t house? There goes the
doctor, hurrying along as if some one were in great danger."

"I do not know of any one's being ill there," said the mother. "Mrs. Kurd
has let her rooms to some strangers. It may be one of them."

The twins were by turns as red as fire and as white as chalk. A secret
voice cried out in each little palpitating heart, "Now it is coming! it is
coming!" They were almost paralyzed with fright; the delicious pudding lay
untouched on their plates, though it was full of raisins and looked
unusually tempting. But even Hunne, the pudding-eater of the family,
neglected his plate today, and suddenly jumping down from his chair, he
began to shout like a crazy creature,

"Mama! Papa! come away! the house is going to fall down! everything is
going to pieces!" In his excitement he almost pulled Jule off his seat, to
make him come with him, as he ran out of the door. Presently they heard
him outside repeating, "The house will tumble down; Jule said it would!"

"Some evil spirit has certainly taken possession of the children," said
the astonished father, "The twins look as if they were sitting on pins,
and little Hunne is acting like a mad-man."

At these words Julius broke out into inextinguishable laughter; for it
suddenly dawned upon him what the little boy had in his mind. The unusual
timidity and silence of the twins was caused, no doubt, by their having
already begun in secret the work of destruction; and at any moment now the
house might fall in ruins upon the assembled family. Jule explained with
repeated outbursts of laughter, the meaning of Hunne's fright. In vain the
mother called the little boy to come in; he was jumping up and down before
the house door, stamping, and calling to his father and mother and Jule
and everyone to come out. At last his father lost patience, and said
decidedly that the door must be closed, and that the dinner should be
ended in peace. After dinner they all went into the garden, where Hunne
joined them. When he saw them all seated in safety under the apple-tree,
he said with a sigh,

"I wish some one would bring me my pudding, before the house falls down."

His mother drew him to her, and explained to him that big Jule and little
Hunne, were two very foolish fellows; the first to invent such silly
stuff, and the second to believe it. She begged him to think a bit how
impossible it would be for two children like Wili and Lili to pull down a
great strong stone house like