But he crushed it in his hand without looking at it, and waved me back authoritatively.
“At once!” I cried; “at once!”
The gentleman in the blue frock stopped and smiled.
“Is this your little girl, Colonel Bernhard?” he asked.
My father replied by a low bow.
The strange gentleman beckoned me to draw nearer.
“A golden-haired little Mädchen!” said he. “Come hither, pretty one, and tell me your name.”
I knew then that he was the King. I trembled and blushed.
“My name is Gretchen,” I said.
“And you have brought a letter for your father?”