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When he reached home, he only put his goats in, told his grandmother he had an errand to do, and ran at once down to Kublis. He found Jorgli at home and told him without delay what he had done. At first the boy was very angry, but when he considered that all was known, he took out the cross and asked:

“Will she give me anything for it?”

“Yes, and now you can see, Jorgli,” said Moni, indignantly, “how by being honorable you will receive ten francs, and by being deceitful only four: the ten francs you are going to have now.”

Jorgli was very much amazed. He regretted that he had not gone immediately with the cross to the Bath House, after he had picked it up in front of the door, for now he had not a clear conscience and it might have been so different! But now it was too late. He gave the cross to Moni, who hastened home with it, for it had already grown quite dark.

CHAPTER V

MONI SINGS AGAIN

Paula had given orders to be wakened early the next morning, for she wanted to be on the spot when the goat-boy came. She was anxious to deal with him herself. That evening she had held a long conversation with the landlord, and had then come out of his room quite happy; so she must have planned something delightful with him.

When the goat-boy came along with his flock in the morning, Paula was already standing in front of the house, and she called out:

“Moni, can’t you sing even now?”

He shook his head. “No, I can’t. I am always wondering how much longer Maggerli will go with me. I never can sing any more as long as I live, and here is the cross.” Whereupon he handed her a little package, for the grandmother had wrapped it carefully for him in three or four papers.

Paula took out the cross from the wrappings and examined it closely. It really was her beautiful cross with the sparkling stones, and quite unharmed. “Well, Moni,” she said now very kindly, “you have given me a great pleasure, for if it had not been for you, I might never have seen my cross again. Now, I am going to give you a pleasure. Go take Maggerli there out of the shed, she belongs to you now!”

Moni stared at the young lady in astonishment, as if it were impossible to understand her words. At last he stammered: “But how–how can Maggerli be mine?”

“How?” replied Paula, smiling. “See, last evening I bought her from the landlord and this morning I give her to you. Now can’t you sing once more?”

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” exclaimed Moni and ran like mad to the shed, led the little goat out, and took it in his arms. Then he leaped back and held out his hand to Paula and said over and over again:

“I thank you a thousand, thousand times! May God reward you! If I could do something nice for you!”

“Well, then try once more and let us see if you can sing again!” said Paula.

Then Moni sang his song and went on up the mountain with the goats, and his jubilant tones rang down into the valley, so that there was no one in the whole Bath House who did not hear it and many an one turned over in his bed and said: “The goat-boy has good weather once more.”

All were glad to hear him sing again, for all had depended on the merry alarm, some in order to get up, others to sleep a while longer.

When Moni, from the first summit, saw Paula still standing below in front of the house, he stepped as far out as possible and sang down at the top of his voice:

“And so blue is the sky there
My joy can’t be told.”

The whole day long Moni shouted for joy, and all the goats caught his spirit and jumped and sprang around as if it were a great festival. The sun shone cheerfully down out of the blue sky, and after the great rain, all the little plants were so fresh, and the yellow and red flowers so bright, it seemed to Moni as if he had never seen the mountains and the valley and the whole world so beautiful before. He didn’t let the little kid leave him the whole day; he pulled up the best plants for it and fed it, and said over and over again: