"Ach! if you vait till Jan see you in dis," she said, looking imploringly at Nelly, with tears running down her face. "You are mine child, mine child!"
But Nelly knew that Jan would not be at home till six o'clock, and she could not stay so long. So she took off the pretty costume, and kissed Ulrica, and thanked her many times over; and set off for home with all her presents safe-packed in her basket.
When Rob saw the presents, he said:—
"Oh, my! I wonder if they'd all have given me things too, if I'd gone up. Did they say any thing about me?"
"They asked why you didn't come," replied Nelly; "and I told them you meant to bid them good-by to-morrow, when we started on the journey."
"All right!" said Rob: "if they've got any thing for me they can give it to me then."
"I never thought of their giving me any thing," said Nelly: "I wonder what made them."
"Because they all know that you love them, Nelly," said her father: "don't you?"
"Yes, I think so," said Nelly, hesitatingly: "almost love them,—not quite, I guess: except Ulrica. I love her dearly."
"And Lucinda and Billy," added Rob. "I love them best of all. I don't love any of the rest. You can't love everybody."