At that, the little girl’s head dropped, and she began to cry . . . I had never heard anything like it. Women are less lyrical than we men are, when confronted with pain, so they are more helpful.

The Princess bent over her. ‘What is it . . . what’s the matter?’ and wiped her tears away. ‘What is it? Who’s hurt you?’

The child sobbed. ‘I . . . she . . . I’ve already run away once today . . . Frau Direktor . . . Lisa Wedigen stole something, she wants to beat me, she wants to beat us all, I won’t get any supper – I want my Mummy! I want my Mummy!’

‘Where is your Mummy?’ asked the Princess.

The little girl didn’t answer; she looked anxiously over at the house and made as if to run away.

‘Now just you stay here with us – what’s your name?’

‘Ada,’ said the little girl.

‘And what else?’

‘Ada Collin.’

‘And where is your Mummy?’

‘Mummy . . .’ said the child, and then something we couldn’t make out.

‘Does your Mummy live here usually?’

The child shook her head.

‘Where then?’

‘In Switzerland. In Zurich . . .’

‘Well?’ I asked. Only a man could have asked such a stupid question. The child didn’t even look up; she hadn’t understood there was a question. We stood around, rather at a loss.

‘Why did you run away – now tell me the whole story properly. All of it . . .’ the Princess began again.

‘Frau Adriani hits us . . . she gave us no food today . . . I want to go to Mummy . . . I want to go to Mummy . . .!’

Karlchen, as ever, thought quickly and clearly. ‘Let’s take down where her mother lives,’ he said.

‘Tell me,’ asked the Princess, ‘where does your mother live?’

The child gulped. ‘In Zurich!’

‘Yes, I know, but where in Zurich? . . .’

‘In Hott . . . Hott . . . she’s coming . . . she’s coming!’ screamed the child, and tore herself away. We held her back and looked up.

The front door of the house had opened, and a red-haired woman strode up to us. ‘What are you doing with that child?’ she asked, without any preliminaries.

I took my hat off. ‘Good afternoon!’ I said politely.

The woman didn’t even look at me. ‘What are you up to with that child? What is the child doing here?’

‘She ran out of the house, and came here crying,’ said Karlchen.

‘The child is good for nothing. She’s run away once already today. Give her to me and don’t concern yourself with things that are none of your business!’

‘Now just a minute,’ I said. ‘The child came here crying; she says you hit her.’