I like for sleep there," she insisted eagerly.
"My mamenka have nice bed, with pillows from our own geese in Bohemie.
See, Jim?" She pointed to the narrow bunk which Krajiek had built against
the wall for himself before the Shimerdas came.
Grandmother sighed. "Sure enough, where _would_ you sleep, dear! I don't
doubt you're warm there. You'll have a better house after while, Antonia,
and then you'll forget these hard times."
Mr. Shimerda made grandmother sit down on the only chair and pointed his
wife to a stool beside her. Standing before them with his hand on
Antonia's shoulder, he talked in a low tone, and his daughter translated.
He wanted us to know that they were not beggars in the old country; he
made good wages, and his family were respected there. He left Bohemia with
more than a thousand dollars in savings, after their passage money was
paid. He had in some way lost on exchange in New York, and the railway
fare to Nebraska was more than they had expected. By the time they paid
Krajiek for the land, and bought his horses and oxen and some old farm
machinery, they had very little money left. He wished grandmother to know,
however, that he still had some money. If they could get through until
spring came, they would buy a cow and chickens and plant a garden, and
would then do very well. Ambrosch and Antonia were both old enough to work
in the fields, and they were willing to work.
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