The two sisters seemed to stand before her like two splendid creatures, full of beauty and fine gifts, while she stood there a stupid, awkward, block-headed Trina, whom nobody on earth ever could possibly love. Mrs. Halm gave Nika great encouragement by praising her work and urging her to begin promptly next day.
Then she sat down at the piano, for they always concluded their evening with a song.
Cornelli remained still. The rector’s wife urged her to join them, but Cornelli had had too many impressions that day to be able to sing. She knew quite well the old evening song that they were singing, for Martha had taught it to her long ago, but she felt as if she could not utter a note.
At the end of the song Agnes suddenly exploded: “Oh, mother, that is nothing at all. When you are hoarse and Dino is in bed, our singing is frightful. Nika only squeaks like a little chicken with a sore throat.”
“Well, then one has to stop singing,” said Nika, shaking her shoulders a little proudly.
“No, the whole household has to sing, otherwise it is not worth anything,” Agnes declared. “It is a shame that the most beautiful thing in the world should be so little practiced.”
After the song was ended the mother took Cornelli kindly by the hand and said: “I am sure that you are tired, dear child. I am going to take you to a tiny bedroom, for I have no larger one. Your door leads into Agnes’ and Nika’s room,” she continued, when she was standing with Cornelli in the little chamber.
“You can open the door and then you are practically all three in a single room.”
Then she said good night cordially and wished Cornelli a good rest.
Nika and Agnes quickly said good night, too, and then Cornelli was alone in her room.
She had no desire to open the door, for her shyness had only increased since her arrival. How high the two stood above her! Cornelli was not a bit sleepy and kept on thinking of all the things that had happened to her that day.
What did Agnes mean when she spoke about the most beautiful thing in the world? Did she mean singing? That was not the most beautiful thing by any means. The most wonderful of all was a painting like Nika’s, with lovely roses and trees and the meadow with clear water. At last Cornelli’s eyes closed, but she kept on seeing the flowers and seemed to be looking up admiringly at Nika, who stood beside her, tall and beautiful. Cornelli thought: If she would only say one pleasant word to me. Then Nika turned around to her and said: “You are an awkward, block-headed Cornelli!” All this Cornelli saw and heard in her dream.
Agnes said to her sister in the other room: “If only Cornelli would say something! One cannot tell what she is thinking about. How could Dino find her so amusing, and become her friend? She sits there all the time and never says a word.”
“That is her least fault,” Nika returned. “But it is horrid that she insists on looking like a wild islander. I do not understand why Mama did not push the frightful locks out of her eyes.”
IX
A Great Change
Next morning Mux had hardly opened his eyes when he desired to go again straightway to Cornelli, for this had been promised him the night before. Before he succeeded, however, he had to submit to his usual fate in the morning. He ran into the room at last, neatly washed and combed and with cheeks shining like two red apples. Cornelli was already sitting in a corner of the room, listening attentively to Agnes’ playing. He flew towards her and saw his beloved book already in her hands.
“Oh, now we shall read and tell stories all day long,” he called out happily. “All the others have to go to school.”
But Mux had forgotten that breakfast came first of all. After the meal the two sisters departed, but Dino knocked and clamored for Cornelli to come to him. Mux loudly protested against this and only calmed down when Cornelli promised to keep him company during Dino’s rest hour. He kept on objecting and murmuring to himself even after she had gone.
Cornelli was quite thrilled and overcome by the thought that anybody should love her so, and it did her more good than anything else. As soon as she came to Dino’s room he asked her if she would read to him, too, for he had found out how much she enjoyed reading to Mux out of his picture book.
“Have you entertaining books, too?” asked Cornelli with hesitation. In her mind she saw her own beautiful books at home, that she had left alone because so many things in them had been unintelligible.
“I should say so! You just ought to see them,” said Dino. “Please take down the book called Funny Journeys. There are pictures in it, too. They are not as big as in the other book and are not colored, but they are so comical that they make one laugh all the time.”
Cornelli got the book down, and in a little while merry peals of laughter filled the room. The mother, who heard, was happily smiling and saying to herself: “No, no, all is not yet lost.”
So the week passed by. Cornelli spent most of her time reading aloud to Dino and to Mux. She grew more eager all the time in this occupation, and if Mux would suddenly want to play with soldiers, Cornelli would say: “You can easily play that alone. Let me read this and later I’ll tell you all about it.” So she had soon finished reading the whole big book.
Cornelli had so far scarcely become acquainted with the two girls, and Nika had rarely spoken to her. On Saturday morning the mother entered Dino’s room just after Cornelli
