t?"

"If I throw a cracker into the fire, won't it burn?" said the child,
planting himself before Rolf and holding his nutcracker saucily before his
eyes.

"Oh, there is no use talking to you," said Rolf, and was just about
leaving the room, but this was not so easily done, for now Hunne was
bitten with the mania for riddle-making himself.

"Stop, Rolf," he cried and grasped his brother by the jacket to hold him.
"My first is not good to drink but to eat--"

"Oh dear, well, that must be 'nutcracker' again," and Rolf ran off,
wrenching himself from his tormentor's hands. But the boy followed him,
crying, "Wrong, wrong! you are wrong. Try again, try again!"

Moreover, Wili and Lili came scampering in from the other side, crying
out,

"Rolf, Rolf, a riddle! guess! try!" and Lili held up a strip of paper and
rattled it before Rolfs eyes, repeating, "Guess, guess, Rolf."

So the riddle-maker was now caught in his own meshes.

"Well, at least leave me room to guess in," cried he, striking about him
with his arms to make room.

"You can't guess anything," cried little Hunne contemptuously, "I am going
to Jule--he knows."

Rolf took the little slip of yellowish paper that Lili was waving back and
forth, and looked at it in surprise. In a childish hand-writing that he
had never seen before, were written the following words,

"Come lay your hand
Joined thus we
Each the other
That our union
But behold the
That our future
We will cut our
Half for you and
But we still will
That our halves
And with us
Our friendship."

"It is probably a rebus," said Rolf thoughtfully. "I shall guess it after
a little while. Just let me stay alone long enough to think it out."

There was not much time left for this however, for the dinner-bell sounded
and all the family assembled in the large hall for the mid-day meal.

"What nice thing has my little Hunne done to-day?" asked the father, when
they were at last all busy over their plates.

"I made a splendid riddle, Papa, but Rolf never tries to guess my riddles,
and I couldn't find Jule, and the rest would not listen to me at all."

"Yes, Papa," interrupted Rolf! "and I too have made three or four splendid
ones, but no one has time to guess them, and those who have time enough
are so stupid that there is no use in trying to get any answer from them.
When Jule has guessed one he thinks he has done enough, and I can mak