e had called
down such terrible curses upon the child. Still, even now she might have
had good reason to execrate the wearer of the wreath; for she alone, not
Lienhard, was the sole cause of her misfortune. Her prayer on the rope
that the saints would destroy the hated child, and the idea which then
occupied her mind, that she was really a grown maiden, whose elfin
delicacy of figure was due to her being one of the fays or elves
mentioned in the fairy tales, had made a deep impression upon her
memory.

Whenever she thought of that supplication she again felt the bitterness
she had tasted on the rope. Though she believed herself justified in
hating the little mischief-maker, the prayer uttered before her fall did
not burden her soul much less heavily than a crime. Suppose the Sister
was right, and that the saints heard every earnest petition?

She shuddered at the thought. The child was so young, so delicate.
Though she had caused her misfortune, the evil was not done
intentionally. Such thoughts often induced Kuni to clasp her hands and
pray to the saint not to fulfil the prayer she uttered at that time; but
she did not continue the petition long, a secret voice whispered that
every living creature--man and beast--felt the impulse to inflict a
similar pang on those who caused suffering, and that she, who believed
the whole world wicked, need not be better than the rest.

Meanwhile she longed more and more eagerly to know the name of the
little creature that had brought so much trouble upon her, and whether
she was still forcing herself between Lienhard and his beautiful wife.

As soon as she was able to talk again, she began her inquiries. The
Sister, who was entirely absorbed in her calling and never left the
scene of her wearisome toil, had little to tell; but the leech and the
priest, in reply to her questions concerning what had happened during
the period of her unconsciousness, informed her that the Emperor had
ordered that she should receive the most careful nursing, and had
bestowed a donation upon the convent for the purpose. He had thought
of her future, too. When she recovered, she would have the five heller
pounds which the generous sovereign had left for her as a partial
compensation for the injuries sustained while employing her rare skill
for the delight of the multitude and, above all, himself. A wealthy
Nuremberg Honourable, Lienhard Groland, a member of the Council, had
also interested himself in he