six o'clock
Instantly the little gray mouse leaped down from the table and scampered away to his hole in the wall , the golden sunbeam flickered and was gone , and shadows began to creep into the corners . `` Cuckoo , cuckoo , '' he shouted at the top of his voice , `` cuckoo , cuckoo , cuckoo , '' -- six times in all , -- and then , his duty done , he popped back again into his little dark house , and the door clicked behind him . Out in the garden Mother Adolf heard him and , raising her head from the onion-bed , where she was pulling weeds , she counted on her fingers , `` One , two , three , four , five , six ! Bless my soul , six o'clock and the sun already out of sight behind old Pilatus , '' she said , and , rising from her knees a little stiffly , she stood for a moment looking down the green slopes toward the valley . Far , far below , the blue waters of Lake Lucerne mirrored the glowing colors of the mountain-peaks beyond its farther shore , and nearer , among the foothills of old Pilatus itself , a little village nestled among green trees , its roofs clustered about a white church-spire . Now the bells in the steeple began to ring , and the sound floated out across the green fields spangled with yellow daffodils , and reached Mother Adolf where she stood . Bells from more distant villages soon joined in the clamor , until all the air was filled with music and a hundred echoes woke in the mountains .