ack of a
cow.

"It'll soon begin to get light--the maid will be coming to milk before
long." She threw the light of the lantern into a shelf on which stood
all sorts of brightly-scoured bowls and porringers, and took down a
snow-white wooden bowl.

Prom the swallows' nests up among the dark rafters sounded the chirping
of the young birds, very sweet in the warm damp air. The little spring
plashed in its trough.

Beate took the maid's milking-stool, stroked and patted a fine brown
and white cow, and began to milk into the bowl. The girl's bright head
stood out against the cow's great side. Horny held the lantern.
Presently she had filled the bowl with foaming milk. The cow lowed a
little at being disturbed so early and in such a peculiar manner.

"That _is_ milk!" said the young mistress proudly. "And now all of you
drink." She held out the bowl to them, and they drank long, long
draughts.

"A queen she is!" said Horny again to Roese. "How fine all this is! It's
great to have such a sea of white, fragrant milk rising in waves under
your eyes and filling you with its warmth and strength."

"You've had as much as you want?" said Beate with blissful pride. They
said good-by, reconducting their young hostess to the door of her
lonely house.

But the three old folks had taken a very firm resolution to make some
sort of settlement up at the Rauchfuss place. Tubby must not be left to
herself--it would never do. "A girl like that all alone in the house!"
said both the Sperbers very thoughtfully; and so it came about that
they invited their nephew to come and see them.

He was a good, wholesome fellow. But all the neighbors in the country
round, on the Ettersberg and behind the Ettersberg, in Weimar and the
suburbs, thought as did the old Sperbers: It isn't the thing for a slip
of a silly girl to be alone on the farm like that. Each thought of a
nephew, a brother, a son or some other relative who might be launched,
on the chase of the rare wild creature--all the while that the young
girl was enjoying in fullest measure her freedom and her youth. In
spite of them all, she lived very peacefully and properly, knowing how
to make herself felt as mistress for all the bailiff and housekeeper
were there; all she did was well and diligently done.

But presently there broke loose what the old people in their zeal had
wished--a flood of suitors. The lovely youthful peace of the three
queens and their good friends was disturbed.