At the farm where Kathrine lived, Pilgrim was obliged to stop to feed his horse, but--there is no perfect joy on this earth--Kathrine, alas! was not at home. As she had no children of her own, she was constantly taking charge of those of her neighbours; and she was now nursing one of them in her confinement. Franzl, however, sent her a minute account of all that had happened, through the sempstress who was sewing in the house; and she repeated every word twice over, that she might not forget it.
When she got into the sledge again, she first fully enjoyed her happiness. "Now," said she, "I feel so much better. It is like sleeping soundly, but waking up for a moment in the night, and saying to one's self: Oh! this is famous,--and going sound asleep again."
Pilgrim, however, had nearly destroyed all her delight by a foolish joke of his.
"Franzl," said he, "you will have but a meagre portion now, I fear, up yonder."
"I mean in the other world. You will henceforth live in Paradise; and those who fare so well in this world, cannot expect to be equally happy in the next--both would be too much."
"Stop! stop! let me out, I must go home," cried Franzl. "I will have nothing to do with you; I will not give up my happy life hereafter, for any thing this world can offer. Stop, or I will jump out."
With a degree of strength no one could have believed she possessed, Franzl seized the reins and tried to snatch them from Pilgrim's hand, who had the greatest difficulty in pacifying her, saying, that he saw she could no longer take a joke. But Franzl said she could make no allowance for people jesting on such sacred subjects. Pilgrim tried to persuade her, with the aid of the holy Haspucius--whose words he first repeated in Greek, and then kindly translated into German, and even into the Black Forest dialect, for her benefit--that he had distinctly written, an exception would be made in favour of household servants, for, however comfortable they may be in this world, their life is hard enough at best!
Franzl became more composed, and seemed to think that what was said about servants was true enough. Presently she resumed: "I shall have such pleasure in seeing my good Lenz's children--for I never saw them; the boy's name is Wilhelm, is it not? and what is the name of the little girl?"