"
"Ah, at his age I should have let you ride with me too!"
They had now come to the farm, and the old man went with Amrei into the
room and cried:
"Mother, where are you?"
The wife came out of another room, and Amrei's hands trembled; she would
gladly have fallen upon her neck--but she could not--she dared not.
Then the Farmer, bursting into laughter, said:
"Just think, dame! Here's a girl from Haldenbrunn, and she has something
to say to Farmer Landfried and his wife, but she won't tell me what it
is. Now do you tell her what my name is."
"Why, that's the Farmer himself," said the woman; and she welcomed the
old man home by taking his hat from his head and hanging it up on a peg
over the stove.
"Do you see now?" said the old man to Amrei, triumphantly. "Now say what
you like."
"Won't you sit down," said the mother, pointing to a chair.
Amrei drew a deep breath and began:
"You may believe me when I say that no child could have thought more
about you than I have done, long ago, long before these last days. Do
you remember Josenhans, by the pond, where the road turns off to
Endringen?"
"Surely, surely!" said the two old people.
"Well, I am Josenhans's daughter!"
"Why, I thought I knew you!" exclaimed the old woman. "God greet you!"
She held out her hand to Amrei, and said: "You have grown to be a
strong, comely girl. Now tell me what has brought you here.
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