After a short
time Sami's eyes closed involuntarily, he slipped off on the floor of
the wagon, his head fell over on his bundle, and he sank into a deep
sleep. When he woke again, he was still in the wagon on the floor, but
everything was quiet around him; he did not hear the horse trotting; the
wagon was no longer moving forward. It looked very strange all around
him. He looked, and looked again, until he realized what had happened.
The wagon was standing without horse or driver in a shed; they had
forgotten Sami and left him lying there.
"Where can I be?" Sami asked himself. The door of the shed stood open,
and outside there was bright sunshine. Sami climbed down from his
sleeping-place, stepped outside and went a little way farther around the
house, which stood directly in front of the shed. Then he knew
everything about it--there stood the house with the garden, where he had
taken the beautiful coach; right before him was the railway station--he
was in Aigle again. Only a little way farther in the train and he would
be at home!
Then it came to Sami that here he could no longer talk with the people,
for now he was among the French. But he knew what to do. He still had the
little bag with his grandmother's money. He ran to the place where the
people were getting their tickets, laid a piece of money in front of the
little window, and said: "La Tour!"
Immediately he had his ticket; he sprang into the train, which was
already standing outside, and crouched down quickly in his corner, the
very same corner where he had sat before with Herr Malon.
Pages:
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52