rick would exhaust himself looking
for him, for Churi had climbed up the high pear-tree which stood in the
centre of their playground, and from there he could overlook Erick's
inactivity and his stubborn resistance to being moved. Kaetheli too had
become impatient, for in the farthest corner of the goat-shed, whither
she had crawled, she felt herself secure from being found, and now, all
at once, she discovered that there was no more seeking, and she could
easily guess the cause. With a good deal of trouble she crawled out
again, with many signs of her hiding-place on her dress for she had been
obliged to sit crouched. She ran to Erick, who was still in the same
spot, near the harmonica player.

"I should like to know what is the matter with you," she called out.
"Every evening, just when we have the greatest fun, all at once you run
away like a hare, or you stand there like a statue and let everything go
as it will. But that will not do! Come and seek us. But first I must
hide again."

The tones of the harmonica had just stopped and the boy had gone. Erick
took a deep breath and said: "I cannot play any more. I must go home."

He turned away and went; but that annoyed Kaetheli. She ran after him
and talked angrily at him. "That is not nice of you, Erick; you need not
have done that. You have spoiled the game now four or five times--that
is surely not kind of you, do you think it is?" They had by this time
arrived at Marianne's cottage. Erick stopped at the hedge and turned
round. He said, quite friendly: "Do not be angry, Kaetheli, you see I
have to act so."

"Yes, but why? Tell me now, what you do and why you have to spoil
everything?" demanded Kaetheli, rather huffed, for she could not yet get
over the fact that she had crawled all for nothing into the incomparable
hiding-place in the goat-shed.

"I will tell you, Kaetheli, for you must not think that I purposely
spoil everything for you. I did not think of that," said Erick, excusing
himself. "Do you see, there is a beautiful song which my mother sang
every day, and also on the last day, and I should so much like to hear
that song again. But no one sings it, and I may listen wherever I like,
I hear only other things. Oh, if I could only hear that song again, just
once!"

Now Kaetheli saw how Erick's eyes filled with big tears, and in an
instant her anger turned into pity. "You must not be sad on that
account, for I can help you," she said readily. "I know so