awoke, and all marveled over the guests. They stared at them curiously, but welcomed them, glad they had come.
Witch inquired, âPoor things, havenât you anything to eat?â
âOh, we have enough,â Genina answered. âSweet hay, chestnuts and turnips. Yes, weâre full.â
âWhatâs the matter then?â asked Manni. âNo thunder-stick is crashing now.â
âI know. It is not your He that we are so afraid of. If we were, we wouldnât have come here.â
âWhom are you afraid of?â demanded the stallion.
âThere are othersâwho murder without the thunder-stick.â
âHow?â Manni wanted to know. âNo He can kill without a thunder-stick.â
âThatâs what you think,â the roe mother retorted. âI donât understand how, myself, but they murder us much more cruelly than with the thunder-stick. You hear nothing, see nothing. Suddenly you canât move from the spot. You writhe helplessly, gasping for air. But no use! Life is over only after great torture.â
âOh, come on! Thatâs hard to believe!â snorted Devil.
âJust the same, itâs true,â sighed the roe. âMany hares have fallen victim to this strange death, a few grownups of my family, five or six of our young. And when you have two little ones . . .â
âNothing will happen to you here with us,â Lisa consoled the roe. The cow had forgotten now that she had ever been afraid of her two-legged guardians herself.
âI hope not,â Genina sighed; âbut you really donât know anymore whom you can trust.â
âYou can trust us completely,â Witch affirmed.
âAnd our two-legged ones as well,â Manni nodded.
âYes, I know them,â said the roe mother. âThey do no evil.â
The kids, Mena and Loso, had hung timidly behind their mother.
âHere you are, little ones. Have some.â Devil pushed his crib a little so that some oats fell to the floor. The twins scrambled for the grain, seeking it out gaily and eagerly in the straw, treating themselves to the new and strange meal.
âYouâre quite different from us,â Genina said suddenly.
âObviously.â The stallion drew himself up very tall. âYou can see that from the size of our bodies.â
âAs far as that goes,â the roe said, âwe have distinguished relatives in the forest who are no smaller than you. And besides, they wear wonderful crowns.â
The surprise of the horses, the cow and the calf, amused the mother roe. Manni of course recalled seeing Tambo. The doe continued: âWhat I meant was that your way of life is different from ours.â
âDecidedly,â Devil agreed. âWe donât live such dangerous lives.â
âWe live much more comfortably than you do,â cried Manni.
âOur life is simply grand!â Witch spoke enthusiastically.
âYes, I see. But I wouldnât change with you for anything,â Genina remarked.
âYet youâve come here to us,â snorted the stallion.
âYes, because I had to. I was afraid for my little ones. Otherwise I wouldnât be here with you.â
Manni was curious. âWhy not? Why wouldnât you like to lead our beautiful kind of life?â
âBecause you lack the most precious thing of all.â
âTo be knocked over by the thunder-stick or to be tortured to death?â mocked the stallion.
âYou donât understand. I mean our freedom. Even the thunder-stickâitâs hurled very rarely after allâand even slow death by torture belong with our good life. Our wonderful freedom isnât destroyed so easily. Freedom can never be paid for too dearly!â The mother roe stood radiant in her grace and pride.
The animals of the stable were all silent, bewildered but moved by an unconscious respect for the delicate little creature.
The
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