use you have put nothing into your mouth, and
your plate stays filled."

Now Sally could not restrain her tears longer, for she had with great
difficulty swallowed them, and had been very quiet. Now she burst out
into loud sobbing and said through her tears: "Poor Erick, too, cannot
eat today. Now he has neither father nor mother and is all alone in the
world."

Sally's weeping grew louder and louder, for she could not stop, since
she had restrained herself so long. Ritz looked, surprised and startled,
from one to the other; he did not quite understand whether he was to
blame for this. The mother rose, took Sally by the hand, and led her out
of the room.

This incident caused a great disturbance at the midday meal. The father
was annoyed and sat without saying a word. The aunt, with great
animation, tried to point out to him with this proof, how excitable
children become when they do not go to bed in good time. Edi, too, sat
quite ill-humoredly before his plate, as if he had to swallow sorrel
instead of little golden apples; for he felt much troubled that his
father had heard of his inattention in the school. Ritz had expected a
kind of admonishing speech from him, because the outburst had taken
place right after he had spoken to Sally. Since it did not come and no
one seemed to trouble about him, he settled himself firmly in his seat
and ate everything that was on Sally's and his mother's plates.

When the father went out in the garden soon after, the mother followed
him and led him to the small bench under the apple tree. Seated there
she told him what Sally, continuously interrupted by loud sobbing, had
told her: what had happened during the past night in Marianne's cottage.
And she now asked her husband whether he did not think that some
enquiries ought to be made about these strangers, and whether one ought
not to do something for the little boy who, as it seemed, was standing
all alone in the world. But the pastor was not of her opinion, and said
that these people had turned to Lower Wood for school and church,
therefore he could not interfere at present. His colleague in Lower Wood
would no doubt take everything in hand and see what could be done with
the boy. He was sure that the pastor in Lower Wood would find some
relations of the boy, and he perhaps knew already more about the
strangers, than was suspected. The woman, no doubt, had confided in his
colleague about herself, since she would have had to do th