e, which your father gave me, quite
plainly; nay I could have declared that I smelt its perfume, but the
interpreter assured me that we never smell in our dreams. I went up to
the beautiful tree in admiration. Then suddenly a hundred axes appeared
in the air, wielded by unseen hands, and struck the poor tree with such
violence that the branches one by one fell to the ground, and at
last the trunk itself was felled. If you think it grieved me you are
mistaken. On the contrary, I was delighted with the flashing hatchets
and the flying splinters. When at last nothing was left but the roots
in the tub of earth, I perceived that the tree was rising to new life.
Suddenly my arms became strong, my feet active, and I fetched quantities
of water from the tank, poured it over the roots, and when, at last, I
could exert myself no longer, a tender green shoot showed itself on the
wounded root, a bud appeared, a green leaf unfolded itself, a juicy stem
sprouted quickly, it became a firm trunk, sent out branches and twigs,
and these became covered with leaves and flowers, white, red and blue;
then various birds came and settled on the top of the tree, and sang.
Ah! my heart sang louder than the birds at that moment, and I said to
myself that without me the tree would have been dead, and that it owed
its life to me."

"A beautiful dream," said Katuti; "that reminds me of your girlhood,
when you would be awake half the night inventing all sorts of tales.
What interpretation did the priest give you?"

"He promised me many things," said Nefert, "and he gave me the assurance
that the happiness to which I am predestined shall revive in fresh
beauty after many interruptions."

"And Paaker's father gave you the Neha-tree?" asked Katuti, leaving the
veranda as she spoke and walking out into the garden.

"My father brought it to Thebes from the far cast," said Paaker, in
confirmation of the widow's parting words.

"And that is exactly what makes me so happy," said Nefert. "For your
father was as kind, and as dear to me as if he had been my own. Do you
remember when we were sailing round the pond, and the boat upset, and
you pulled me senseless out of the water? Never shall I forget the
expression with which the great man looked at me when I woke up in its
arms; such wise true eyes no one ever had but he."

"He was good, and he loved you very much," said Paaker, recalling, for
his part, the moment when he had dared to press a kiss on the