The children didn't even bother to take the bus immediately and walked about town, feeling sorry for themselves. Liesl eventually suggested that they head home and so they hopped on a bus got off at the stop close to their home. They walked through the gate to the side garden and around to the back. They began whispering about how awful the whole situation was when they saw their father emerge from the house acting a tad more chipper than usual.
"What in the world have you all been up to?" He asked smiling as he joined his children down by the lake. They all stood and thought they were going to get caught in that moment. "It's not like my children to be secretive" he continued lightly
"We're not being secretive father" Louisa said
"And it's not like my children to be late for dinner" he continued as he pat Kurt on the head. They all remained silent "okay who's gonna be the first one to tell me the truth? Brigitta, Friedrich..Liesl?"
Liesl gave her father an antagonizing look "where do you think we were?" She threw the question back at him. Her father returned the look "well if you don't believe us you must have some idea where you think we were" she snapped back and once again gave her father a smart look. The Captain sighed and Marta couldn't help herself, she giggled.
"Aha Marta" the Captain said leaning down towards the seven year old
"Yes father" all of her siblings turned to her and Friedrich nodded reassuring her. "Friedrich told you father, we were berry picking"
"I forgot you were berry picking" the Captain clapped and he was still kneeling. The children smiled and nodded, thankful they were almost out of the woods "what kind?" He asked his children
"Blueberries sir" Friedrich answered confidently
"Blueberries mmm" the Captain said emphatically and his children agreed "its uh too early for blueberries"
"They were strawberries" Friedrich added quickly
"Strawberries?" The captain looked at his son
"It's been so cold lately they turned blue" Friedrich regretted saying that the second it came out of his mouth. Louisa and Liesl rolled their eyes and Brigitta gave him a look that said 'are you kidding me'.
The Captain rose and held out his hand "very well, show me the berries"
"Uh"
"Well"
"You see"
"We don't have them anymore" Kurt said
"You don't have them anymore? What happened to them?" The captain leaned to his little boy
"We ate them" Brigitta answered confident
"Well since you've obviously stuffed yourself with thousands of delicious berries you can't be hungry anymore so I'll tell Frau Schmidt to skip your dinner" the enthusiasm that once filled the children's faces immediately faded.
The Captain walked back towards the house and had to turn around and look at how forlorn his kids looked. He knew they obviously didn't pick berries. He wasn't sure what they did, he had an idea, but they didn't seem to get into any real trouble.
"It's all your fault we should have told him the truth" Kurt yelled at his brother
"And made him mad at us?" Friedrich retorted. The kids split ip. The little girls sat on one bench with Friedrich next to them as Brigitta and Kurt sat on the other. Louisa wandered over to the gate by the lake and Liesl stood in the middle, wondering what to do next.
"It's better than starving to death" Kurt exaggerated
"We didn't do anything wrong we just wanted to see her" Louisa vented
"My stomach's making noises" Kurt complained as he rubbed his stomach.
"The least they could've done was let us say hello" Marta whined
"I wonder what grass tastes like" Kurt nagged
"I feel awful" Gretl added
"When fraulein Maria was feeling unhappy she used to sing that song, remember?" Brigitta said a tad more energetic
"Yes" Liesl agreed
"Let's try it" Brigitta suggested. The two sisters began to sing.
"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens"
"Brown paper packages tied up with strings" Louisa and the boys joined "these are a few of my favorite things'
"Why don't I feel better?" Gretl almost cried. Liesl extended and arm to her sister as she walked over for a hug.
"Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes snowflake-" Brigitta stopped singing. So did all the other children. They heard Maria but was she really there? They turned and saw her running from the side. She was bright in her teal dress and the children fled to her.
"When the dog bites when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad!" She hugged and greeted all the children
"Children I'm so glad to see you" she exclaimed
"We missed you" Marta said
"I missed you" Maria returned "Kurt how are you?"
"Hungry" was his quick reply
Maria turned to Gretl "Gretl what happened to your finger?"
"It got caught"
"Caught in what?"
"Friedrich's teeth"
And everyone laughed
"How about you Liesl? Any telegrams been delivered lately? Maria asked knowing the reason
"No fraulein but I'm learning to accept it. I'll be glad when school begins" she admitted
"Oh Liesl you can't use school to escape your problems you have to face them" Maria declared triumphantly "Oh I have so much to tell you all" she beamed at the seven faces.
"We have things to tell you too" Marta said
"The most important thing is that father's going to be married" Brigitta quickly said as if ripping off a bandage
"Married?"
"Yes, to baroness Schrader" Louisa added. Maria looked at the teenage girls with a look of confusion. Both Liesl and Louisa nodded disappointingly and all the children could see the sadness cover Maria's face
They stood in silence when the Captain came outside
"Father look!' The children shouted exclamations but Maria stood still
"Alright go inside and get your dinner" the Captain said happily as he clapped his hands together.
The children ran inside and scrambled inside and pushed past Max. They sat down at the dining table.
"I can't believe she's really here" Gretl grinned
"I know, it's a miracle" Kurt said in between bites.
"Did you see her face when we told her the news about father?" Louisa asked "sure we have her back but we still have the baroness" she was a little panicked.
"Why do we have to have a new mother when we could just have fraulein Maria?" Gretl asked
"I'd want a mother just like her" Marta added. The older siblings ignored the statements out of not knowing how to respond.
"Lou, I stand by what I said before, leave it alone and it'll all work out" Liesl spoke maturely
"But without us she may not have come back" Brigitta defended
"And look what happened when you meddled" Friedrich called his sister out "she left! I agree with Liesl. She's back which is great but now we leave it up to them"
"I think it will all work out fine" Marta smiled assuredly for a seven year old
All her siblings couldn't help but laugh at her new confidence.
She's back!! I love this scene as well. It's so fun to see their personalities!
Thanks for reading!💛💛💛