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Show 80 Chapter 12 On Saturday I worked until my bones ached and my ears were sore from listening to the complaints of the boys and girls who came to buy bread for their mothers and mistresses. "The bread was terrible last week, I'm supposed to tell you," I heard over and over again. "If it doesn't improve, we will make a complaint to the guild." I was too busy to tell them that it was Gerhardt*s fault - what had they expected? The little Gerhardt knew about baking he'd learned from helping his mother in the kitchen-house. She was Mayor Gruelhot's cook. By Saturday night I was so tired that I fell asleep without even thinking about what was going to happen the next day, but when the Matins bell woke me in the morning, all my curiosity and concern came back. What was Gast planning? And what would I have to do? I cleaned the shop a bit, then dressed in my good clothes and went out to wait beside the public well. As the citizens of Hamelin walked past me on their way to church, I noticed that their attitude toward me had changed once again. It seemed they didn't want to look me in the eye. There were no more friendly greetings. The word must have spread that Gast wasn't going to get his fee, so neither Gast nor I were heroes any longer. As the bell was tolling to announce the start of mass, Gast appeared. "Have you thought about it?" he asked me. "Is there a farm such as I have described?" |