of the child must have consisted of phrases which it had uttered while still alive, and which were associated with important events for the father.
Perhaps the complaint, "I am burning," was associated with the fever from which the child died, and "7father, don't you see?" to some other
affective occurrence unknown to us.
Now, when we have come to recognize that the dream has meaning, and can be fitted into the context of psychic events, it may be surprising that
a dream should have occurred in circumstances which called for such an immediate waking. We shall then note that even this dream is not
lacking in a wish-fulfilment. The dead child behaves as though alive; he warns his father himself; he comes to his father's bed and clasps his arm,
as he probably did in the recollection from which the dream obtained the first part of the child's speech. It was for the sake of this wish-fulfilment
that the father slept a moment longer. The dream was given precedence over waking reflection because it was able to show the child still living. If
the father had waked first, and had then drawn the conclusion which led him into the adjoining room, he would have shortened the child's life by
this one moment.