“Not quite. Buckwheat I know when I see it—flax I know, very light yellow—and potato-fields I know. But rye and oats and barley, no; of them I know nothing whatever. Don’t worry me about them, Etienne! But, Théodore, is this indeed Horze? Are you really lord and master of these—one, two, three, four barns?”
And she roared with laughter under the broad brim of her big straw hat; and they all laughed at Eline’s innocent surprise, although Théodore felt a little hurt.
Eline, however, quickly regretted her jest, which she felt was not quite in harmony, and she declared that it was full of picturesque spots, a little house like that with a cluster of trees, very pretty, really.
“And the big tree, where is the big tree?” asked Eline.
They passed through the village, between the pecking fowls, which scampered away frightened, while the blacksmith and a couple of farmers, to each of whom Théodore addressed a few words, heartily greeted their landlord, remaining for a while staring after his guests. They crossed over a meadow, and Théodore shouted to a boy to hold a cow close by them, as Eline was afraid of the huge, fat beast, with its big, staring eyes and chewing mouth.
“Etienne, Cor—do leave off, Cor!” she cried, on Otto’s arm, to Etienne and Cor, who, to frighten the cow, set up a melancholy boo! boo!
“You see, Eline, that’s because you laughed at Horze,” cried Théodore in his big bass, but she looked at him laughingly and so softly between her half-closed lashes, that he was quite disarmed, and asked Etienne and Cor to stop their silly noise. At the end of the meadow stood the big tree, an oak with a colossal stem, tall and powerful as a giant. Frédérique, Marianne, Henriette, and the children had already ensconced themselves between its spreading roots. Howard and Eline were urged on all sides to give vent to their admiration for the tree. Eline mustered forth a few words, such as colossal, immense; but Théodore noticed from the mocking little smile that played on her features, that the oak had made no impression whatever upon her, and he held up his [[196]]finger to her threateningly, until she burst out in a peal of laughter, which was renewed when Howard, in a very serious tone, declared—
“A big tree, indeed! I never saw such a big one! Quite interesting!”
“Wait, I shall give it to you!” cried Théodore, and he ran after Eline, who fled shrieking with laughter until she fell down panting for breath on the grass, and holding out her hands, cried—
“Théodore, leave off, do you hear? I shall call Otto!”