"Go on, tell me the rest," he exclaimed.
"And when father came home and wanted to beat me, because he was drunk, you know, she stood in front of me, and told me to get under her dress; and inside her dress it was like being in a cave, quite dark and still, and father's swearing sounded a long, long way off. And then she died. It was on a Sunday--yes, it was on a Sunday. For I was standing by the hedge and wondering whether she'd have a beautiful coffin--a green one, like the coffin on the trestle in the garden--when you, Herr, went by on your way to church. At that time you were little, like me, and you had on a blue coat with silver buttons, and a little sword at your side; and you stopped and asked me why I was crying, and I couldn't answer, I was so frightened, and then you gave me an apple."
He had not the smallest recollection of the incident, but he remembered how he had taken the young sparrow away from her, and related the story. She had not forgotten it. Her eyes became illumined, as if lost in contemplation of some blissful sight.
"I wonder, now, that you gave it up so meekly," he said.
"How could I have done otherwise?" she answered.
"You might easily have refused," he said.
She bent over her work. "I was only so glad for you to have it," she said, in a low soft voice. "It's not often that a poor little village girl gets the chance of giving anything to a rich young nobleman."
He bit his lips. Truly he had taken more from her since than his pride and manliness should have permitted.
"And besides," she went on, "even if I hadn't wanted to give it to you, it was yours by right. You were the Junker."
How perfectly natural the argument sounded from her lips.