The midday sun
Just as the carriage had started , Paul was attacked by the two Erdmanns , who thrashed him a little . `` You ought to be ashamed , two against one , '' he said , and they let him go . He went home very contentedly . The midday sun glittered on the open heath , and in misty distance the carriage rolled before him ; it grew smaller and smaller , and at last disappeared as a black spot in the fir-wood . When he arrived home his mother kissed him on both cheeks , and asked , `` Well , was it nice ? '' `` Quite nice , '' he answered , `` and , mamma , Elsbeth from the White House was there , too . '' Then she blushed with joy and asked all sorts of things : how she looked , whether she had grown pretty , and what she had said to him .