We heard entreaties and outcries—mother ran from room to room, then about the court-yard, looking for us everywhere, at last even in the well, while we all the time nestled against one another like chickens, and scarcely breathed with fright lest mother should find us, and we, early at is was, should be punished, for there was already a great disturbance about us. And now it occurs to mother to look for us on the village green, to see whether she should find some trace of us. Opening the door she found us cuddled close together on the door-step. Mother almost smothered us with delight when she caught sight of us, and we told her that we wanted to set off that instant to the feast at grandfather’s.
“But you cannot go without breakfast”, said she, leading us back again, and glowing with delight, because her dismal fears were so soon dispelled.
What did we understand about breakfast just then? We would have set off if need be at midnight, and of course grandmother would have given us breakfast as soon as we reached her house.
We helped mother to prepare breakfast-blew up the fire like young backsmiths, only that breakfast might be ready the sooner; burnt our tongues with hot coffee only that that we might the sooner have breakfasted; and in general conducted ourselves solely with a view to be off and away as soon as possible.
At last we are off.
Our father was a pedagogue. He never allowed our minds to flag, and kept relating things to us that we were just capable of understanding. He did not invade our questions in his answers as we so frequently see done; and if we had gone on asking questions till doomsday, he would have gone on answering till doomsday.
And thus he made up a story for us—how that grandmother was already on the look out for us—how that she was coming to meet us as we never saw her do before, with a plate of cakes in one hand and a plate of red cherries in the other—red cherries, which are so scarce. Yet further did we picture grandmother to ourselves. She must have something also in her pockets—a doll, sugar-plums, etc. And finally, how could it be grandmother unless she had brought something also in her lap? We certainly did not understand how she could carry it all; but if it was our grandmother she must be able to contrive everything.
