"Yes, but it wasn't only just for the present, he meant. He sees the farm is not doing well, and he thinks it is the right method and oversight that are wanting."
Ovind: "I am so little at home."
The schoolmaster looks at Ole, who feels that it is his turn to speak now, he moves uneasily a few times, and then begins quickly and abruptly: "It was, it is,--yes,--I thought you might stay,--that is, you might live with us up there, be there, when you were not away on your journeys."
"I thank you very much for the offer, but I should prefer to stay where I am."
Ole looks at the schoolmaster, who explains:
"Things seem in a muddle for Ole to-day; you see he was here once before, and the recollection of it makes it rather awkward."
Ole, quickly: "Yes, that's it, I went on like a fool, I was striving so long with the girl, that the edge of the axe grew blunt. But byegones shall be byegones. Rain brooks soon dry up. May snow does not last long. It is not thunder that kills people."
They all laughed, and the schoolmaster said, "Ole means that you must forget the past, and you also, Thore."
Ole looks, and does not know whether he dare begin again.
Then Thore says, "A sharp cut mends sooner than a tear, and you will find no scar upon me."