Maezli: A Story of the Swiss ValleysSpyri, Johanna
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Maezli: A Story of the Swiss Valleys
Spyri, Johanna
Switzerland -- Juvenile fiction
"She doesn't ever want to renew her friendship with you and she has asked
me to tell you that. You may be sure that I should not tell you if I did
not have to," Loneli added, "because it makes me so sad."
Mea reflected a moment, wondering what she had really done. All she had
been guilty of was accusing Elvira of an act of injustice. So all
friendly feelings between them were to be withdrawn for all time as her
punishment.
"Elvira can sulk for the rest of eternity, if she wants to," Mea said now
without the slightest trace of sadness. Loneli was greatly surprised.
"There are other people in this world besides her. I should have loved
to tell Elvira who was staying with us. Never has anybody been so nice
and pleased us so. I wish I could have told her who is here now, though
we don't know her yet; but Elvira keeps on turning her back on me. You
see, Loneli, the nicest boy, about Bruno's age, came to see us, and his
sister is sick upstairs. We are not allowed to see her just yet, but I
can hardly wait till she comes down. If she is as nice as her brother,
she is the nicest child any of us have ever seen."
At this description Loneli's vivacious eyes fairly gleamed with sympathy.
"What is her name," she asked expectantly.
"Leonore," Mea answered.
"Oh," Loneli immediately began, "my grandmother also knew a young lady
called Leonore. She always says that that young lady was as lovely as an
angel and that there could not be anybody in the world as wonderful as
she."
"I am rather glad if Leonore is not like an angel, for she might not be
my friend then," Mea said quickly. "Elvira even, who certainly is not at
all like an angel, has to break her friendship with me every few weeks."
"Maybe she does that because she is so little like an angel," Loneli
suggested.
At this both children laughed. Often Loneli found exactly the right word
to say which would throw light on the matter. Kurt always enjoyed these
remarks of hers.
At that moment shrieks of joy sounded from the house: "Mama is coming!
Mama is coming!"
Lippo, the watchman, had posted himself again on the stairs as soon as he
had returned from school, and he had found ample work there. Kurt had
again forgotten the command and had to be chased away, and even Bruno had
made an attempt to quietly steal up to his mother. But all this had only
brought horrified cries from the little boy.
They had both meant no wrong whatever. All they had wanted was to
quickly say a word to the mother through the open door. Nevertheless,
Lippo had grown terribly wrought up about it. A firm command had been
given, and they had tried to break it, so they all had been obliged to
give way before his violent noise.
A strange gentleman had come, too, who was half-way up the stairs with
two leaps. But Lippo had grabbed the tails of his coat and, holding on
to them with both hands, shrieked, "Nobody is allowed to go up. You must
not go up."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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