326 'GOD'S PEACE'
handled with special care. I stand on the steps and pick the fmit ; she stands below with her apron spread out. But she often scolds me for my lazi- ness, for it happens again and again when I hand down the fruit that I lose myself in admiration of her uplifted, blushing face, which seems to me more beautiful than any fruit. But of what use is it for her to scold ; she only looks more charming in her pretended impatience.
When the dew begins to fall the picking stops, and the baskets are carried into the store-rooms, which are filled with shelves from floor to ceiling, and where Greta goes through the difficult task of sorting the fruit. First that which is sent to the fastidious but well-paying merchants of the capital ; next that which the street-venders get at a cheap price ; after that the fruit specially suited for jam- making and preserving, and, last of all, what must be kept for home use during the winter. What a wonderful perfume there is in these store-rooms ! All the sweet and sour scents from baskets and shelves, condensed in the closed-in rooms, are blended into an intoxicating perfume, which long after clings to one's clothes. How splendid Greta looks as, with sleeves turned up from her strong white arms, she takes piece after piece in her sun- burnt hands, and, after quickly examining it, places it according to its rank and value. But best of all I like to think of her as she stood below the steps near the fruit wall. If I wrote poetry that is the picture I should like to describe.
