
A young narrator’s love of the outdoors turns into a quiet obsession with the humble treasures hidden in fields, hedgerows and forest clearings. He gathers smooth pebbles, glittering “cat‑silver” flakes and oddly soft stones that reveal hidden colours when a thin glaze is applied. Through gentle description he invites listeners to share the simple wonder of finding a rainbow‑hued shard of glass beneath damp earth, and the patient pleasure of arranging these finds into tiny collections.
Beyond the personal reminiscences, the work becomes a modest guide for curious youths, encouraging them to look closely at the natural world and to cherish the small marvels it offers. Dedicated to a late friend, the author’s reflections blend nostalgia with a quiet call to keep exploring, preserving the joy of discovery for generations to come.
Language
de
Duration
~10 hours (615K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Norbert H. Langkau, Daniel Kraft, Jana Srna and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-07-31
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1805–1868
Best known for calm, beautifully observed stories of nature and everyday life, this Austrian writer became one of the key voices of the Biedermeier period. His fiction often finds drama in quiet places, where landscapes, character, and moral choices slowly come into focus.
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