Mux, who generally was extremely talkative, was quietly nibbling on
his dish of cabbage, with many a deep sigh. Dino alone was merry. He
glanced with great expectation from one to the other, and his lunch
did not keep him very busy.

"I am expecting a thunderstorm," he said, while the quiet was still
unbroken. "Nika is going to let loose the lightning which is flashing
under her lashes, and Agnes will follow with the thunder. After this
I predict a heavy rainstorm, for Mux can hardly keep back his tears
about this cabbage."

"But you have eaten much less cabbage than I have," Mux cried out.

"I do this only from moderation, my little man, so that nobody will
get too little."

"I would answer you about the thunder and the cabbage, Dino, if I had
time," Agnes at last exploded. "But I have a music lesson at one o'clock
and I have enough to swallow without this horrid cabbage."

"I only wish you could be more moderate in other things instead of in
eating, Dino," said the mother with a melancholy smile. "You have
hardly eaten anything, and I heard you cough all night. Your health
worries me dreadfully, Dino. Did you cough much in school this morning?"

"Certainly, mother. But that is nothing to worry about," Dino replied
merrily. "It always goes away again. My professor said to-day that it
would have been better for me to remain in the pastoral fields of my
native village, than to have sought the dust-laden corners of town.
But I answered: 'Unfortunately the Latin language does not sprout from