each of them, more than a hundred liras.. And where is she to find such a sum, when she flings the five liras every night into the corner of the room, where the sick boy is, and the father who nurses him?

And the drunken fair one draws nearer and nearer to her.. and a hot shiver runs through her body, humiliating as her shiver on the night the one with the sallow body came roaring into her face:

— No! I will not give you my dress — never!

And she never took the dress again after that.. for she had understood that what drives her colleague might one day drive her too, should the same crisis pass over her — the crisis that brings one ever closer to the hideous window of want of work; though a lump had lodged in her throat which she could not escape, so long as she still saw, every night, her colleague with the sallow, deadened body.

She thought of doing something. She said:

— I did her no wrong, father.

And her father did not answer, for there had appeared before him another boy, who might be lying stretched upon a bed, and might not.. and an old man, and want standing near; and a tear swam in his eye.. He said:

— I will save up for the dress, my daughter.

And he saved nothing, for he could not.

And courage stirs in the fair-haired man, and he comes up to her.. He says:

— Command me.. any service?

— Nothing!

And she stops, stares at him.. and says:

— You follow me always — what is it you want?

— I want you.

And she smiles a bitter smile. A man off the street can well feed the longing which a young girl always misses.. And she says to him:

— I am not what you think.

And she walks on.. and he follows her, saying:

— I want you.. I hope to marry you!

And she almost stops — the surprise is rich — but she keeps on, and in her silence her eyes speak, and the lines of her face, and her leaping veins; for she would gladly embrace all the people, smile at them, proclaim to them the warm news.

And she hears her father saying to

her — she imagines what he will say to her:

— He wants you.. do you consent?

She will answer:

— The decision is yours, father!

And she knows that she will never see the flowering night again after that!

And she looks at the fair young man anew, and the smile dies out upon her lips — a smile in the flower of youth it is.. and she turns her face toward home, walking with the five liras in her hand, the wage of her work, and before her eyes an old father, and a tear, two tears.. and a sick brother; and behind her stands a fair-haired young man, dumbfounded, and a signboard adorned with several tubes of pale white "neon" cranes upward..!

Tempo Pots

Rely on Tempo pots

TEMPO

Your comfort in your home, Madam...

They save 85% of your time in steaming, and of fuel as well

Tempo

* keeps food looking natural

* preserves the vitamins

You will find them in all the well-known shops