The fine pudding with the sauce appeared and each got a nice big helping. Suddenly the father jumped up from his seat. "What is the matter? Can someone over there be ill? I just saw the doctor running in there rapidly as if someone were in great danger."
"I know of no sick people," said the mother. "Mrs. Kurd has rented her rooms to strangers. Perhaps one of them is ill."
First the twins blushed scarlet, then they grew white from fear as an inner voice repeated to them insistently: "Now you'll be found out, now you'll be found out!" They were so petrified that they could not move their limbs and found themselves obliged to leave the tempting pudding with the raisins untouched.
Even Hun, known as the most indefatigable eater of puddings, left his portion behind, for suddenly, leaping from his seat, he cried in terrible agitation, "Mamma, papa, come! Everything will fall to pieces now!" And nearly pulling Jul bodily from his chair, he flew towards the door. He could still be heard shrieking insanely outside, "Come, come! Everything will go to pieces. Jul told me so."
"What evil spirit has come into the children!" inquired the father, amazed. "The twins are acting as if they were screwed to a torture bench, and Hun has completely lost his senses."
Suddenly realizing what had caused Hun's panic, Jul burst into a gale of laughter. The small boy, seeing the twins so frightened and grim themselves, felt sure the pair had begun their fearful work of destruction. In a few moments, the house would crash down over the assembled family, he was quite sure. Under renewed outbursts of laughter, Jul explained what Hun's insane cries signified and even the mother was quite unable to tempt the boy into the room again with soothing words. He danced up and down before the house and violently implored everybody to come outside. At last, his father ordered the door to be shut, so the meal could proceed in quiet. Afterwards, when the family went into the garden, little Hun approached as soon as he saw them all in safety under the apple tree. Then he said, sighing, "If only somebody would fetch me out my pudding before the house falls down!"
The mother drew the little boy up to her, and explained how very foolish both Jul and he had been, the big boy to invent such nonsense, and the other to believe it. She told him to think a little and see how impossible it would be for two small people like Willi and Lili to tear down a large house built of stone; but it took quite a while to remove the fixed idea from the boy's brain.
Dora had been standing at the hedge waiting for the children to come to the garden when the twins approached. She watched their sport with much suspense, and then the arrow happened to fly straight into her bare arm. The pain was so great that she moaned aloud. Fortunately the arrow had not penetrated far enough to remain fixed in her flesh, and had fallen down at once. But such streams of blood poured from her arm over her hand and dress that Dora, in her fright, forgot her suffering. She could not help thinking how terribly Aunt Ninette would worry at her accident. In her anxiety, she sought for some means to conceal the matter and pulling out her handkerchief, she wrapped it firmly round the wound. Next, she ran to the fountain in front of the house, and began to wash off the stains. But the blood immediately soaked through the bandage, and Dora was stained with blood.
That moment, her aunt called her name from upstairs and Dora had to go. Trembling, she went reluctantly upstairs to her aunt, holding her bandaged arm stretched out in front, because the blood was simply dripping from it. The light Sunday frock was spotted with blood, and streaks were on the child's cheeks and forehead, because in trying to wipe it off, Dora had soiled herself everywhere.
"For mercy's sake!" shrieked the aunt at this appalling sight. "Dora, what is the matter with you? Tell me! Did you fall? How dreadful you look! Your cheeks look as white as chalk under the bloodstains! Dora, for heaven's sake, speak!"