Six weeks after this occurrence--it was St. John's day--there was a
merry festival in the village of Mayrhofen. Ilka and Hansel were bride
and groom, and as they returned from church the maidens of the village
walked in the wedding procession and strewed flowers before them. And
in the evening, when the singing and fiddling and dancing were at an
end, and the guests had departed, Mother Uberta beckoned Hansel aside,
and with a mysterious air handed him something heavy tied up in the
corner of a handkerchief.
"There," she said, "is eight hundred and fifty florins. It is Ilka's
own money which she earned in Berlin. Now you may pay off the
mortgage, and the farm is yours."
"Mother Uberta," answered Hansel laughing, and pulling out a skin
purse from his bosom. "Here is what I have been saving these many
years. It is eight hundred and fifty florins."
"Hansel, Hansel," cried Mother Uberta in great glee, "it is what I
have always said of you. You are a jewel of a lad."