A great struggle ensued; the blows became more and more violent, first on one side and then on the other. Suddenly the cart was upset. A fearful cracking and crashing sounded, and a great heap of red, brown and white crockery lay on the ground. Dumb with fright, the boys stood and looked at the destruction. Stöffi was the first to recover himself. “We will say that a wheel came off the cart, and it suddenly fell down.” He immediately picked up a big stone in order to pound out the nail and take the wheel off from the axle. “I shall say just how it all happened, that we quarreled, and upset the wagon,” said Sami calmly. Then Steffi’s wrath rose to its height. “You traitor, you spy and mischief-maker!” he screamed. “You are nothing but a ragamuffin. We will force you.” “You cannot,” said Sami, “and you are no good either! If you were God-fearing, you would not want to lie so.” “Well, well,” they all screamed together, and shaking their fists in the most threatening way. “You needn’t say that. We are just exactly as God-fearing as you, and even much more so!” Suddenly a new thought came to Stöffi. He ran off with all his might, and Michael and Uli rushed after him. Sami saw that they were hurrying to the house; he followed slowly after. The farmer’s wife had come back to the house by a shorter way, and the farmer was just returning home too from the field, when the three boys came rushing along. The whole family was standing in great excitement at the door and all were talking loudly together and making threatening gestures, when Sami came along. He was met by the farmer, shaking his fist, and his wife threw such harsh words at him that he stood quite dumfounded. “That was the last straw,” she said, “that after all the kindness he had received he should tell them they were not God-fearing people.” Then the farmer joined in. Such talk was insolent from Sami, and it had been known for a long time how upright they were in his house, before such a scamp had come there and tried to show them the way. Then his wife began again and said Sami would have nothing more to do in her house; for he had brought nothing but trouble since he stepped into it; he could go to his room, and she would come right along. Sami was so surprised and confused by all the attacks and charges, that he had stood quite dumb until now. Now he wanted to explain how the cart had been upset, but the father said they knew everything already, and all he had to do was to go to his room. He obeyed. Soon the farmer’s wife came upstairs, packed Sami’s things together and tied them up again into a bundle, which was now much smaller than when he had brought it there, for some pieces of his old things had been worn out and were not replaced, and his grandmother’s clothes were no longer there.