cap 30: You're not frightened of a thunderstorm, are you?

One kid turns into an octopus when they climb into bed with parents. Throw in some spiders and Fraulein Josephine is probably permanently cracked.

All good points, and it is very likely that she was just next door and he was inaccessible (in more ways than one).  And how the heck did you make 'just this once' a sexy line?  You are so good at this.  

I might be simplifying things, but I would think it comes down to fathers tended to be less emotionally availabe in that time and place in the world (though "research" seems to say he was relatively affectionate in real life), regardless of how he interacted with them in the past. Admittedly, not my preferred area of history, so I could be totally wrong. So if the children were afraid, it makes sense to seek out the closest they had to a mother figure, though that brings up the question of why not seeking out Frau Schmidt, who could potentially be a grandmother figure. But as a member of the household who has probably been around for a while, does that compartmentalize her in their minds? But then again, Maria has already half-protected, half-guilted them over their behavior and perhaps given them a glimmer of...something else. Although a 14 year-old boy being scared of a thunderstorm is a bit much. (I might be biased as a US Midwest raised person who was taken outside as a little kid under the eaves so I wouldn't be afraid of them.) Suspension of disbelief...every musical requires that.

interesting question to ponder re: Frau Schmidt, since she seems to be in charge when there's no governess - how close are they to her, is she fond of them, etc.

more please!

There is no way that these kids ran to their father when they were scared in the night. I don't think he has shown them any affection in years (which is why the scene where they converge on him after they all sing TSOM is so powerful).  My guess is that Gretl usually goes to Liesl, and since she was not in her bed, she ran for the governess. Looking at the floor plans, Georg's room would be much closer, as he in the family side of the house and Maria is over on the staff side, but like I said, I don't think their father was ever considered. So Gretl gets up and makes a run for it. She says that everyone else is asleep and not scared, so I think that her running out of the room woke up the other girls, who then realized it was storming and got scared too. The boys are a little tougher. There is no way 14 year old Freidrich was scared enough of storms to run for the governess's room, but maybe the boys heard the commotion of everyone leaving the girls' room, so they got up and followed.  

They were clearly shocked that they got invited to cuddle with Maria. I bet all of the previous governesses were either not that nurturing, or too scared of not following the captain's discipline rules to let them all stay and talk about their favorite things. I don't know if they would consider going to Frau Schmidt or not. They had to be close to her. Though, there might be a line there that doesn't get crossed after hours.  

It's very likely that Frau Schmidt, as staff, has her own flat/suite on the next floor up, where the family would never go (staff quarters), so less likely they would venture up if they were scared - and especially without Liesl.

although in the absence of a governess, she seems to have some responsibility for them - she sends them off on their walk after all.

I think a storm can be very scary... so I accept that some 14-year-olds feel fear; anyway, I would say that it is nothing more than an "excuse" to test Maria, since they have had a somewhat disconcerting experience during dinner but they see that she may be a person to trust. 
On the other hand, I believe the Captain was not a very accessible person at the time, although perhaps in the past they would have shared moments of "all together in bed" as a family (with Agathe), and therefore the Children associated that moment / game with something comforting. 

Let's not forget that the Captain must have been a loving person in the past, otherwise, this scene would not make any sense (see attachment). 

Liesl mentions that Louisa can climb up to the governess's room with a jar of spiders. Maria proceeds to check for them in her bed right before Gretl burst on to the scene. Why do you think there were no spiders? Did Maria's guilt trip about the frog at dinner (along with playing along with the pinecone) make them decide to cool it on the pranks? Was it just too wet outside to go hunting for spiders? Were 2 pranks in 1 day enough and they were holding out on spiders for another day soon? It seems like the must keep the tricks coming in quick succession if they can run a governess off in less than a day. 

LOL. The boarding school plans would have moved up the priority list after that.