"Marry, my friend," began now the youth, "by my troth, that is a dainty
piece of work you are making there." Frederick looked round in alarm;
but when he looked into the dark friendly eyes of the young stranger,
he felt as if he had known him for a long time. Smiling, he replied,
"Oh! my dear sir, how can you notice such trifling? it only serves me
for pastime on my journey." "Well then," went on the stranger youth,
"if you call that delicately formed flower, which is so faithful a
reproduction of Nature, trifling, you must be a skilful practised
modeller. You have afforded me a pleasant surprise in two ways. First,
I was quite touched to the heart by the song you sang so admirably to
Martin Haescher's _Zarte Buchstabenweis_; and now I cannot but admire
your artistic skill in modelling. How much farther do you intend to
travel to-day?" Frederick replied, "Yonder lies the goal of my journey
before our eyes. I am going home, to the famed imperial town of
Nuremberg. But as the sun has now been set some time, I shall pass the
night in the village below there, and then by being up and away in the
early morning I can be in Nuremberg at noon." "Marry," cried the youth,
delighted, "how finely things will fit; we are both going the same way,
for I want to go to Nuremberg. I will spend the night with you here in
the village, and then we'll proceed on our way again to-morrow. And now
let us talk a little." The youth, Reinhold by name, threw himself down
beside Frederick on the grass, and continued, "If I mistake not, you
are a skilful artist-caster, are you not? I infer it from your style of
modelling; or perhaps you are a worker in gold and silver?" Frederick
cast down his eyes sadly, and said dejectedly, "Marry, my dear sir, you
are taking me for something far better and higher than I really am.
Well, I will speak candidly; I have learned the trade of a cooper, and
am now going to work for a well-known master in Nuremberg. You will no
doubt look down upon me with contempt since, instead of being able to
mould and cast splendid statues, and such like, all I can do is to hoop
casks and tubs." Reinhold burst out laughing, and cried, "Now that I
call droll. I shall look down upon you--eh? because you are a cooper;
why man, that's what I am; I'm nothing but a cooper." Frederick opened
his eyes wide in astonishment; he did not know what to make of it, for
Reinhold's dress was in keeping with anything sooner than a journeyman
cooper's on