The child before puberty is quite another thing from the child after puberty.

Strange indeed is this new birth, this rising from the sea of childhood into a new being.

It is a resurrection which we fear.
And now, a new world, a new heaven and a new earth.

Now new relationships are formed, the old ones retire from their prominence.
Now mother and father inevitably give way before masters and mistresses, brothers and sisters yield to friends.

This is the period of _Schwaermerei_, of young adoration and of real initial friendships.
A child before puberty has playmates.