coming and had gone to meet them. She took
Sanna by her cold little hands and led her into the room.

She made them take off their heavy outer garments, ordered more wood to
be put in the stove, and asked them what had happened on the way over.

When they had told her she said: "That's nice and good, and I am very
glad that you have come again; but today you must be off early, the day
is short and it is growing colder. Only this morning there was no frost
in Millsdorf."

"Not in Gschaid, either," said the boy.

"There you see. On that account you must hurry so that you will not grow
too cold in the evening," said grandmother.

Then she asked how mother was and how father was, and whether anything
particular had happened in Gschaid.

After having questioned them she devoted herself to the preparation of
dinner, made sure that it would be ready at an earlier time than usual,
and herself prepared tidbits for the children which she knew would give
them pleasure. Then the master dyer was called. Covers were set on the
table for the children as for grown-up people and then they ate with
grandfather and grandmother, and the latter helped them to particularly
good things. After the meal, she stroked Sanna's cheeks which had grown
quite red, meanwhile.

Thereupon she went busily to and fro packing the boy's knapsack till it
was full and, besides, stuffed all kinds of things into his pockets.
Also in Sanna's little pockets she put all manner of things. She gave
each a piece of bread to eat on the way and in the knapsack, she said,
there were two more pieces of wheat bread, in case they should grow too
hungry.

"For mother, I have given you some well-roasted coffee," she said, "and
in the little bottle that is stoppered and tightly wrapped up there is
also some black coffee, better than mother usually makes over at your
house. Just let her taste it; it is a veritable medicine tonic, so
strong that one swallow of it will warm up the stomach, so that the body
will not grow cold on the coldest of winter days. The other things in
the pasteboard-box and those that are wrapped up in paper in the
knapsack you are to bring home without touching."

After having talked with the children a little while longer she bade
them go.

"Take good care, Sanna," she said, "that you don't get chilled, you
mustn't get overheated. And don't you run up along the meadows and under
the trees. Probably there will be some wind toward evening, and