human
Mother! mother! she cried, in a frenzy,
gpt
Let go of my gown,
human
But what have I done, mother?
gpt
Can you ask?
human
Why should I not ask? How should I know what he has told you? I was not by when he accused me.
gpt
Erika! is that the way to speak of your father?
human
He is not my father,
gpt
Your ingratitude is shocking, she exclaimed, and then, controlling herself with an effort, she added,
human
But that I cannot alter: you are an unnatural, hard-hearted, stubborn child. I cannot soften your heart, but I can insist that you conduct yourself with propriety, and I forbid you once for all to run after vagabonds in the street. And now go to bed.
gpt
I will not go to bed until you bid me good-night! cried the child. She stood there with naked little feet, in her white night-gown, over which her long reddish-brown hair hung down.
human
And I was not so naughty as you think. You ought not to condemn me without giving me time to defend myself.
gpt
Only wait one minute! she exclaimed, as she flew across the room to a drawer where she kept her toys, and, returning with her _protégé's_ water-colour sketch, held it up triumphantly before her mother's eyes.
human
Look at that!
gpt
Where did that come from?
human
Do you know who it is?
gpt
Of course; it is your picture. It is charming. Who did it?
human
The vagabond whom I ran after, the house-painter fellow, Erika replied.
gpt
At least you can see he was not _that_, but a young artist.
human
Ah, if you had only been at home! the child's bare feet were growing colder, and her cheeks hotter with excitement,
gpt
Suddenly the excitable temperament which the girl had inherited from her mother asserted itself, and she began to sob, her whole childish frame quivering with emotion.
human
And papa turned him out of doors, and told the cook--to give--to give him two kreutzers. He threw them away--and then--then I ran after him!
gpt
But it is very improper to run after strangers in the street; you are too old.
human
But I should not have done it if papa had not abused him, she declared, by way of excuse.
gpt
I did it out of pity for him.
human
Pity is a very poor counsellor.