Early in the morning Marietta went to the spring with the cup. There
were no flowers yet on the rock. It was still quite too early; for the
sun had scarcely risen from the sea.
Footsteps were heard. Colin came in sight, the flowers in his hand.
Marietta became very red. Colin stammered out “good morning, Marietta,”
but the greeting came not from his heart, he could hardly bring it over
his lips.
“Why dost thou wear my ribbon so publicly, Colin?” said Marietta, and
placed the cup upon the rock. “I did not give it thee.”
“Thou didst not give it to me, dear Marietta?” asked he, and inward rage
made him deadly pale.
Marietta was ashamed of the falsehood, drooped her eyelids, and said
after a while, “Well, I did give it to thee, yet thou shouldst not have
worn it so openly. Give it me back again.”
Slowly he untied it; his anger was so great that he could not prevent
the tears from filling his eyes, nor the sighs from escaping his
breast.--“Dear Marietta, leave thy ribbon with me,” said he softly.
“No,” answered she.
Then his suppressed passion changed into desperation. Sighing, he looked
towards Heaven, then sadly on Marietta, who, silent and abashed, stood
by the spring with downcast eyes.
He wound the violet coloured ribbon around the stalks of the flowers,
said “there, take them all,” and threw the flowers so spitefully against
the magnificent cup upon the rock, that it was thrown down and dashed to
pieces. Maliciously he fled away.
Mother Manon lurking behind the window, had seen and heard all. When the
cup broke, hearing and sight left her. She was scarcely able to speak
for very horror. And as she pushed with all her strength against the
narrow window, to shout after the guilty one, it gave way, and with one
crash fell to the earth and was shattered in pieces.
So much ill luck would have discomposed any other woman. But Manon soon
recovered herself. “How lucky that I was a witness to this roguery!”
exclaimed she; “he must to the Justice.--He shall replace both cup and
window-sash with his gold. It will give a rich dowry to Marietta But
when Marietta brought in the fragments of the shattered cup, when Manon
saw the Paradise lost, the good man Adam without a head, and of Eve not
a solitary limb remaining, the serpent unhurt, triumphing, the tiger
safe, but the little lamb gone even to the very tail, as if the tiger
had swallowed it, then Mother Manon screamed forth curses against Colin,
and said: ‘One can easily see that this _fall_ came from the hand of the
devil.’”