No Name (Socks CCLXXIII)

Wilhiem, Elebeth, Margreth, and the child, Katherina, lived in the house.
Margreth stayed in another room most of the time, and when the clock did see her, she was crying. When no one else was in the room, Margreth would pick up one of the pictures , and say, “Oh, Konrad.”
That was about the time that the clock realized that she had no name. She wanted a name. She would get a name.
Margreth stopped playing das klavier, and soon stayed in bed. The clock could see the bed through the doorway.
Soon, Margreth only smiled when Katherina giggled.

Plus One, minus One (Socks CCLXXII)

The very same day that a new little person, Katherina, was brought home, all four people seemed concerned that a man named Ferdinand had been killed.
Soon, Konrad and Wilhiem wore green clothes all of the time. Then one day, the objects that were carried out came back in, the dresser, the bed, and more trunks.
The two women, and the baby were the only ones in the house for quite a while.
In turns, one woman would cry, and the other would comfort her.
When Wilhiem came home he walked with a limp. The clock never saw Konrad again.

Elsebeth (Socks CCLXXI)

And Wilhiem grew. The clock realized how big when Wilhiem pulled her chains because the cones were almost to the floor. She remembered the day when Margreth had slapped small Wilhiem's hand for playing with the chains.
Not long after, Wilhiem brought a girl, Elsebeth, home. The clock saw Elebeth quite often, until the weather turned warm. That was when objects, a dresser, a bed, and a couple of trunks were carried out of the house. After that, Wilhiem and Elebeth would come, eat, then leave after singing around das klavier.
The clock noticed that Elisabeth was getting bigger, rounder.

Das Klavier (Socks CCLXX)

The woman boarded the wagon, put the clock in her lap, and a horse pulled the wagon through town to a different house.
The clock found her place on the wall in the new home. Over time, other objects came to stay, a lamp that periodically needed to be filled with oil, a painting of the three persons living in the house, and das klavier.
Margreth, the lady of the house, would sit at das klavier, and sing. Wilhiem would clap his chubby little hands, and try to dance while Konrad tried to keep him from falling into the furniture.

Der Sohn (Socks CCLXIX)

The man, the woman, and the cuckoo clock settled into a routine including pulling the chains before the cones reached the bottom, and announcing every half hour.
The weather turned warm, then cold, but as the weather started to turn warm again another person came to live in the house. One of the big people carried this little one, Wilhiem, around a lot.
A short time after Wilhiem started walking, all of the objects were taken out of the house. The woman carried the cuckoo outside, where all the objects were waiting in a wagon.
These were strange events, indeed.

Die Kuckucksuhr (Socks CCLXVIII)

It was cold outside, and the ground was white as the man, whistling, carried the clock along the streets. The clock watched as they went into a house where a woman stood at a stove with her back to the man. The man held the time piece out, "Hersehen."
The woman turned around, put her hands together, and jumped up and down, squealing, "Danke, Kronrad, Danke. Die kuckucksuhr."
After Konrad hung the cuckoo clock on the wall, the woman kept coming in and out of the room, reaching up to touch the clock, "Danke, Liebster!"
The clock liked the woman.

Das Lernen (Socks CCLXVII)

Time was one of the first things she learned. Seconds, minutes, hours. Sekunden, minuten, stunden.
Names of things, Handes, hands, das handwerkseug, tools, and schmirol, oil she learned from paying attention when das uhrmacher, the clockmaker, talked.
One day a man came into the shop, stood in front of several clocks, "Dieses eine," then gave das uhrmacher some paper, that she later learned was geld, and took the clock away.
The shopkeeper had offered the man a box for her to ride in, but he said, "Nein, danke,"
and put the cuckoo under his arm, and stepped out the door.