"What's the matter? What do you want?" she cried, starting up.

"I have some money for you," he said, more astonished than frightened.

"Money? Where?" She moved and the little coin fell jingling to the
floor. Frederick picked it up.

"Money from Uncle Simon, because I helped him work. Now I can earn
something for myself."

"Money from Simon! Throw it away, away!--No, give it to the poor. But
no, keep it!" she whispered, scarcely audibly. "We are poor ourselves;
who knows whether we won't be reduced to begging!"

"I am to go back to Uncle Monday and help him with the sowing."

"You go back to him? No, no, never!" She embraced her child wildly.
"Yet," she added, and a stream of tears suddenly rushed down her sunken
cheeks, "go; he is the only brother I have, and slander is great! But
keep God before your eyes, and do not forget your daily prayers!"
Margaret pressed her face against the wall and wept aloud. She had borne
many a heavy burden--her husband's harsh treatment, and, worse than
that, his death; and it was a bitter moment when the widow was compelled
top give over to a creditor the usufruct of her last piece of arable
land, and her own plow stood useless in front of her house. But as badly
as this she had never felt before; nevertheless, after she had wept
through an evening and lain awake a whole night, she made herself
believe that her brother Simon could not be so godless, that the boy
certainly did not belong to him; for resemblances can prove nothing.
Why, had she not herself lost a little sister forty years ago who looked
exactly like the strange peddler! One is willing to believe almost
anything when one has so little, and is liable to lose that little by
unbelief!

From this time on Frederick was seldom at home. Simon seemed to have
lavished on his nephew all the more tender sentiments of which he was
capable; at least he missed him greatly and never ceased sending
messages if some business at home kept him at his mother's house for any
length of time. The boy was as if transformed since that time; his
dreamy nature had left him entirely; he walked firmly, began to care for
his external appearance, and soon to have the reputation of being a
handsome, clever youth. His uncle, who could not be happy without
schemes, sometimes undertook important public works--for example, road
building, at which Frederick was everywhere considered one of his best
workmen and his right-hand man; for although the boy