Ⅷ
In a quiet life，one day slips into the next，andmonth quickly follows month.Peer was already in thesecond year of his stay at Herr Gabriel's，who with greatearmestness and determination，though Madam called itobstinacy，insisted that he should not again go on thestage.
Peer received from the singing master，who monthlypaid the stipend for his instruction and support，a seriousreminder not to think of the stage as long as he wasplaced there.And he obeyed;but his thoughts frequentlytraveled to the theater at the capital-they carried him，as if by magic，onto the stage there，where he was tohave appeared as a great singer.Now his voice was gone，and it did not return，which often deeply grieved him.Who could comfort him?Neither Herr Gabriel nor Madam，but our Lord surely could.Consolation comes tous in many ways.Peer found it in sleep;he was indeed aLucky Peer.
One night he dreamed that it was Whitsunday，and hewas out in the beautiful green forest，where the sun shonethrough the branches and where all the ground was coveredwith anemones and primrose.Then the cuckoo began，"Cuckoo!""How many years shall I live?" asked Peer，forone always asks the cuckoo that，the first time in the yearone hears it cuckoo;and the cuckoo answered，"Cuckoo!"but no more;it was silent.
"Shall I live only one more year?"asked Peer."Thatis really too little.Be so good as to cuckoo again!"Thenthe bird began again，"Cuckoo!Cuckoo!"Yes，and it wenton without stopping，and Peer cuckooed with it，as realisti-cally as if he，too，were a cuckoo;but his notes werestronger and clearer.All the song birds joined in the war-bling.Peer sang their songs，but far more beautifully.Hehad all the clear voice of his childhood，and rejoiced insong;he was so happy at heart.And then he awoke，butwith the assurance that the"soundboard"was still in him，that his voice still lived and，some bright Whitsun morning，would burst forth in all its freshness;and so he slept，hap-py in this assurance.
But in none of the following days，weeks，or monthsdid he have any feeling of his voice returning.
Every bit of news he could get of the theater at thecapital was a true feast for his soul;it was spiritual breadto him.Crumbs are also bread，and he received crumbsthankfully-the smallest bits of news.
There was a flax dealer's family living near theGabriels'.The mother，a highly respectable housewife，lively and laughing，but without any acquaintance or knowl-edge of the theater，had been at the capital for the first timeand was delighted with everything there，even with the peo-ple，who had laughed at all she had said，she assured-and that was very likely.
"Were you at the theater also?"asked Peer.
"That I was，"replied the flax dealer's wife."How Isteaned!You should have seen me sit and steam in thatheat!"
"But what did you see?What play?"
"I will tell you that，"she said."I shall give youthe whole play.I was there twice.The first evening itwas a talking play.Out came the princess-'Ahbe，dahbe!Abe，dabe!'-how she could talk!Next came aman-'Ahbe，dahbe!Abe，dabe!'And then down fellMadam.Now they began again.The prince-'Ahbe，dahbe!Abe，dabe!'Then down fell Madam.She felldown five times that evening.The second time I wasthere，it was all singing-'Ahbe，dahbe!Abe，dabe!'And then down fell Madam again.It so happened that acountrywoman was sitting next to me;she had never beenin the theater，and thought the show was all over;but I，who now knew all about it，said that when I was therelast，Madam fell down five times.The singing eveningshe only did it three times.Yes，there you have both theplays，as true to life as I saw them."
Was it tragedy she bad seen，since she said thatMadam always fell down?Then it dawned on Peer whatshe meant.The great theater curtain that fell between theacts had a large female figure painted on it，a Muse withthe comic and the tragic masks.This was the Madam whofell down.That had been the real comedy;what they hadsaid and sung had been only"Ahbe，dahbe!Abe， dabe!"to the flax dealer's wife;but it had been a greatpleasure，and so it had been to Peer，too，and not less toMadam Gabriel，who had heard this recital of the plays.She had sat with an expression of astonishment and a con-sciousness of mental superiority，for the pharmacist hadsaid that she，as the nurse，had"carried"Shakespeare'sRomeo and Juliet."Down fell the Madam"as explainedby Peer，afterward became a witty byword in the houseevery time a child，a cup，or one or another piece of fur-niture fell on the floor in the house.
"That is the way proverbs and familiar sayings arecreated，"said Herr Gabriel，who carried everything intothe sphere of learning.
New Year's Eve，at the stroke of twelve，theGabriels and their boarders stood，each with a glass ofpunch，the only one Herr Gabriel drank the whole year，because punch is bad for a weak stomach.They drank atoast，"Skaal，"to the new year，and counted the strokesof the clock，"One，two-"to the twelfth stroke."Downfell the Madam!"they said.
The new year rolled up and rolled along.By Whit-suntide，Peer had been two years in the house.