evening at the piano and had spoken to him
with words so full of love; and then, in the morning, she had lain there
so still and pale. He laid his head on the arm of the bench and sobbed
as if his heart would break. The people passed by him, and here and
there one woman said to another: "The poor little fellow, he has no one
on this earth," and then they went out.

The pastor in the pulpit had seen Erick rush into church. He now looked
again in that direction, and noticed the little chap, how he sat there
on the empty bench, so forsaken, his head resting on his arm. The pastor
now walked behind the last of the congregation toward the bench. He
stepped into the pew and put his hand on Erick's shoulder and asked
kindly: "Why are you weeping so hard, my boy?"

"Because--because--because they sang Mother's song," sobbed Erick.

"What is your name?" the pastor asked again.

"Erick Dorn," was the answer.

Now the pastor knew what to do. He took the boy's hand in his fatherly
hand, pulled him down from the high bench and said: "Come with me, my
boy!"

At the parsonage the three children stood waiting for the father's
return, as they did every Sunday. Sally had not said a word since they
had left church; now she came close to her mother and said, quite
excited: "Please, please, Mamma, may I go now at once to Kaetheli? I
have to talk over something with her, really I must."

Sally had made up her mind to go out into the vineyards to look for
Erick, but she did not know the way, so Kaetheli was to go with her. But
the mother opposed Sally's urging and said: "You know, dear, that we
have dinner at once, and father does not allow such running away on
Sunday. There he comes now. Who is the little boy whose hand he is
holding?"

Sally uttered a loud shout of joy and tore away. "Oh, Erick! you are not
burnt!" she cried, beside herself with joy, when she now saw Erick
before her with his abundant curls and bright eyes.

"Of course not," said Erick, politely lifting his little cap and
offering his hand to her, a little surprised, for he did not know when
he could have burned himself. Quickly she took his hand and so the three
met the surprised mother who, however, at the sight of Erick, guessed at
once who the fine boy in the velvet jacket was. She greeted him lovingly
and stroked his tear-stained eyes and flushed cheeks.

Sally would have liked to ask at once how all had happened, and would
have urged him to tell everythin