Das landhaus am Rhein. English

by Berthold Auerbach

  CHAPTER III.

  AN HOUR IN PARADISE.

  The children walked about the garden and gathered flowers, and theyseemed to be in fairy land. They went first into the vegetable garden,where dwarf pear-trees were set out at regular intervals, and Lilian,thinking that she must explain everything to the visitor, in a matronlymanner, said:--

  "Yes, yes, there's no rose-bush, no little tree, which my aunt has notbudded, and she hates all vermin. Now just think what aunt reckons asvermin! But you musn't laugh at her for it."

  "What? Tell me."

  "She considers the birds vermin, too. Oh, you laugh exactly like mybrother Hermann. Laugh once more! Yes, he laughs exactly so. But mybrother has been in business for three years. Come, we'll look for someflowers now."

  They went into the flower garden and gathered many different kinds offlowers, but Lilian threw a large bunch of them into the brook, andpleased herself with thinking how the flowers would float down to theRhine, and from the Rhine to the sea, and who knows but they would gostraight to New York, even before she got there herself!

  "I shall come to America, too, to see you," Roland all at onceexclaimed.

  "Give me your hand that you will."

  For the first time, the children took each other by the hand.

  A shot was heard behind them. Roland trembled.

  "Just be quiet. Are you really frightened?" Lilian said, soothingly."It's aunt; she's only frightening away the sparrows; she fires everytime she comes into the orchard. A pistol is always lying upon thetable yonder."

  Roland now saw Frau Weidmann putting the discharged pistol down on thetable.

  "We'll be perfectly quiet, so that she won't hear us," he said toLilian.

  They sat down on the margin of the brook, and Lilian whispered:--

  "The mignonettes I'll keep, they smell so sweet, even after they'rewilted."

  "Yes," Roland rejoined, "give me a mignonette too, and as often as wesmell them, we will think of each other. The field-guard Claus, told meonce--he's a real bee-father--that the mignonette yields the mosthoney."

  Of all his knowledge, nothing else now occurred to him.

  "You are very clever!" exclaimed the child. "Now tell me, do you think,too, that the bees smell the flowers as we do, and that the flowers puton such pretty colors so that the bees and the insects may come to themand be friendly with them? Just think! Herr Knopf says so. Oh, whata tiny little nose a bee must have! And I've often seen that thehumble-bee isn't very smart; it flies up to a flower twice, threetimes, and it might know that there was no honey there. Thehumble-bee's stupid, but the honey-bees, they are the prettiestcreatures in the world. Don't you love them more than anything else?"

  "No, I love horses and hounds more."

  "And only think," Lilian went on, "that the bees never hurt me noruncle, but aunt has to take care. Have you ever caught a swarm?"

  "No."

  "If you're ever a great, rich gentleman, you must get some bees too.But the bees do well only in a family where there's peace; Herr Knopftold me so. And when we start to-morrow, my father's going to take abee-hive with him. Ah, if we can only take it safe to the New World;'twould be frightful if all the good bees had to die on the way. But'twill be very nice when they wake up in America, and fly away, and seewholly different trees there."

  "Is it really true that you're going away to-morrow?"

  "Yes, my father has said so, and when he's said it, there's nothing canhinder; you may be just as sure of it as that the sun will rise. Myfather, uncle, and Herr Knopf have talked about you a great deal."

  "About me?"

  "Yes, they've wondered ever so much what you're going to do. Are youreally worth so many hundred millions?"

  "Yes, Lilian, all the money in the whole world is mine."

  "Ah, what do you say! you must think I'm a goose; I'm not so simple asall that. But what do you mean to be?"

  "A soldier."

  "Oh, that's nice; then you'll come over to us, and help kill all thepeople dead who keep slaves. My father and uncle say 'twill be donesoon. Ah, if 'twere only now as 'twas in the old times, then we'd goaway together into the great forest, far off into the world, and thenwe'd come to a castle where there were only wee-bit, tiny dwarfs, andthere'd be one hermit, a good man with a snow-white beard, whom allthe animals in the wood loved--and Herr Knopf might be just such ahermit--yes he's to be our hermit, and he'll be named Emil Martin.Come, we'll call him after this brother Martin."

  Thus the children amused each other, and Roland again asked,--

  "Why must you go away so soon as to-morrow?"

  "And why must you stay here any longer?" answered Lilian.

  "I must stay with my parents."

  "And I with mine. Ah, you've a beard already," cried the child, pullingsuddenly the down on his lip.

  "That hurts; you've pulled out a couple of hairs, and I'm proud ofthem."

  "You're proud of them then?" And she tenderly stroked his face,pronouncing at the same time a so-called healing-spell, which she hadlearned of Knopf for the healing of a wound.

  "Have you the dog still?" asked Lilian.

  "Yes, he must have gone with Eric. Where is he, I wonder?"

  He whistled, and Griffin came up. Lilian caressed the dog, and kissedhim, and said all kinds of loving words to him.

  "I'll give the dog to you," said Roland.

  "See," cried the child, "he's looking at you; he knows he's to behanded over to another master, just as a slave is. But, Roland, I can'ttake the dog with me. I mustn't say anything to father about it. Onlythink how much trouble we should have before we reached New York; you'dbetter keep him."

  Roland had been lost in thought; now he asked abruptly,--

  "Have you ever seen any slaves?"

  "No, when they come to us they aren't slaves any longer. But I've seenmany who've been slaves--one is a friend of father's, and father goesthrough the streets with him, arm in arm."

  "Come here, Griffin," she said breaking off, "here's something foryou."

  She gave the dog a piece of sweet biscuit she had in her pocket, whichhe ate, licking his lips as he stood calmly gazing at the distantlandscape.

  For some time the children were silent, and then Lilian again asked,---

  "Well, what are you going to do with the ever so many millions, whenyou're a man?"

  "What makes you ask me that?"

  "Oh, uncle and Herr Knopf have often talked about what you were goingto do with them--and do you know what they said?"

  "No. What would you do, if you had so much money?"

  "I? I'd buy ever so many pretty clothes, real gold and silver clothes,and then--well then--then I'd build a splendid church, and everybodywould have to be beautifully dressed, and when they came home, they'dhave nice things to eat. And you'll do all this, won't you? or you'lltell me what you mean to do."

  "I don't know."

  "But you are to be something great. Ah, to be rich, pooh! Uncle saysthat's nothing."

  "Have you ever seen a million?" asked the child again. "I'd like to seea million for once. The whole room, clear up to the top, would be fullof rolls of gold--no, I shouldn't like that. Tell me now, have you alittle sister?"

  "No, she's a year older than I."

  "And is she beautiful too?"

  Lilian did not wait for the answer; she beckoned to Roland to keepquiet, for just then a lady-bug ran over her hand. She placed thelittle creature on its back, saying,--

  "Look, now it's kicking, it can't help itself--there, now, its littlewings are under its back, and with them it has got up again, all byitself. Hi! it's off. 'Twill have a long story to tell when it getshome. Ah, it will say. There was a great animal that had five legs onits hand--my fingers must appear to it like legs, and when it eatssupper to-night it eats with----"

  "Tell me, aren't you hungry too? I'm hungry."

  "What are you doing there?" suddenly called out a woman's loud voice."Come into t
he house."

  Lilian's aunt had made her appearance behind the children, and they hadto go with her to the house.

  Lilian saw Roland's frightened expression, and with the idea that hemust certainly be thinking of the wicked woman in the story, who eatsthe children up in the wood, she said in a low tone,--

  "Aunt won't do us any harm; instead, we'll get something very niceto-night, great pancakes and leeks. Don't you see a leek in her hand,which she has just cut? That's for the pancakes."

  Roland and Lilian accompanied Frau Weidmann into the house.