The rainbow never sets

affair. All the fun had suddenly gone, so I left also. When I arrived home, Vater was already waiting for me.

"So you told Opa that I had allowed you to play on the boats! Is that correct?"

"Yes, but É but É" I didn't get any further. Vater got hold of me, bent me over his knee, and with the flexible steel ruler I got my bottom smacked, several times. Then I was taken upstairs and put into the dark cupboard where all our fur coats were hanging.

There I was, yelling and feeling sorry for myself. It was not altogether a rare occasion that I was naughty Ñ far from it Ñ but what made this incident so really frightening for me was, that it was the Saturday before Easter, and my greatest fear was that I would miss out on my easter eggs the following day. My mind was confused, and guilt stopped me from thinking rationally, if that is possible at five. Although still believing in the easter bunny, I also believed that my parents had a great influence over it, and since I had been naughty, I feared that this Easter I would miss out on all those lovely chocolate eggs and bunnies. So I sobbed and sobbed until Mutter came to my rescue. She didn't belittle my great sin, she simply said: "You have had enough punishment."

There was no hint about whether I was forgiven or not. My bad conscience would not leave me in peace. I was kept guessing until the next morning.

When morning came, we both ran down the stairs and into the garden to where we had made the nests the day before. The first nest was Günter's, I saw some coloured easter eggs there. I was still doubtful. Then I saw four brightly coloured eggs in my nest too. What great relief! Perhaps not so much because of the eggs, but because I then knew that I was forgiven.

After breakfast we went to church, and when we came back again, we went looking for easter eggs Ñ the chocolate variety this time.

*

"Do you think we will get any chocolate eggs and easter bunnies this year?" asked Günter. My thoughts came back from the past and I remembered, that I had asked the same question a while ago.

"I was just wondering myself," I said. All my eggs were finished now, and I was happy about the way they looked.

Günter went upstairs, and I followed him. Easter morning passed as usual. We no longer had nests for ourselves, only for Gerda. Her surprised face reminded us of our younger days. For breakfast we all had a coloured egg, and to see whose egg was the strongest, each one of us knocked their egg against our neighbour's egg. Those eggs that were still not broken, were knocked together again and

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