Mäzli | Page 7

the whole affair anew and had to give vent to their indignation about the scoundrels and their pity for poor Loneli. M?zli must have found the conversation entertaining, for glancing over to the others, she let Lippo place the blocks whichever way he pleased, something that very seldom happened. Only when the children said no more she came back to her task.
"Goodness gracious!" Kurt exclaimed suddenly, starting up from his drawing; "you ought to have reminded me, Mea, that we have to bring some clothes to school for the poor people whose houses were burnt up. You heard it, but mother does not even know about it yet."
"I forgot it, too," said Mea quietly, continuing to read.
"Mother knows about it long ago. I told her right away," Lippo declared. "Teacher told us to be sure not to forget."
"Quite right, little school fox," Kurt replied, while he calmly kept on drawing. As long as his mother knew about the matter he did not need to bother any more.
But the last words had interested M?zli very much. Throwing together the houses, towers and churches she said to Lippo, "Come, Lippo, I know something amusing we can do which will please mama, too."
Lippo wondered what that could be, but he first laid every block neatly away in the big box and did not let M?zli hurry him in the least.
"Don't do it that way," M?zli called out impatiently. "Throw them all in and put on the lid. Then it's all done."
"One must not do that, M?zli; no one must do it that way," Lippo said seriously. "One ought to put in the first block and pack it before one takes up the second."
"Then I won't wait for you," M?zli declared, rapidly whisking out by the door.
When Lippo had properly filled the box and set it in its right place, he quickly followed M?zli, wondering what her plan was. But he could find her nowhere, neither in the hall nor in the garden, and he got no answer to his loud, repeated calls. Finally a reply came which sounded strangely muffled, as if from up above, so he went up and into her bedroom. There M?zli was sitting in the middle of a heap of clothes, her head thrust far into a wardrobe. Apparently she was still pulling out more things.
"You certainly are doing something wonderful," said Lippo, glancing with his big eyes at the clothes on the floor.
"I am doing the right thing," said M?zli now in the most decided tone. "Kurt has said that we must send the poor people some clothes, so we must take them all out and lay together everything we don't need any more. Mama will be glad when she has no more to do about it and they can be sent away to-morrow. Now get your things, too, and we'll put them all in a heap."
The matter, however, seemed still rather doubtful to Lippo. Standing thoughtfully before all the little skirts and jackets, he felt that this would not be quite after his mother's wish.
"When we want to do something with our clothes, we always have to ask mother," he began again.
But M?zli did not answer and only pulled out a bunch of woolen stockings and a heavy winter cloak, spreading everything on the floor.
"No, I won't do it," said Lippo again, after scrutinizing the unusual performance.
"You don't want to do it because you are afraid it will be too much work," M?zli asserted with a face quite red with zeal. "I'll help you when I am done here."
"I won't do it anyhow," Lippo repeated resolutely; "I won't because we are not allowed to."
M?zli found no time to persuade him further, as she began to hunt for her heavy winter shoes, which were still in the wardrobe. But before she had brought them forth to the light, the door opened and the mother was looking full of horror at the devastation.
"But children, what a horrible disorder!" she cried out, "and on Sunday morning, too. What has made you do it? What is this wild dry-goods shop on the floor?"
"Now, you see, M?zli," said Lippo, not without showing great satisfaction at having so clearly proved that he had been in the right. M?zli tried with all her might to prove to her mother that her intention had solely been to save her the work necessary to get the things together.
But the mother now explained decidedly to the little girl that she never needed to undertake such actions in the future as she could not possibly judge which clothes she still needed and which could be given away. M?zli was also told that such help on her part only resulted in double work for her mother. "Besides I can see M?zli," the mother concluded, "that your great zeal seems