d with her soft
hand; she did not ask him any more questions. For--did not something
rise out of that field covered with snow, hover outside the window and
lay its finger on its lips: "Be quiet, do not ask, do not touch
it"?

But she remained with the boy and played with him; she felt as
though she ought not to leave him alone to-day. Yes, she must pay still
more attention to him in the future. All at once the thought fell on
her heart like a heavy weight: she had already left him much too much
to himself. But then she consoled herself again: he was still so young,
his mind was still a piece of quite soft wax, which she could mould as
she liked. He must never again be allowed to stand at the window
staring out at that desolate field with such burning eyes. What was he
longing for? Was not a wealth of love showered on him? And
everything else that delights a child's heart?

She looked round his pretty room. Such a quantity of toys were piled
up in it, trains and steamers, tin soldiers and picture books and all
the newest games.

"Come, we'll play," she said.

He was quite ready to do so; she was surprised how quickly he had
forgotten his sorrow. Thank God, he was still quite an innocent,
unsuspecting child. But how restlessly he threw the toys about. "That's
stupid," and "that's tiresome"--nothing really absorbed his attention.
She soon felt quite exhausted with all her proposals and her endeavours
to induce him to play this or that game. She did not think she had been
so difficult to satisfy as a child. She had wanted to get up and go
away half a dozen times already--no, she really could not stand it any
longer, she had a frantic headache, it had got on her nerves, it was
certainly much easier to stand at the fire and cook or do housework
than play with a child--but her sense of duty and her love kept her
back every time.

She must not leave him alone, for--she felt it with a gloomy
dread--for then somebody else would come and take him away from
her.

She remained sitting with him, pale and exhausted; he had tormented
her a great deal. At last he found a woolly sheep that had been quite
forgotten in the corner of the toy cupboard, a dilapidated old toy from
his childhood with only three legs left. And he amused himself with
that; that pleased him more than the other costly toys. He sat on the
carpet as though he were quite a little child, held the sheep between
his knees and stroked it.

When he lay in bed at