"Then you ought not to have told me."
"But he is right."
"No, he is not right. Oscar is the smallest, and therefore I must look after him the most. Benno and Kurt can get along without me."
"Except their exercises, which you correct for them."
"Now take your seat again."
"I may speak, may I not?"
"Certainly."
I had taken my seat, but several minutes passed while I sat silently watching her work. A ray of the evening sun, which pierced the thick foliage of the great plane, fell upon her head and surrounded it with an aureole.
"Fräulein Paula," I said.
"Paula," she answered, without looking up.