But there was not much time for wondering, because Mr.
Thomau had gone up to him and eloquently informed him of the reason
for this visit. He was sure Mr. Lesa would not shut his door against
him and especially his children, who had declared that they would
not spend their summer anywhere in the world except at Mr. Lesa’s
residence. He had come with the firm hope that Mr. Lesa would not turn
them away and begged him not to propose a house in the neighborhood
they already knew, as the children simply would not go back there. He
had no intention, either, of forcing them to it. It meant either Mr.
Lesa’s house or going home again. As it was impossible for him to stay
with the children just then, he could not leave them anywhere else
alone.
Vinzenz Lesa was not displeased at hearing the gentleman’s
words--either his house or none. But still, one could not tell what
these children might bring into his home, for he hardly knew the people.
After reflecting a while he answered, “It falls to my wife; looking
after children is her affair.”
This suited him best. If his wife wanted to keep them, as he suspected
already, it would be his wife’s concern. If they got into mischief,
she would have to look out for them, for she had taken them in.
“With pleasure,” replied Mr. Thornau. Quickly turning to Mrs. Lesa he
said, “Everything is settled, I suppose, for I think you have already
said yes in your heart.” Mrs. Lesa heartily shook Mr. Thornau’s hand,
for he had been right. She had long ago decided to keep the motherless
children and show them all the affection she was capable of.
Mr. Thornau was anxious to take immediate leave, as he had planned to
journey on as soon as he knew his children were in good hands. Then
Mrs. Lesa consulted him about their life, what their occupations and
pleasures were to be. Her own children had always led the most simple
life, she told him. Mr. Thornau wished for nothing better than to give
them the life hers were leading. To be up on the pasture from morning
till evening would be the best for them he could hope for. The rest of
the time Mrs. Lesa could judge for herself.
To his great disappointment Alida’s music lessons had been given up. He
had always enjoyed her playing. His chief wish was to see them both
come back to him sunburnt and with blooming cheeks, just as her own lad
looked.
Taking Mrs. Lesa a little apart, pointing to his sad-looking, pale boy,
he added, “I am sure I won’t have to specially recommend him to your
care. Just look at him! He never was very strong or happy, and since
he has lost his mother he is worse than ever. No life, no spirits, no
interest in anything! The doctor actually insisted on my sending him
away.”
Mr. Thornau quickly took farewell till the autumn, when he planned to
see them all.
Just then Jos and Stefeli, merrily chatting, came home with the cows.
Jos disappeared in the stable as usual and Stefeli slowly approached
the house. There was no hurry, for her mother was busy in the kitchen
and Jos would not come back yet for at least an hour.
Suddenly her slow steps turned into great leaps, for at the strawberry
hedge she had discovered two figures. Could it really be true? And yet
it was! With a cry of joy Stefeli ran over to Alida and Hugo. Alida
also greeted Stefeli with loud, continued expressions of delight.
“But where is Vinzi?” asked Alida when the greetings were over.
Stefeli told her how long he had been away and that no one knew when he
would come back.
Alida looked extremely disappointed, but Stefeli always had a
consolation ready.
“I am sure he’ll come home while you are here. Jos is here, too, and
you’ll be sure to like him. Will you stay all summer long?”
Alida assented. “And we are to spend our days on the pasture, because
papa wants us to,” she added, “but it is a shame Vinzi won’t be with
us.”
Stefeli answered Alida that it was never dull up on the pasture. Her
father had prophesied a long stretch of good weather, and that meant
that they would be out of doors all day.
Mr. Lesa had been right. The merry little group could wander up day
after day to the sunny pasture, and Mrs. Lesa saw to it that a really
nourishing meal was always taken along. Alida was in perfect raptures
over this free life, hitherto unknown to her. What a blissful beginning
of the day to start off in the early morning, when she was usually
lying asleep in bed behind her heavy curtains! How delicious the
pure air was! All the birds in the trees sang and whistled so that it
sounded like a loud chorus of joy to God.
The two girls would start out together on little trips to explore the
interesting places on the large, wide pasture. Sometimes they would
seek berries or flowers; another time they went to the old wall where
the shining lizards sunned themselves, or listened attentively when the
children began to sing. Stefeli knew that if they were silent or made
the least movement, the little green creatures would quickly slip away.
Alida found it an especial treat to be able to sit down anywhere on the
sun-dried ground. She had not experienced this before and it gave her
constant pleasure. Stefeli was always ready to settle down beside her,
and everything furnished them with subjects for lively conversation.
On the first morning, when Stefeli had promised to waken Alida early,
both girls stood fresh and full of enterprise before the barn, waiting
for Jos. He had to loosen the cows from their chains before driving
them out. Hugo had come down from his room, because his father had
wished him to go along to the pasture.
He looked so frail and tired that it hurt Mrs. Lesa to look at him.
She led him affectionately back to his room, and fixing the cushions
on his bed, told him to rest a little longer. There was no hurry for
him to go, for a little later on she would take him up and show him the
way herself. He would never have to start quite so early, if he did not
want to.
For the first time since he had lost his mother, Hugo felt himself
sheltered again by a mother’s affectionate care. From that day on a
great love for her began to fill his heart. She watched over him like a
mother and saw to it that everything was done for him that might do him
good. In these first days the quiet boy, who was still bearing a great
sorrow in his heart, spent many hours alone in Mrs. Lesa’s company.
He found great consolation in it and learned to feel such confidence
in her that he began to talk about his mother. She listened with such
sympathy that they always returned to that subject when he was with her.
The comfort the boy found in her warm interest was soon apparent. One
day Hugo came down quite early into the gleaming sunshine. He had never
done it since that first day when he had looked so pale and tired. He
already seemed much stronger and to Mrs. Lesa’s joy wished to go right
up to the pasture. Till then he had preferred to sit in the house till
she sent him out and accompanied him part way.
Hugo found Jos alone on the pasture, singing and whistling while he
strolled about among the cows. Alida and Stefeli had gone on a little
trip of discovery. It seemed as if Hugo saw the beautiful creatures who
were grazing here and there, looking about them, for the first time
in his life. He began to ask Jos many questions, for after watching
them carefully he had noticed how much they differed in their looks
as well as in their ways. He had always thought that cows were just
cows, one like another. Jos was in his element now and grew talkative,
drawing Hugo’s attention to all the animals’ habits. The subject proved
so contagious that Hugo conceived a keen interest in them and wanted
to hear all about them. He only had to ask to be told what he wished
to know. Jos could describe them with such keen vividness that Hugo
grew most eager to share Jos’s knowledge and to find pleasure in it.
He soon knew what fodder was the best for milk, which was made first
into butter and then into cheese, and how the milk had to be handled
for that purpose. He also learned that the Alpine herdsmen preferred
Vinzenz Lesa’s milk to any other because his cows were of the best
stock and were so immaculately kept.
The two were still talking eagerly when to their great astonishment
Stefeli came running toward them and spread out their mid-day
meal under the swaying ash tree. They had been so lost in their
conversation that they had not noticed how the time had flown. This had
suited Stefeli, too, because she had come back rather late from her
expedition. Alida also appeared and in the best of humor as the four
sat down to lunch. All of them felt especially merry, because Hugo had
never been so lively and gay.
“We’ll pretend we are a family,” suggested Alida, “and we must always
stay the same. Hugo is the proprietor of an estate and I am his sister,
the unmarried lady of the mansion. Jos is our manager.”
“Then Stefeli can be the mistress,” was Hugo’s proposition.
“But Hugo, she couldn’t be,” Jos cried out. “Stefeli cooks for us and
sets the table. She couldn’t be the gentleman’s wife, she must be my
wife.”
“Jos is right,” decided Alida, “we’ll have it that way, then.”
“You see the owner has a mother; that’s much better than a wife,” said
Hugo. “When Mrs. Lesa visits us some day, you’ll have to receive her as
my mother and prepare a great feast for her.”
This thought met great approval, and they began to plan immediately for
this feast. Alida invented such astonishing plans for the celebration
with torches and rockets that Jos said, “Then our cows will all jump
over the hedges from fright and the people at the feast will have to
climb after them in their festive jackets.”
All four burst into loud laughter at this picture, which brought a
sudden end to these extravagant plans. Their meal was ended and they
settled here and there in the shadows of the broad branches. Soon all
four were sound asleep, fanned by the leafy bows above them. They slept
as well as if they had been lying on regal couches. On Hugo’s pale
cheeks the air and sunshine, gently caressing him, roused a faint rosy
color.
Talking merrily, the whole company afterward came wandering down from
the pasture, aglow from the golden light of the setting sun. As usual
Jos went to the stable and Hugo disappeared with him.
“Oh, dear, now he begins it, too,” said Stefeli. “I only wonder what he
wants to do there still.”
“Just let him go,” remarked Alida, “I am glad of it. He is much
happier when he is with Jos. I have noticed that today.”