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 on the tree and they are the last that were lying on the grass. But very soon we’ll have the best juicy pears—they are perfectly delicious, I think, even better—and then I’ll bring you some every day.”

“Yes, it certainly would be great to have a pear feast with you every day,” said Dino, looking admiringly at the last reddish plum before he ate it. “It is easy enough for you, Cornelli. You can stay right here under the pear tree, but I have to go away. I’ll have to spend my time behind the school house walls, regretting all that I have lost.”

“But you are not going away,” said Cornelli with dismay.

It had never occurred to her that this happy companionship could ever end.

“Yes, I have to. If I could, I would stay here much longer with our good friend Martha. She is better than anybody I know except my mother, and she takes care of me as if I were a silkworm.”

“Yes, and when you go, everything is over,” said Cornelli, speaking as if Dino were her enemy. Her eyes glowed at him from