“Children, to-morrow Cornelli’s father is expecting to hear from me. He will want to know if he is to come to fetch her home, or if he is to leave her here another week. Cornelli herself shall decide, but we all want her to stay.” “Don’t go, don’t go! Tell him not to come for a long while,” Mux implored her. The little boy had slipped in behind his mother and was keeping a tight hold on Cornelli, as if her papa might come at once to pull her away. “No, no, Cornelli, you won’t go away yet,” Dino now said. “To-morrow I am allowed to get up for the first time and you must be there to see if I can still walk. After that you must stay here till I go to school; won’t you, Cornelli? You don’t want to go, do you?” “You must not urge her too much,” said the mother. “Maybe Cornelli would rather go home, and by your talking you might keep her from saying so.” But being urged by the two children was such a joy to Cornelli that she never even hesitated. “I should love to stay,” she said. “Oh, how splendid!” Dino exclaimed. “Please ask for at least two or three weeks, Mama. It is so nice to have Cornelli with us.” “I shall ask Cornelli’s father to let us have his daughter a while longer,” said the mother, “I cannot possibly settle the time, her father will do that.” “Oh, yes, a while longer is just right. Then it is so easy to ask for a little more time, for we can say that we meant that by a little longer,” said Dino. The same day, later on, while Dino was resting, Cornelli was sitting with Mux. They were both so happy over the prospect of remaining together that Mux opened the piano and asked Cornelli to sing with him. Cornelli could not play, so promised that she would try to sing. She asked Mux to choose a song, but he knew none. “You sing one,” he proposed, “and I might know it, too.” Cornelli was just in the mood to sing once more. She began a song with her bright, full voice and Mux listened admiringly. The snow’s on the meadow, The snow’s all around, The snow lies in heaps All over the ground. Hurrah, oh hurrah! All over the ground. Oh cuckoo from the woods, Oh flowers so bright, Oh, kindliest sun, Come and bring us delight! Hurrah, oh hurrah! Come and bring us delight! When the swallow comes back And the finches all sing, I sing and I dance For joy of the Spring. Hurrah, oh hurrah! For joy of the Spring. Suddenly the door flew open and Agnes burst into the room. “But why didn’t you ever say anything?” she cried out. “To think of it! Why did you never say a word, Cornelli?” “But what should I have said?” Cornelli asked, very much frightened. “You must not be afraid,” Mux now calmed her, “I’ll help you, if she should want to hurt you.” “Don’t be so unnaturally stupid, Mux!” his sister ejaculated as she ran to the next room. Here her mother was already standing in the open door. “Have you heard it, Mother? Come out and let Cornelli sing her song again!”