now gazing in her face as on a rainbow, and when she
pronounced the last word, he repeated after her in a soft voice,
filled with pity:

"Josseyme!"

At that moment, quite a distance behind them in the grove, was heard
the bleating of the goat. Meir looked back.

"Your goat--will it not be lost in the forest?" he asked.

"No," answered the girl quietly. "She never goes too far, and when I
call her she returns to me. She is my sister."

"Fear is your brother, and a she-goat your sister!" said the young
man, smiling.

The girl turned her head toward the grove, and gave voice to a few
short exclamations. Immediately there came from the thicket the
sound of quick, racing steps, and among the green birch branches
appeared the snow-white hairy animal. It stood still and looked at
the two people sitting beside each other.

"Come here!" called Golda.

The goat approached and stood near her. Golda caressed the animal's
neck, and Meir did the same smiling. The goat gave a short bleat,
jumped aside, and in the twinkling of an eye was biting at one of the
birches.

"How obedient she is," said Meir.

"She is very fond of me," said Golda gravely. "I brought her up in
the same way that zeide did me. She was a little kid when zeide
brought her home and made me a present of her. I used to carry her in
my arms and feed her with my hands, and when she was sick I sang to
her, as zeide used to sing to me."

In speaking thus she smiled, and the smile gave her a childish
appearance. She looked not more than fourteen years old.

"Would you like to have another little kid?" asked Meir.

"Why not?" she answered. "I would like it very much. When zeide shall
sell a great many baskets, and I shall spin much wool we will buy
another little kid."

"For whom do you spin the wool?"

"There are some good women who help me in that way. Hannah,
Witebski's wife, your aunt Sarah, Ber's wife, give me wool to spin
and then they pay me with copper--sometimes with silver money."

"Then you sometimes come to our house to take the wool for spinning
from Sarah, Ber's wife?"

"Yes."

"And why have I never seen you?"

"Because they wish me to come secretly. Ber and his wife Sarah are
very good-hearted people, but they don't wish anyone to know that
they help us. I come to see them when there is nobody in the house
except Lijka, your cousin, and I try to slip in in such a way that
the black man could not see me."

"Whom do you mean by th