Chapter 90
The Story of a MotherA MOTHER sat by her little child; she was very sad, for
she feared it would die. It was quite pale, and its little eyes
were closed, and sometimes it drew a heavy deep breath, almost like
a sigh; and then the mother gazed more sadly than ever on the poor
little creature. Some one knocked at the door, and a poor old man
walked in. He was wrapped in something that looked like a great
horse-cloth; and he required it truly to keep him warm, for it was
cold winter; the country everywhere lay covered with snow and ice,
and the wind blew so sharply that it cut one's face. The little
child had dozed off to sleep for a moment, and the mother, seeing
that the old man shivered with the cold, rose and placed a small
mug of beer on the stove to warm for him.
