“I won’t hurt you. But don’t scream so loud!” said Dino quietly, putting down the scissors again. “I only wanted to do you a favor. If my two sisters, Agnes and Nika, could see you, they would laugh at you; they would not like the way you pasted on those locks.”
“I know that. But they do not need to see me at all,” said Cornelli crossly. “Nobody needs to see me. I know that nobody likes me, but I don’t care.”
With these words Cornelli ran away. Dino was terribly astonished and stood looking at the door through which Cornelli had disappeared without even a word of farewell.
When Martha again entered the little room and was looking at Cornelli’s empty chair, Dino said: “What a queer child she is. I never thought she would be so unfriendly.”
He related how they had passed the time together and how Cornelli had suddenly run off without even saying good-bye. He had not wanted to offend her.
Martha shook her head and said: “Cornelli never was that way before. I am so worried about her, for she is absolutely changed. You must not think that she is queer and runs away like that and suddenly gets cross. She never was that way at all; this is something new. If I only could hear her sing and laugh again as of old. I hoped that her old gaiety would come back with such a good playfellow as you are. Maybe it will; after all, this is only the first day of your acquaintance.
“I am sure Cornelli will not come back to me,” said Dino, still quite puzzled. “She ran away so full of anger.”
When Cornelli had exclaimed, “I don’t care,” it probably was not true. On reaching home she quietly stole to her room. Sitting down on a stool, she put her head in both hands and began to cry bitterly.
CHAPTER VI
A FRIEND IS FOUND
Cornelli had not appeared at Martha’s cottage for quite a number of days, and so Martha was filled with grief and anxiety. There were many reasons for this. First of all, she loved the child as if she had been her own and missed her daily visits terribly. She also knew that there was something the matter with Cornelli and that this was the reason why she did not come. From the time the child was small, she had run over to her old friend every single day and had told her everything. Martha was also sorry for her guest’s sake that Cornelli stayed away. She had told Dino how merry and bright the child could be and how he would enjoy her as a daily companion. Now it had all come to nothing.