Uncle Philip was less able to stand the quiet which was reigning after the presentation of his gifts than were the children, who were completely lost in the new marvels.  He told them now that he was ready to take them all on a walk.  Maezli was ready before anyone, because she had thrown everything into her box and then with a little pushing had been able to put on the lid.  This did not worry her further, so she ran towards the uncle.

“Maezli, you mustn’t do that; no, you mustn’t,” Lippo called after her.  But the little girl stood already outside, holding her uncle’s hand ready for the march.  Everybody else was ready, as they all had only had one object to put away, and the mother gave her orders to Kathy, the cook.

“Come, Lippo, don’t stay behind!” the uncle called into the room.

“I have to finish first, then I’ll come right away,” the little boy called back.

The mother was ready to go, too, now.  “Where is Lippo?” she asked, examining her little brood.

“He sits in there like a mole in his hole and won’t come out,” said Kurt “Shall I fetch him?  He’ll come quickly enough then.”

“No, no,” the mother returned.  “I’ll attend to it.”  Lippo was sitting at his little table, laying one horse after the other slowly and carefully in the box so that they should not be damaged.

“Come, Lippo, come!  We must not let Uncle Philip wait,” the mother said.

“But, mother, one must not leave before everything is straightened up and put into the wardrobe,” Lippo said timidly.  “One must always pack up properly.”

“That is true, but I shall help you to-day,” said the mother, and with her assistance everything was soon put in order.

“Oh, here comes the slow-poke at last,” Kurt cried out.

“No, you must not scold him, for Lippo did right in putting his things in order before taking a walk,” said his mother, who had herself given him that injunction.

“Bravo, my god-son!  I taught you that, but now we must start,” said the uncle, extending his hand to the little boy.  “Where shall we go?”

“Up to the castle,” Kurt quickly suggested.  Everybody was satisfied with the plan and the mother assented eagerly, as she had intended the same thing.

“We shall go up towards the castle hill,” the uncle remarked as he set out after taking the two little ones by the hand.  “We shall have to go around the castle, won’t we?  If cross Mr. Trius is keeping watch, we won’t get very close to it, because the property is fenced in for a long way around.”

“Oh, we can go up on the road to the entrance,” said Kurt with animation.  “We can look into the garden from there, but everything is overgrown.  On the right is a wooden fence which we can easily climb.  From there we can run all the way up through the meadows to a thick hawthorn hedge; on the other side of that begin the bushes and behind that the woods with the old fir and pine trees, but we can’t climb over it.  We could easily enough get to the castle from the woods.”