THE LITTLE RUNAWAY
CHAPTER I
UNDER THE ALDERS
The Alders is the name of an estate famed for its rich fields and smiling meadows and for its wealth of luscious fruits. Apple and pear trees stand in plenty on its well-kept fields, and if the year be a good one they stand at harvest time with drooping branches, and their red and yellow treasure gleams from afar like gold.
At some distance from the house and barn lies the great pasture land, where in the sunny autumn days eight sleek cows graze contentedly upon the fragrant grass, making sweet music as they wander to and fro,—for each cow wears a little bell about her neck. Sometimes the whole herd starts up together into lively movement; then the pleasant sound is carried far down into the valley and gladdens the heart of the traveler upon the highway below.
Through the middle of the pasture runs a low stone wall that marks the boundary line of this farm; for the land beyond belongs to the estate of Lindenhof. Halfway down the wall, and close beside it, stand two great alder trees whose swaying branches cast pleasant shadows on the wall and give the estate its name of The Alders.
On the neighboring farm a mighty linden tree has stood since ancient times. It guards the dooryard and spreads its branches far out over the farmhouse and the big stone well. From it the estate takes its name of Lindenhof.
These two farms, though not especially large, are among the finest of all those that lie scattered over the mountain side in the parish of Buschweil.
One morning in September, as the sun lay warm and soft on the wall, a little girl of about ten years came running across the meadow. In her right hand she carried a long switch; with her left she was holding together the folds of her apron, carefully guarding something within that seemed to be of great value, for she would stop every now and then to open the folds, peep inside, and then draw them together again with a happy smile.