at supper the Man and the Frau seemed to swell to an immense size as
she watched them, and then become smaller than dolls, with little voices
that seemed to come from outside the window. Looking at the baby, it
suddenly had two heads, and then no head. Even his crying made her feel
worse. When she thought of the nearness of bedtime she shook all over
with excited joy. But as eight o'clock approached there was the sound
of wheels on the road, and presently in came a party of friends to spend
the evening.

Then it was:

"Put on the coffee."

"Bring me the sugar tin."

"Carry the chairs out of the bedroom."

"Set the table."

And, finally, the Frau sent her into the next room to keep the baby
quiet.

There was a little piece of candle burning in the enamel bracket. As
she walked up and down she saw her great big shadow on the wall like a
grown-up person with a grown-up baby. Whatever would it look like when
she carried two babies so!

"Ts--ts--ts! Once upon a time she was walking along a little white
road, with oh! such great big black trees on either side."

"Here you!" called the Frau's voice, "bring me my new jacket from behind
the door." And as she took it into the warm room one of the women said,
"She looks like an owl. Such children are seldom right in their heads."

"Why don't you keep that baby quiet?" said the Man, who had just drunk
enough beer to make him feel very brave and master of his house.

"If you don't keep that baby quiet you'll know why later on."

They burst out laughing as she stumbled back into the bedroom.

"I don't believe Holy Mary could keep him quiet," she murmured. "Did
Jesus cry like this when He was little? If I was not so tired perhaps
I could do it; but the baby just knows that I want to go to sleep. And
there is going to be another one."

She flung the baby on the bed, and stood looking at him with terror.

From the next room there came the jingle of glasses and the warm sound
of laughter.

And she suddenly had a beautiful marvellous idea.

She laughed for the first time that day, and clapped her hands.

"Ts--ts--ts!" she said, "lie there, silly one; you WILL go to sleep.
You'll not cry any more or wake up in the night. Funny, little, ugly
baby."

He opened his eyes, and shrieked loudly at the sight of the
Child-Who-Was-Tired. From the next room she heard the Frau call out to
her.

"One moment--he is almost asleep," she cried.

And then gently, smiling, on tipt