on the top of the hill close by the
fir wood; it had a beautiful white church with a high, slender tower. At
a distance of three-quarters of an hour's walk, down in the valley, lay
Lower Wood, a small community which, however, did not wish to be
considered smaller. They had a new schoolhouse and a church of their
own, but the church had no tower, only a little red dome. Therefore the
people of Upper Wood were a little proud, because their church was much
prettier and also because they learned much more in the old schoolhouse
in Upper Wood than in the new one of Lower Wood; but that was the
children's fault, not the teacher's. In the middle, between the two
villages lay a hamlet consisting of a few farms and some small houses of
little pretense. It was called the Middle Lot, and its people the Middle
Lotters. They had the choice to what church and school they wished to
belong, whether to Lower Wood or Upper Wood, and according to their
choice they were judged by the people of Upper Wood; for whoever wanted
to learn much and be decent, he must, according to the Upper Wooders,
strive to belong to them. This was a fixed and general idea of the
people on the top of the hill. In the Middle Lot there lived only two
families who were generally respected; the Justice of Peace, who was
obliged to live there because otherwise he would have to be called
there, and that would have been inconvenient. This peace-making man was
Kaetheli's father. And the other was old Marianne, who lived in her own
house and pulled horse-hair for a living, and never did harm to anyone.

When on the next morning the three children of the parsonage passed
Marianne's house on their way to school, Sally said: "It is fun to go to
school to-day for the strange boy of yesterday will come too; if we only
knew his name. Kaetheli described him to me; he wears velvet pants. Of
course he will come to Upper Wood to school."

"Of course," said Edi with a dignified air; "who would think of going to
Lower Wood to School?"

"Of course, who would go there to school?" observed Ritz.

Then the three in perfect harmony entered the schoolhouse. But no
strange face was to be seen in the whole schoolroom; everything went on
in the usual way to the end of the morning. Then everyone hurried away
in different directions. Sally was standing there, somewhat undecided;
she would like to have heard something new of the strange boy and his
mother, for she loved to hear news, and