A NEWCOMER IN ILLER-STREAM
said. “Do you know what we’ll do? We’ll hitch the little kid to a cart. Won’t that be lovely? It can pull you and I shall be the coachman. I once saw such a little carriage on a promenade in town.”
Cornelli had already had that thought herself, but she knew now that she could never again go to the stable. It was suddenly clear to her that she could not run about as before and that she could not be happy any more. The chief reason for it all was clear to her, the reason that prevented her from being carefree and bright as in the old times. She did not answer, but gave forth a profound sigh, profounder than the one she had uttered before.
“Why do you sigh, as if you had to carry a mountain about with you—a load that keeps you from going forward? Why do you do it?” asked Dino.
“I can’t tell anyone. You couldn’t, either, if you had the trouble I have,” replied the little girl.
“Oh, yes, I could. There is nothing in the world I couldn’t tell,” Dino asserted. If you can’t confide in other people, you can always
125
