"Rolf, it really is," cried the mother, agitated. "I thought I had lost it for good, for after keeping it many years, I suddenly could not find it. I have never really thought about it, till I told you about this friendship. Where did you find this dear token, Rolf?"
"We found it!" cried Willi and Lili simultaneously. "We found it in the old family Bible. We wanted to see if Eve's face was still scratched up," the twins continued, taking turns giving their information.
"Oh, yes, that brings back another memory of Lili," said the mother with a smile. "She did this one day as we were both imagining how beautiful it would be to be in paradise. She suddenly grew so furious at Eve for having eaten the apple that she scratched her face in the picture with a pencil for punishment. But my old poem! I am afraid I can't puzzle it out any more," said the mother after trying to study the broken sentences. "It is so dreadfully long ago. Just think, children, over thirty years!"
The mother laid the paper, carefully folded, in her workbasket and asked the children to pick up their things and follow her, as it would soon be time for supper. As they knew well that their papa was always punctual, they quickly packed up their things and one after the other disappeared into the house through the triumphal arch, which had been left standing.
Dora had been watching the quiet group under the apple tree for quite a while through the hole in the hedge. As everybody got up and slowly went away, she had the chance to examine one child after another. When they were all gone, Dora heaved a deep sigh and said to herself, "If only I could be allowed to go over there, just once."
At supper, Aunt Ninette said, "At last, we have had a few quiet hours! What a relief! If this keeps on, we might possibly remain here. What do you think, dear Titus?"
Dora waited anxiously for her uncle's answer.
"The air is very heavy in these rooms, and I feel even more dizzy than I did in Karlsruhe," declared the uncle.
Dora dropped her eyes to her plate and her appetite was gone.
The aunt broke out into loud wails now. Should the whole journey and their stay here prove absolutely useless after all? Should they have moved the very first day? She found consolation at last in the thought that the family opposite had quieted down, and that the windows could be opened by tomorrow. Dora clung to this hope, for as long as she lived so near, a possibility remained that she might go and play, at least a single time, with the children in their fragrant garden.