“Oh, children,” said the mother, looking sadly at them, “do not be so desperate right away. You know that your good is my good as well, and that I am doing and shall keep on doing everything in my power to fulfill your ambitions. It would be my happiest joy to have your talents developed, so that you could devote all your lives to music and painting. If we should find it impossible, however, dear children, we must firmly believe that it would not have been for the best, had we succeeded, for God alone knows which way to lead us.
“Do not lose your confidence in a kind Father in Heaven, for that is our greatest consolation. He won’t forget us, if we do not forget Him, and we must remember that He can see further than we can, for He knows why and where He is leading us. We cannot look into the future, but later we shall understand it all and realize why we had to bear our troubles. Out of them will come the greatest blessings.”
“Now let us be happy again and let us sing a song,” said Dino, who loved to be gay and who liked to see everyone about him merry, too.
“Let us sing:
If winter’s storms are wild and long
We know that spring is coming.
To Agnes, whom I hear rebel,
This consolation I here tell.”
“Yes, Dino, it is easy enough for you to laugh,” Agnes exclaimed. “You would probably whistle another tune if you had to become a tailor. But you can learn and study everything you want to.”
“I shall certainly not study everything,” Dino informed her. “But your singing is much nicer than your arguing, Agnes, so please begin, and if you don’t like my song, you can start another.”