The young and always self-possessed mother, answered the boy's cry, not
by crying out herself, but by springing into the water after him, and
when Carl turned to learn the cause of the confusion, she had already
reached her little boy, and was holding him up at arm's length out of
the water. It was all done in a moment, without the least unnecessary
confusion.
"Carl," said she quietly, "take the boy."
But Carl had lost his self-possession entirely. After he had literally
thrown the boy on the landing, he inquired with a trembling voice:--
"Could you not wait for me? The boy would not have sunk immediately."
"You must not scold me, Carl, I am only a little wet."
She then quietly drew herself to the shore.
"How will you dry yourself now?" inquired Carl in a tone of uneasiness
and vexation.
"O, easily, I will call on Mother Larsson and borrow a dress to wear
while we visit our father, and my clothing will be dry by the time we
return."
Carl was silent. He was displeased because Magde had not called him to
her assistance.
Pages:
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150