a quarter to 10
`` Now I call that real friendship , when you might be abroad in the fields and the woods , having a happy time . You are good boys , I 'll allow that , though you do n't always find satisfactory ways of improving it . Take these cakes -- for yourselves -- and give him this one , from his mother . '' The first thing we noticed when we entered Nikolaus 's room was the time -- a quarter to 10 . Could that be correct ? Only such a few minutes to live ! I felt a contraction at my heart .