ce more,

"Your most true and loving
"ANNA VON ZABELTHAU."

It was a good weight off Fraeulein Aennchen's mind when she had written
this letter; it had cost her a considerable effort. So she felt
light-hearted and happy when she had put it in its envelope, sealed
it up without burning the paper or her own fingers, and given it,
together with the bonnet-boxful of tobacco, to Gottlieb to take to the
post-office in the town. When she had seen properly to the poultry in
the yard, she ran as fast as she could to the place she loved best--the
kitchen-garden. When she got to the carrot-bed she thought it was about
time to be thinking of the sweet-toothed people in the town, and be
palling the earliest of the carrots. The servant-girl was called in to
help in this process. Fraeulein Aennchen walked, gravely and seriously,
into the middle of the bed, and grasped a stately carrot-plant. But on
her pulling at it a strange sound made itself heard. Do not, reader,
think of the witches' mandrake-root, and the horrible whining and
howling which pierces the heart of man when it is drawn from the earth.
No; the tone which was heard on this occasion was like very delicate,
joyous laughter. But Fraeulein Aennchen let the carrot-plant go, and
cried out, rather frightened, "Eh! Who's that laughing at me?" But
there being nothing more to be heard she took hold of the carrot-plant
again--which seemed to be finer and better grown than any of the
rest--and, notwithstanding the laughing, which began again, pulled up
the very finest and most splendid carrot ever beheld by mortal eye.
When she looked at it more closely she gave a cry of joyful surprise,
so that the maid-servant came running up; and she also exclaimed aloud
at the beautiful miracle which disclosed itself to her eyes. For there
was a beautiful ring firmly attached to the carrot, with a shining
topaz mounted in it.

"Oh," cried the maid, "that's for you! It's your wedding-ring. Put it
on directly."

"Stupid nonsense!" said Fraeulein Aennchen. "I must get my
wedding-ring from Herr Amandus von Nebelstern, not from a carrot."

However, the longer she looked at the ring the better she was pleased
with it; and, indeed, it was of such wonderfully fine workmanship that
it seemed to surpass anything ever produced by human skill. On the ring
part of it there were hundreds and hundreds of tiny little figures
twined tog