Oswald. No! That’s not right! That’s not what’s in our storybook! See—I’ll show you. (He runs to music cabinet, and from lower cupboard pulls out a battered cloth book.)
Ruster. (To Sigurd) Can this boy spell his name?
Sigurd. Yes—S I G U R D!
Oswald. See—look at our book. There isn’t any A and B like that! That is A and that is B. (Pointing.)
Ruster. Can you read that?
Oswald. Yes, I can read it.
(Enter Olga with tablecloth, glasses and silver. She smiles at the group and quietly begins to arrange the table.)
Oswald. (Reading) “Far away, in the deep forest there once grew——”
Both Children. “A pretty Fir-Tree. The sun shone full upon him, the breeze played freely around him, and in the n—n——” (Looking up questioningly at Ruster.)
Ruster. “Neigh-bor-hood.”