hought that Churi had not meant to
push him into the water, so he had felt sorry for him, if he should be
punished for what he did not mean to do, and so Erick had only said that
he had received a push when looking for berries, and had fallen into the
water. And they had assumed that the boys had knocked each other about
as usual, and Erick had been pushed accidentally.

Churi had thought out his reward, and had arranged the following
program. All the scholars of Middle Lot had to place themselves in a
long line along the street, and when now the carriage with Erick came
driving along, they, the scholars, all together must shout, "Hurrah for
Erick."

As they one and all now shouted with all their might, there was a
terrible noise, so that the horses jumped and shied. But the coachman
had them well in hand and brought them in a short time to stand quietly.
At this moment one of the boys shot out of the line and onto the
carriage step. It was Churi. He bent to Erick's ear and whispered: "I
will never again hurt you as long as I live, Erick, and when you come
back again, you just reckon on me; no one shall ever touch you, and you
shall have all the crabs and strawberries and hazel nuts which I can
find."

But on the other side someone else had sprung on the carriage step and
clamored for Erick's attention. He felt something under his nose from
which came various odors. It was an enormous bunch of fire-red and
yellow flowers, which Kaetheli held out to him, who with one foot on the
step was balancing over the colonel, and called to Erick: "Here, Erick,
you must take a nosegay from the garden with you, and when you come
back, be sure you come and see us, do not forget."

"Thank you, Kaetheli," Erick called back, "I shall certainly come to see
you, a year from now. Good-bye, Kaetheli, good-bye, Churi!"

Both jumped down, and the horses started.

"Look, look, Grandfather," cried Erick quickly, and pulled the
grandfather in front of him, so that he could see better. "Look, there
is Marianne's little house. Do you see the small window? There Mother
always sat and sewed, and you see, close beside it stood the piano,
where Mother sat the very last time and sang."

The grandfather looked at the little window and he frowned as though he
were in pain.

"What did your mother sing last, my boy?" he then asked.

"I lay in heaviest fetters,
Thou com'st and set'st me free;
I stood in shame and sorrow,
Thou