Family -- Juvenile fiction; Switzerland -- Juvenile fiction
Cornelli was already running into the house to the living-room and to
her own wardrobe. Yes, everything had remained the same. She flew
outside again to the mother, to lead her into the house. The child’s
face fairly beamed with joy.
Cornelli’s father was busy working in his office. Hearing the sound
of the approaching wheels, he started. “Here they are already,” he
said to himself. He hastily threw off his working coat and putting on
a good coat left the iron foundry. While he was walking across the
courtyard he sighed deeply. Freshly stamped in his memory, he saw
before him his only child as she had looked when he had returned from
his journey a year ago. Cornelli had stood before him shyly, with
averted glance, resembling a little savage, who had never been combed.
“I wonder what the child is like now?” he muttered to himself.
As he entered the living room Cornelli looked up at him. The Director
was quite startled at what he saw. Now Cornelli flew up to him.
“Oh, Papa, oh, Papa! It is so wonderful to be home again! Everything
is still the way it used to be. Oh, I am so glad to be home again!”
The father wanted to embrace his child, but before he did so he held
her at arm’s length to gaze at her once more.
“Cornelli,” he said with tears in his eyes, “you look at me the way
your mother used to. You have grown just like your mother,” he said,
putting his arms lovingly about her. “How was it possible? How could
you change in this way? How did it happen?”
“Mother knows about it, Papa. Mother has helped me,” said Cornelli,
going with shining eyes to the mother, for Mrs. Halm had retreated to
the back of the room.
The Director now turned to his new guest. “Welcome to our house,” he
said heartily, greeting both her and the children. Holding Cornelli’s
hand within his own, he continued with emotion: “How different you
have brought her back to me! How did you do it? Can this be the same
child that I brought you?”
The happy father had to look at Cornelli over and over again, for he
hardly yet realized that this was his child. Was this really Cornelli
and not a creature of his imagination? So he held the child’s hand and
looked again and again into her shining eyes; it really seemed as if
he could not believe it.
Esther, laden with the dinner dishes, now came into the room to set
the table. She informed her master that the guest rooms were ready and
that she supposed the ladies wanted to retire before the coming meal.
Mrs. Halm and her daughter gladly followed her, but Cornelli said:
“Oh, Papa, can I run over to Martha? I’ll be back very soon.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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