Sami followed the carriage into the courtyard. It stopped under
the trees.

"What do you want here? That is the way out," said the girl impatiently
to Sami, pointing so plainly to the gate that Sami would have understood
the meaning of her words even if her language had been foreign. But it
was surely German, and he had understood it all very well, although he
could not speak like that himself. His grandmother had told him that
there were people who spoke just like the reading in the books.

Sami did not reply, and the girl did not wait for him. She snatched the
child quickly out of the carriage, took the beautiful robe over her arm,
and went into the house.

Meanwhile a little girl had come out of the house and was standing at
some distance gazing at Sami with two big eyes. Now she came quickly
forward, jumped nimbly into the empty carriage, and said:

"Come, give me a ride!"

"Where?" asked Sami.

"Out there along the road, and far, far away!"

Sami obeyed immediately. For a long while he trotted along without
stopping. The little girl seemed to enjoy the ride. She looked so eagerly
around with her bright eyes on every side, as if she couldn't see enough.
Then they came to a meadow thick with flowers.