PEHR. [Leads Old Man to the window.] Look! Do you see the great
house on the square?

OLD MAN. Yes; but make haste! Before the clock strikes twelve, you
must be in bed.

PEHR. Do you see the Christmas-tree, with its gold and silver?

OLD MAN. Only paper, boy!

PEHR. And the golden fruits of the tropics?

OLD MAN. Worm-eaten--

PEHR. And the sun--Happiness--how it shines on the children's faces!

OLD MAN. Between times distorted by envy--

PEHR. And the old man who sits there, contented and happy--

OLD MAN. It's a lie! He trembles in his heart for the house rent,
which must be paid on the new year--

PEHR. He--the rich man?

OLD MAN. Hides his approaching downfall!

PEHR. And those young people--Do you see how he stretches his arm--

OLD MAN. After the father's money bag!