128 Hans Brinker

Chinese puzzle, with all the pieces spread out ready for use.
But in summer it was beautiful. The flowers made the best of
their stiff quarters, and, when the gardener was not watching,
glowed and bent and twined about each other in the prettiest
way imaginable. Such a tulip-bed! Why, the queen of the
fairies would never care for a grander city in which to hold her
court! But Katrinka preferred the bed of pink-and-white
hyacinths. She loved their freshness and fragrance, and the
light-hearted way in which their bell-shaped blossoms swung
in the breeze.

Carl was both right and wrong when he said that Katrinka
and Rychie were furious at the very idea of the peasant Gretel
joining in the race. He had heard Rychie declare it was “ dis-
which in Dutch, as in English,

17?

graceful, shameful, too bad
is generally the strongest expression an indignant girl can use.
And he had seen Katrinka nod her pretty head, and heard her
sweetly echo, “ Shameful, too bad!” as nearly like Rychie as
tinkling bells can be like the voice of real anger. “That had
satisfied him. He never suspected, that had Hilda, not
Rychie, first talked with Katrinka upon the subject, the bells
would have jingled as willing an echo. She would have said,
“ Certainly, let her join us,’ and would have skipped off, think-
ing no more about it. But ow Katrinka, with sweet emphasis,
pronounced it a shame that a goose-girl, a forlorn little crea-
ture like Gretel, should be allowed to spoil the race.

Rychie, being rich and powerful (in a school-girl way), had
other followers besides Katrinka, who were induced to share
her opinions, because they were either too careless or too cow-
ardly to think for themselves.

Poor little Gretel! Her home was sad and dark enough
now. Raff Brinker lay moaning upon his rough bed ; and his