Laura beheld all this in quiet astonishment; then, as her mother left her, she flung herself upon the ground and wept passionately. But she was not allowed to do this very long, for the old lady, rapping her cane upon the rock, summoned to her assistance a funny old servant, as quaint and as curious as herself, a dwarf of kindly, smiling face, dressed in a gray blouse, with wooden shoes upon his feet, and a scarlet cap with a long tassel on his head.
"Hey, little missy!" said the old lady, "this will not do at all. Grim, pick her up and take her to her own little bedroom in my cottage. If she wishes to, she may lie there, but not here upon the ground."
As Grim approached and was about lifting her, Laura sprang up, and would have run from him, but his arms were of an extraordinary length, and he had her safely in them before she could get away; so she could only scream and sob to no purpose.
Grim whispered to her not to fear, that his mistress was very kind and good; and his own voice was so gentle, and she was so curious to see the interior of so strange an abode, that in a little while she ceased crying and looked about her.
They went in under the hidden doorway, which led to a winding path through the rocks. Here and there the sky could be seen through the foliage above, but the path was nearly all under a shelving mass of stone. At last they came to a little cottage, not much more than a hut, but it was neat and spotless; it looked as if it might be nothing but a bird's-nest built of grape-vines; but within were a tiled floor, a chimney-corner where hung a savory-smelling kettle of soup, and curiously carved chairs and shelves were against the walls.
Grim mounted a ladder in one corner, still with Laura in his arms, and placed her in a tidy upper room, where were one window, a little stool, and a straw bed.
"There, child; now do be good, and don't trouble the Motherkin. She is used to children, and they all learn to love her; and if there is anything I can do for you, I am always ready; but no more of this angry sobbing, I beg of you."
So saying, Grim went off down the ladder, leaving Laura alone.
The child was bewildered. What could she do alone? Never had she been alone at home; the nurses were always beside her, except when she purposely wandered away from them to frighten them.
She looked about her—at the hard but white little bed, at the few pegs on the wall, at the strip of scarlet wool by the bedside, at the bare boards of the floor, at the ebony cross over the head of the bed—and she wondered if this humble little apartment was to be hers. Then she heard the rushing voice of a brook, and she leaned out of the window to see it tumbling over the rocks in merry sport. Tired, homesick, and perplexed, she turned from the window and lay down upon the bed, still listening to the brook, till sleep came and put an end to her wonderings.