“Not a bit. It is you who are stupid about holding the basket,” retorted Tellef.
They stole glances at Aunt Grenertsen’s window. Fortunately, she was not looking out and so had not seen the unlucky outcome of this attempt. Hastily thrusting the eight apples into their blouses, they both climbed the tree again and stretched and reached their utmost till one branch broke and the boys nearly tumbled from the tree.
“Well. We’ll just have to shake them off.”
“Yes, we must; but shake gently.” Three much crushed and two that were bruised slightly, with, of course, a number of decayed ones that did not count.
Strangely enough, there were almost no apples left on the tree now, except those on a very slender branch. They would have to be shaken down, for no person alive could reach them. Violent shaking ensued and apples pelted down in a shower, every one landing with a thud that bruised or marred it somewhere. The boys gathered them hurriedly and deposited them under a gooseberry bush.
True as you live, there were no more apples on the tree! It was remarkable how little time it had taken to strip it. And on the steps lay only eight apples, and two of them were bruised! What would Aunt Grenertsen say at getting so few? Well, he must take them in to her.
“Here are the apples, Aunt Grenertsen. Aren’t they beauties?”
“Well, some were half-rotten, and you said yourself that we might eat”—
“I said no such thing,” interrupted Aunt Grenertsen.
Johnny Blossom blinked his eyes and scarcely knew what to say, but suddenly had an idea. He would begin differently.
“But those that were bruised you said we might eat, and we have done that,” said Johnny Blossom, frankly and virtuously.
“Indeed! You have done that, have you? Well—it looks as if they had all got bruised.”
“Oh no, Aunt Grenertsen. Six of them are not bruised at all, and these two only the least bit.”
“Well, well! What’s done is done. I pity your stomachs, that’s all I can say.”
Oh, dear! Aunt Grenertsen wasn’t comfortable to deal with—not a bit easy in fact—and never had been.
Johnny Blossom was glad enough to get out into the garden with Tellef again. The heap of apples under the gooseberry bushes was divided with great exactness. Aunt Grenertsen could not see over there from her window.