pleased and smiled, until finally she said so sweetly that she could do no more, for there was lots more to come on the program, though she hoped she would have the chance to sing again if it pleased others for her to do so.
The mother had sung only three songs for the children, ending with “Sweetheart Mine,” after which it was time, Aunt Betti anxious to move things along, Anna having already quietly opened the door four times to place two pitchers on the table, which today is set and doesn’t have any dish towels on it, but rather a real tablecloth, the pitchers sitting there full of cocoa, as well as a proper cake made of flour, which no one has anymore, as well as cookies and gingerbread stars, all of the children surprised as Aunt Betti exclaims, “So, children, you’ve listened so sweetly. But you don’t have to keep listening forever. Now it’s time to talk and eat!” Everyone helps out and leads the children to the long table, and for the smallest who are too little there are chairs with high pillows so that the little tots sit no lower than the bigger kids and they can all reach across the table with their hands. As they all sit there in front of their plates and stare at the cups full of cocoa, and as the mother and Aunt Gusti place cake on the plates and hand out sweets, the children look pleased and happy just to see the way the steam rises from the cups, the mother laughing with delight and saying, “All right, help yourselves and enjoy!” Then they all eat and drink, and soon there are stains on the white tablecloth, but no one scolds them, the grown-ups not even sitting down, as today they are the servants and the children are the masters, the adults serving them, though the father looks exhausted and sits in a corner, the mother bringing him a cup of cocoa that he holds in his hand, now and then taking a sip, though he eats nothing, nor do the other grown-ups, since they are too busy and Aunt Betti’s face is bloodred.
Finally the children have eaten everything, Anna starts clearing the table, the others helping, and then the table is shoved aside so that there is more space in the living room, all of the chairs placed in a row, as they begin to play games, though someone announces that two children have to go out, which they do, after which the musical chairs continues, but then one chair is knocked over so hard that it breaks, which will give Wenzel something tofix, as Aunt Betti says, “Children, that’s too wild! This won’t do! We need to play some games that are a little less lively!” And then Bubi says that he and Kitti have a big surprise, which he had said nothing about because Tata had said that he shouldn’t, but that now Kitti would like to dance and Bubi would accompany her on the harmonica, to which the mother says, “How wonderful of you both to play something for our party! Go ahead and begin!” And so Bubi begins to blow on his harmonica as loud as he can, though he’s not that loud, since a harmonica is not as loud as an accordion, as Kitti begins to dance around so strangely, lowering her skirt and raising first one leg and then the other like a chicken in the yard, and then she lowers the skirt again and spreads her hands wide, the mother and the aunts saying how charming she is, some of the other children pleased as well, the father laughing, though some of the children don’t pay attention and just sit there biting their fingernails. Josef doesn’t like the dance and such dumb blowing on the harmonica, for he never thought of Bubi as being so childish, especially since he wanted to be a general, and Ludwig comes over to Josef and says, “This dancing is stupid. Now you see what an idiot Bubi is.” Josef half believes so himself, but he won’t admit it to Ludwig, who has upset him by saying that, so Josef doesn’t say a word. But finally the dance is over, almost everyone delighted and amazed by Kitti as they praise her, saying oh, how graceful, what a
The mother had sung only three songs for the children, ending with “Sweetheart Mine,” after which it was time, Aunt Betti anxious to move things along, Anna having already quietly opened the door four times to place two pitchers on the table, which today is set and doesn’t have any dish towels on it, but rather a real tablecloth, the pitchers sitting there full of cocoa, as well as a proper cake made of flour, which no one has anymore, as well as cookies and gingerbread stars, all of the children surprised as Aunt Betti exclaims, “So, children, you’ve listened so sweetly. But you don’t have to keep listening forever. Now it’s time to talk and eat!” Everyone helps out and leads the children to the long table, and for the smallest who are too little there are chairs with high pillows so that the little tots sit no lower than the bigger kids and they can all reach across the table with their hands. As they all sit there in front of their plates and stare at the cups full of cocoa, and as the mother and Aunt Gusti place cake on the plates and hand out sweets, the children look pleased and happy just to see the way the steam rises from the cups, the mother laughing with delight and saying, “All right, help yourselves and enjoy!” Then they all eat and drink, and soon there are stains on the white tablecloth, but no one scolds them, the grown-ups not even sitting down, as today they are the servants and the children are the masters, the adults serving them, though the father looks exhausted and sits in a corner, the mother bringing him a cup of cocoa that he holds in his hand, now and then taking a sip, though he eats nothing, nor do the other grown-ups, since they are too busy and Aunt Betti’s face is bloodred.
Finally the children have eaten everything, Anna starts clearing the table, the others helping, and then the table is shoved aside so that there is more space in the living room, all of the chairs placed in a row, as they begin to play games, though someone announces that two children have to go out, which they do, after which the musical chairs continues, but then one chair is knocked over so hard that it breaks, which will give Wenzel something tofix, as Aunt Betti says, “Children, that’s too wild! This won’t do! We need to play some games that are a little less lively!” And then Bubi says that he and Kitti have a big surprise, which he had said nothing about because Tata had said that he shouldn’t, but that now Kitti would like to dance and Bubi would accompany her on the harmonica, to which the mother says, “How wonderful of you both to play something for our party! Go ahead and begin!” And so Bubi begins to blow on his harmonica as loud as he can, though he’s not that loud, since a harmonica is not as loud as an accordion, as Kitti begins to dance around so strangely, lowering her skirt and raising first one leg and then the other like a chicken in the yard, and then she lowers the skirt again and spreads her hands wide, the mother and the aunts saying how charming she is, some of the other children pleased as well, the father laughing, though some of the children don’t pay attention and just sit there biting their fingernails. Josef doesn’t like the dance and such dumb blowing on the harmonica, for he never thought of Bubi as being so childish, especially since he wanted to be a general, and Ludwig comes over to Josef and says, “This dancing is stupid. Now you see what an idiot Bubi is.” Josef half believes so himself, but he won’t admit it to Ludwig, who has upset him by saying that, so Josef doesn’t say a word. But finally the dance is over, almost everyone delighted and amazed by Kitti as they praise her, saying oh, how graceful, what a
Similar Books
