No,
no, this can't be. If you insist on going, I had better go along."
Apollonie went indoors to get ready for the walk, as she always put on
better clothes whenever she mounted to the castle, despite the fact that
she might not see anyone. Loneli was extremely eager to have a chance to
find out who was the Castle-Steward whom Maezli had promised to visit.
She had tried to persuade her grandmother to let her go with Maezli, in
which case her mother would not need to change her clothes, But the
latter would not even hear of it, remarking, "You can sit on the bench
under the pear tree with your knitting in the meantime, and you can sing
a song. We are sure to be back again in a little while."
Soon they started off, Apollonie firmly holding Maezli's hand. Mr. Trius
appeared at the door before they even had time to ring; it seemed as if
the man really had his eyes on everything. Throwing a furious glance at
Maezli, he opened the door before Apollonie had said a word. But he had
taken great care to leave a crack which would only allow a little person
like Maezli to slip through without sticking fast in the opening. Maezli
wriggled through and started to run away. The next moment the door was
closed again. "Do you think I intend to squeeze myself through, too? You
do not need to bolt it, Mr. Trius," Apollonie said, much offended. "It
is not necessary to cut off the child from me like that, so that I don't
even know where she is going.
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