te."

"It seems to me," said Doctor Sixtus, "we might as well speak to the
wife at once. She appears to be a sensible woman and will be glad to
make her husband and child happy."

Walpurga looked about her as if imploring help.

"Well then," said Doctor Kumpan, taking a seat, "you may as well let me
tell it. Now, pay attention, Walpurga. Just keep your seat and let me
tell you a story: Once upon a time, there was a king and a queen. The
king was good and brave, and the queen was lovely, and a son was born
to them who inherited the father's virtues and the mother's beauty; it
might have been a daughter, but they would rather have it a son. Now
when the son was born, they summoned a spirit who lived in the palace,
and was called Doctor Puck; and they said to him: Puck, dear Puck, pack
up your things, and pack yourself off to the mountains as fast as you
can; for there, by the border of the lake, is a pretty little cottage
in which there sits a mother who's tidy, strong, and good, and who's to
be the foster-mother of the little prince, who is as good as his
father, and as lovely as his mother. And the foster-mother shall have
whatever her heart wishes for, and shall make her husband and child
happy; and the king and the queen and the prince, and--but look up,
Walpurga! look at this gentleman. He's the kind spirit named Doctor
Puck, and he comes from the king and the queen. Do you understand me,
Walpurga?"

The young mother rested her head upon the back of the chair and closed
her eyes. She drew a long breath and uttered not a word. At that moment
Hansei returned with the sponsor and the babe. The mother hurried to
her child and taking it in her arms, rushed out into the garden with
it, Stasi running after her.

"What's the matter?" asked Hansei, casting angry glances at the doctor
and the stranger.

"Sit down, my worthy Hansei, and I'll tell you all about it. And it's
well that you're here, too, my good friend of the Chamois: remain with
us. The rest of you may all leave the room."

Suiting the action to the words, Doctor Kumpan hurried out the
villagers, who had been drawn there by curiosity. Then, accepting a
pinch of snuff from the innkeeper, he said: "Hansei, make a bow; you
must know that this gentleman is the court physician. He's sent here by
the king, who wants you to lend him your wife for a year."

The doctor's overbearing manner so enraged Hansei, that he almost felt
like putting him and the court doct