“I know that kind of a little bird,” said Battiste, grumblingly, “now a little water, and now a little fire, and always mischief.  Can’t have it.  Can’t give it to you.”

“Oh well, I don’t care,” said Lili, and went straight to the kitchen, where Trine was scouring pans.

“Trine, dear,” said she coaxingly, “come and give me the water-spout.  Battiste won’t let us have it.  You’ll get it for us, won’t you?”

“Of course I will,” said the maid, “a little water you might be allowed, I’m sure.  But you must wait till the old bear is out of the way; and then I’ll go and get you what you want.”

After a while Trine saw Battiste coming from the barn; he went past the house, down toward the meadows.

“Come along now,” she said, and taking Lili’s hand, she ran with her to the wash-house, lifted the long wooden spout from its hiding-place, put one end into the log, and the other into a small tub.  Then she explained to Lili that when they had enough water, they could push the spout away from the log, and when they wanted it again, they could lift it up and put it into the log themselves.  But now she must go back to her work.

Away went Trine, and now the preparations for the voyage could begin.  The children took the lower end of the spout out of the tub, and put it down upon the floor.  Lili got into the new ark, and then Wili, and then they lifted in the cat and the dog.  Noah and his wife sat side by side, and rejoiced over their safety and over the delightful voyage they should make on the rising waters of the flood, as the stream from the spout flowed merrily in upon the wash-house floor.  The water rose very fast.  Now, yes, now the ark fairly floated, and Noah and his wife shouted for joy!  The flood had begun, and they were floating backward and forth upon the surface of the water!

The wash-house floor was lower by several steps than the level of the ground outside.  The water rose and rose, and the children began to be frightened.

“Look, Wili, we can’t get out again, and it is getting very deep.”

Wili gazed thoughtfully over the edge of the tub, and said, “If it gets much deeper we shall be drowned.”

And it went on getting deeper and deeper.

Pretty soon Schnurri grew restless, and sprang up, making the tub roll so frightfully as almost to upset it.  The water was now so deep that the children could not get out without danger, and they became dreadfully frightened, and began to cry out as loud as they could,

“We are drowning!  Mamma!  Battiste!  Trine!  We are drowning!” Then they no longer used any words, but simply screamed, quite beside themselves with terror.  Schnurri barked and howled in sympathy, but Philomele scratched and bit at everything within reach.  Now the true character of the two animals showed itself.  The cat would not go out of the tub into the water, and would not stay quietly in it, either, but fought like a mad creature.  But when the faithful dog found that, in spite of all the screams and howls, no one came to their aid, he jumped into the water, swam to the door, shook himself vigorously, and ran away.  The children screamed louder than ever, for the dog’s movements had made the tub tip back and forth, and they were well scared.