A VARIETY OF ANSWERS 141 



would rap " face.") She rapped. " Is a person 1 " 

 I avoided looking at it again and merely asked, 

 " Tell me, does it look friendly, or angry, or nice ? " 

 " Spetisch." " Spottische ? " (= mocking.) " Yes." 

 And we both thought this reply admirable, for the 

 " house " does look at one most " mockingly " out of 

 the corners of its eyes. 



31 December : " Lola, have you got worms ? " 

 " Yes ! " " How did you get them ? " " Ja, zige ! " 

 " An animal ? " " Yes." " Is there a goat (= ziege) 

 near here ? " " Yes ! " I had seen none about, but 

 asked her again : " Where is the goat ? " " Droif." 

 " Do you know the name ? " " Mitt el ! " (= her 

 expression for anything she is uncertain about.) 

 " Why did you say droif ? " "I not any sort of word 

 will give ! " On making further inquiries I found that 

 there was a goat in the immediate neighbourhood, 

 and that the name of the family who owned it was 

 Freund. I had never mentioned this name to Lola, 

 so that she could only have heard it in the course of 

 conversation among the people about, and then not 

 very distinctly. In the evening, while I was absent, 

 Lola stole some Marzipan. I expostulated with her 

 in a serious, though friendly manner, and this evidently 

 made her feel exceedingly uncomfortable, for she 

 suddenly rapped " Sag irgend bose ! " (= say some- 

 thing angry !) 



i January, 1917: "What is to-day?" " i.i. 

 1917! " " On this day we give good wishes to every 

 one, so I will wish you much to eat, good health, and 

 much going out : now wish me something ! " " Am 

 geln . . ." (most indistinctly) I told her to repeat 

 it, and she began again " Am gu . . . elen zu auf- 

 horen ! " (i.e. am qualen zu aufhoren = to cease teas- 

 ing.) " You can't put a w after a g," I told her, but 



