/0/2227/coverbig.jpg?v=f9aed08abd7fea80b0f9daec85e7ec15)
It was a clear, bright morning in March. The snow had long since melted from the mountain-tops, flowers had begun to peep out of the earth's bosom, and the trees that, grew upon the heights around Esslingen were decked with buds of tender green.
But the inhabitants of Esslingen had no pleasure in contemplating those verdant hills; for the castle