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diff --git a/43638-8.txt b/43638-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0501126..0000000 --- a/43638-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2920 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Little Swedish Cousin, by Claire M. Coburn - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Our Little Swedish Cousin - -Author: Claire M. Coburn - -Illustrator: L. J. Bridgman - R.C. Woodberry - -Release Date: September 4, 2013 [EBook #43638] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR LITTLE SWEDISH COUSIN *** - - - - -Produced by Emmy, Beth Baran and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was -produced from images made available by the HathiTrust -Digital Library.) - - - - - - - - - - - -Our Little Swedish Cousin - - - - -The Little Cousin Series - - -[Illustration] - - Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates - in tint. Cloth, 12mo, with decorative cover, - per volume, 60 cents. - -[Illustration] - - -LIST OF TITLES - -BY MARY HAZELTON WADE (unless otherwise indicated) - - =Our Little African Cousin= - - =Our Little Armenian Cousin= - - =Our Little Brown Cousin= - - =Our Little Canadian Cousin= - By Elizabeth R. Macdonald - - =Our Little Chinese Cousin= - By Isaac Taylor Headland - - =Our Little Cuban Cousin= - - =Our Little Dutch Cousin= - By Blanche McManus - - =Our Little English Cousin= - By Blanche McManus - - =Our Little Eskimo Cousin= - - =Our Little French Cousin= - By Blanche McManus - - =Our Little German Cousin= - - =Our Little Hawaiian Cousin= - - =Our Little Indian Cousin= - - =Our Little Irish Cousin= - - =Our Little Italian Cousin= - - =Our Little Japanese Cousin= - - =Our Little Jewish Cousin= - - =Our Little Korean Cousin= - By H. Lee M. Pike - - =Our Little Mexican Cousin= - By Edward C. Butler - - =Our Little Norwegian Cousin= - - =Our Little Panama Cousin= - By H. Lee M. Pike - - =Our Little Philippine Cousin= - - =Our Little Porto Rican Cousin= - - =Our Little Russian Cousin= - - =Our Little Scotch Cousin= - By Blanche McManus - - =Our Little Siamese Cousin= - - =Our Little Spanish Cousin= - By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet - - =Our Little Swedish Cousin= - By Claire M. Coburn - - =Our Little Swiss Cousin= - - =Our Little Turkish Cousin= - -[Illustration] - - L. C. PAGE & COMPANY - New England Building, Boston, Mass. - -[Illustration: SIGRID] - - - - - Our Little Swedish - Cousin - - By - Claire M. Coburn - - _Illustrated by_ - L. J. Bridgman and R. C. Woodberry - - - [Illustration] - - - Boston - L. C. Page & Company - _MDCCCCVI_ - - - - - _Copyright, 1906_ - BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY - (INCORPORATED) - - _All rights reserved_ - - - First Impression, July, 1906 - - - _COLONIAL PRESS - Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. - Boston, U. S. A._ - - - - -Preface - - -FOR more than five thousand years, the ancestors of our little Swedish -cousin have dwelt in the Scandinavian peninsula. No wonder she loves -the stories of the Vikings, the old legends, customs, and fête-days. -They are her priceless heritage from the days of long ago. - -The snow and glaciers on the extreme north cut off this long tongue of -land, so that it is as separate from the rest of Europe as an island. -In the olden days, almost every Swede tilled the soil and lived remote -from his neighbour. Villages were few, so that each family created -its own little world of work and pleasure. Even the children must be -very industrious and ingenious to help supply the needs of the family. -Whether she lives in the city or the country, every little Swedish girl -to-day is taught this same thrift and industry. - -Because the winter months, when the sun shows his face but a few hours -each day, are long and dreary, our northern relatives fairly revel in -their short summers. The whole nation lives out-of-doors and rejoices -in the merry sunshine. All day excursions, picnics, and water trips are -crowded into the brief season. - -The peasant still owns his little red cottage and the well-to-do farmer -and the nobleman live in their old homesteads. The cities continue to -be small in number and in size, but slowly, slowly, the great throbbing -life of the outside world is creeping in to steal away much of the -picturesqueness of this old nation. - -You will be surprised to learn in how many ways the life of our little -Swedish cousin is similar to that of American children. But she is such -a very hospitable and polite little maid, I am sure she will give you a -hearty welcome if you visit her and see her for yourself at work and at -play. - - - - -Contents - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. THE SKATING CARNIVAL 1 - II. THE KNITTING LESSON 14 - III. YULE-TIDE 29 - IV. AT GRANDMOTHER'S 45 - V. MIDSUMMER'S EVE 57 - VI. A VISIT TO SKANSEN 68 - VII. THROUGH THE GÖTA CANAL 80 - VIII. THE NAME-DAY 93 - - - - -List of Illustrations - - - PAGE - SIGRID _Frontispiece_ - BRITA AND HER FOOT-PUSHER 6 - "A SHEAF OF GRAIN IS FASTENED UP IN THE YARD - OF EVERY COUNTRY HOME" 38 - BAKING RYE BREAD AT GRANDMOTHER'S 52 - "IN A TWINKLING, THE CHILDREN . . . WERE DANCING - AROUND THE POLE" 62 - THE GÖTA CANAL 86 - - - - -Our Little Swedish Cousin - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE SKATING CARNIVAL - - -"SIGRID, Sigrid, hurry and get your skates. The ice is at last safe, -and mother says that we may go to the park with Miss Eklund, this -afternoon." - -Erik thrust his head through the nursery door to announce the good news -to his sister, who was poring over her lessons for the next day. - -"Oh!" cried the little girl as she quickly slipped out of her seat at -the long table, "I am so glad, for I thought I should never have a -chance to wear the new skates that father gave me on my birthday." - -In a trice, she had gathered up all her books, packed them neatly -away, and was off to put on her warm furs. She was a flaxen-haired -little maid, with very blue eyes, and plump rosy cheeks as round as an -apple, because she lived out-of-doors a great deal and romped with her -brothers. - -In just no time at all, she had put on her warm blue coat, lined with -gray squirrel, and a little cap to match, with the fur also on the -inside. She quickly fastened on her rubber overshoes, which had a -border of fur around the top and down the front. When she had found her -white woolen mittens with a quaint red and blue pattern knitted right -across the back, she was ready to join her brothers Erik and Anders. - -They were a jolly little party of merry-makers, for it was the first -skate of the season. Our Swedish cousins who live in the city may not -go skating whenever they like. They must wait till some wise person -appointed by the government says the ice is quite thick and firm. - -"I will beat you running down-stairs to the porter's door," called -Sigrid, who was bubbling over with good spirits. Away she flew, down -the long flight of stone steps, and stood dancing up and down on one -foot, waiting for the others. - -Sigrid's father was an officer in the king's army, and in the -winter-time, she and her big brother Erik and her little brother Anders -lived with their parents and their governess, Miss Eklund, in a large -apartment house in Stockholm. All the city people in Sweden live in -these houses, plain and substantial on the outside, but comfortable -inside, and not so very unlike American houses. In the centre of every -house is a great stone stairway, and at the entrance sits a doorkeeper -behind a tiny port-hole window. Every one who came to call on Sigrid's -mother, who was a very hospitable lady, and had many guests, must -ring the porter's bell. Then up would bob his head before the little -window to see if he should let them in. He peered through the window so -quickly after any one rang the bell that he always reminded Sigrid of a -Jack-in-the-box. - -"Gerda and Per are coming too," said little Anders as he walked by Miss -Eklund's side. He had just learned to skate, so that he felt quite -grown-up to be allowed to go at all. Everybody can skate in Sweden, so -that the children learn when they are very young. - -The merry group crossed the street to the left side, instead of to the -right as we should go, and started off briskly. Every few steps, Sigrid -would make a little bobbing courtesy as she met some older friend. Such -a funny little bow it was, made by quickly bending the knee without -stopping her walk. - -"Brita has such a beautiful new foot-pusher that her father has bought -her," exclaimed Sigrid. They had reached the open country near the -skating-park, and a couple of children rapidly skimmed past them on -these strange sleds. "Don't you think that I am old enough to have a -foot-pusher now, Miss Eklund?" - -Christmas was very near and the air was already full of secrets, so -Miss Eklund smiled to herself and replied, "Perhaps you might ask the -good father at home what he thinks about it." - -I don't believe that you know what a "foot-pusher" or "kicker" is. I -am sure I don't know why you should. Picture to yourself the framework -of an ordinary sled with two wooden rods fastened at right angles to -each runner. In the front part of this odd-looking object, Brita had -strapped her skates to a low narrow seat. She stood on one runner, -grasped these rods, and gave a quick little kick with the other foot, -which hastened the sled along at a lively pace. - -[Illustration: BRITA AND HER FOOT-PUSHER] - -Soon the gleaming sheet of ice spread out before them. Already it was -quite dark with people who were gliding merrily about. - -"Oh, Sigrid, the band has begun to blow," cried Erik gleefully, for a -Swedish ice carnival is never complete without a band "to blow," as -they say. - -"When I came home from school this noon," continued Erik, "I saw them -thrusting the little evergreen trees into the snow around the seats." - -Fir-trees and clumps of old beeches grew on the snow-clad hills about -the pond, but this wreath of evergreen trees on the rim of the ice, -was to shelter the older people who sat wrapped in furs to watch the -sport. - -"Those boys look like great white birds," said Sigrid, who was already -fastening on her skates. She stopped a minute to watch a group of three -boys who were skating with sails attached to their backs,--big white -sails shaped like a capital A with the top cut off. - -"Now for a race," cried Anders, and away they glided over the ice to -find Gerda and Per, who lived in the same big apartment house. - -Though it was only three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun had already -set, for you will remember that in Stockholm the winter days are very -short, and in the middle of the winter the lazy sun does not get up -till after nine o'clock in the morning. But the twilight lingers for -a long time, so that it does not get dark for a couple of hours after -sundown. - -All too soon, it was time to start for home, but none of the children -thought of teasing to stay longer, for Swedish children are taught to -obey without asking why. - -Already a couple of huge bonfires flamed up along the shore. Just -as they were leaving the edge of the pond, a dozen dark figures -with blazing torches passed them. So silently and swiftly did the -little procession twinkle by, that you might have thought them -will-o'-the-wisp lights. But the children knew they were expert -ski-runners, who were bound for the smooth hillside. - -The long white slope was just the best place for the ski-lobing, and -it was quite alive with people, for no winter sport is more wildly -exciting. Every one wore narrow strips of wood, sometimes twelve feet -long, turned up at the front, to the centre of which the foot was -firmly secured. At a given signal, they placed their feet together, and -down the hillside they shot, as though they had wings. - -"I never see ski-lobing without thinking of the olden times when the -fleet-footed peasants on skis were our only postmen," said Miss Eklund. - -"They can go over frozen rivers and hills as straight as a bird flies," -said Erik. - -"Yes," said Miss Eklund, "when we had no post, the only way a message -could be sent in winter, was by these ski-runners. The swiftest runner -in a hamlet would start for the nearest village. There he would give -the message to another runner to carry on to the next hamlet. It is -wonderful how soon they could arouse the whole country. - -"Instead of a letter, they carried staffs of wood. If this stick was -burned at one end, it meant that a forest was afire. But if a red rag -was attached, then the enemy had invaded the land and men were called -to arms." - -They were almost home now, and as they turned a corner a rough shed -appeared in the corner of a park. Several people were just coming -out. "Please, Miss Eklund, may we stop just a minute to see the ice -figures?" exclaimed all the children at once. - -"You must be quick or we shall be late to supper," replied Miss Eklund, -who always enjoyed these beautiful snow pictures as much as the -children. - -Inside the low shed, was the figure of a young mother, with a sad but -lovely face, who held a wee baby close in her arms. A fierce wind -seemed to swirl her draperies, and she was trying to shelter the tiny -creature at her breast, while a little boy was weeping bitterly against -her skirts. The group was made of snow and ice, yet so wonderfully -moulded were the figures, they looked like pure white marble. - -As they went out the door, Miss Eklund slipped a coin into a little box -which was placed there to receive money for the poor at Christmas. - -"Elsa and Karl must have been out in the country to see their -grandmother," said Sigrid, as a sleigh jingled past. The mother and -two children were cosily packed in front. The driver stood on a little -platform built in the rear. A white net with a wide border of tassels -covered the back of the horse and the dasher of the sleigh. - -"Father," burst out Erik, as he came in from the cold, "we did have the -best time. Little Anders can skate as well as the rest of us now." - -"Well," replied Major Lund, "you certainly look as though you had -enjoyed yourself. But somebody will lose his porridge if he is not -ready for supper soon." - -The family gathered about the table. Before they began, the father -turned to his oldest child and said, - -"Erik, I believe it is your turn to say grace to-night. Sigrid said it -yesterday." - -Every one stood while the boy solemnly bowed his head and said the -simple words. - -Oh, they were so hungry! Didn't their supper of rice porridge, flat -rye bread, pancakes and milk taste good! The three children sat very -quietly at the table and ate all the food that was served them. Not a -spoonful of porridge or a crumb of rye bread was left. - -Perhaps you never saw Swedish flat bread. Even the king's family eat -these big brown cakes, which are as much as a foot across, and look -like a thin, crisp cookie. They have a large hole in the centre. In the -farmers' houses, they run a long pole through this hole, and hang their -bread from the ceiling. - -When the meal was over, each child rose and shook hands with the father -and mother and said, "Tack för matin," or as we should say, "Thanks -for food." Then the parents thanked each other. So many thanks may seem -very strange to you, but it is an old and beautiful custom in Sweden. - -"I am glad my little girl had such a happy afternoon," said Mrs. Lund -as she sat embroidering with her daughter beside her. "But there will -be very little time for skating, during the next few days. Christmas -will be here before we know it, and you can help me about many small -things." - -"Mother, may I go with you to the Christmas market this year? You know -I was sick and could not go last year," said Sigrid. - -"I remember, Sigrid," replied her mother. "You must go to bed now, and -we will plan about it in the morning." - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE KNITTING LESSON - - -"WON'T mother be surprised, Miss Eklund, when she finds out how fast I -have learned to knit?" said Sigrid. - -"Yes, I am sure she will be much pleased," replied Miss Eklund. - -Sigrid was very soberly knitting a red worsted square, while her -governess sat near to help her when the little steel needles behaved -badly. It was Sigrid's first piece of knitting, so she was flushed and -eager over her task. - -The morning sun poured through the window on a pretty picture. -Against the heavy dark wooden chair, Sigrid's pale gold hair shone -and glistened. It was brushed back very tight and trim, for that is -the way Swedish mothers think little girls should wear their hair. -The two smooth braids were fastened with a broad blue ribbon. Over -her plain dark blue woolen dress, she wore a blue and white checked -gingham apron. Except for the aprons which she always wore, Sigrid's -dresses were much like those of her little American cousin, only they -were very plain and simple. She did not have any rings, or bracelets or -necklaces. That was not because she did not love the pretty trinkets. -Oh, no. But she must wait till she is older. - -The nursery where they were sitting was a large comfortable room with -a huge porcelain stove which filled all one corner of the room and -reached way to the ceiling. It was made of shiny green tiles, the -colour of the walls of the room, and down in the front were two large -brass doors, behind which was the fire. This was the only kind of -stove that Sigrid had ever seen, so she never thought that it was queer. - -I must not forget to tell you about the odd decoration of the nursery -windows. After the fashion of all Swedish windows, they swung out -from the middle like doors. When the cold winter months came, on went -double windows. Though Sigrid was the healthiest child in the world, -she never knew what it was like to open a window in winter and let the -fresh, pure air blow in, for all around the inside of the frame were -neatly pasted narrow strips of paper. You buy these strips at the store -with mucilage on the back like a postage stamp. In the little narrow -space between the two windows, Sigrid's mother had planted bright green -mosses and gray lichens with tiny red cups. A little wooden house and -several painted wooden men and women were placed in this miniature -park, that kept green all winter. Sigrid liked her window better than -any in the house, for all the others had only the mosses and coloured -berries. - -"Before many months, I believe you will be able to knit a pair of -stockings," said Miss Eklund, as she watched her industrious pupil. - -"Did you have to make all your stockings when you were a little girl?" -said Sigrid. - -"Yes, indeed. I was smaller than you are when I began to learn to knit, -for my father was a poor farmer and there was a large family of us. The -first thing I ever made was a cozy for a coffee-urn, just as you are -doing," said Miss Eklund. - -"Oh, tell me what you used to do when you were a little girl. Did you -learn your lessons at home as Anders and I do?" asked Sigrid. - -"It was very different when I was your age, for we lived way out in -the country in a big red farmhouse, and our nearest neighbour was two -miles away. We lived in the far north, so that when the winter days -were only a few hours long, I could not go to school, but I learned -a great deal at home. During the long evenings, father and my big -brothers could not see to work on the farm or cut timber, so we would -all sit together in the living-room with its huge open fire. Father -made mother's chairs or a cradle for the baby, or whittled tools for -the farm. Brother Olaf carved wooden platters and spoons with wonderful -animals and figures. Then in the spring-time he would sell these things -in the city markets. - -"Mother used to spin and weave our warm clothes, and she taught me how -to do all these things, besides sewing and embroidering. Sometimes, -father would tell us the same old sagas that you children love to hear." - -"Did you have to study catechism, too?" Sigrid's rosy face looked -quite solemn at the thought, for every day she had to learn a portion -of the catechism, and also Bible history. She loved the stories of -David and Saul and Daniel in the lions' den, but the catechism! Oh, -that was very, very hard for a little girl! - -"All little Swedish girls must learn their catechism, Sigrid, and my -father was even more strict than your good parents," replied Miss -Eklund. - -"Elsa's big sister, who went to England last year, says that English -children do not have to learn to knit and sew and embroider just as -they learn their geography and spelling. Why do I have to learn to do -these things, when my father could buy them for me?" asked Sigrid. - -Just then, Sigrid dropped a stitch in her knitting, and had to unravel -two rows before Miss Eklund could reply. - -"Even though your mother lived in a beautiful house and her father was -very rich, she also learned to knit and sew and crochet. You must know -how to do these things so you will be able to take care of your own -home when you grow up. But it is time for dinner now and I hear your -mother's callers going. Make haste and put your knitting away lest she -see her present." - -Every morning, Sigrid had an early breakfast with her brother Erik, -who went to a private school. He was studying very hard to go to the -university at Upsala. Then she must study her lessons and learn many of -the same things which her governess had been taught in the long winter -months on the farm. And after that came her gymnastic exercises every -day, as much a lesson as her reading and spelling. - -"Erik," called Sigrid, after dinner, as her brother walked past the -nursery. Though he was only three years older than his sister, he was -a tall, sturdy boy, and Sigrid felt very proud of him. She beckoned him -to a quiet corner where they could whisper unobserved. - -"I have a surprise for mother. Miss Eklund has taught me to knit, and -mother does not know yet. If I can get it finished, it is going to be a -cozy for Christmas." - -"That's fine," said Erik, "but you wait till I show you something which -I learned to make in my sloyd class at school." Erik glanced around -cautiously. Nobody was in sight, so he drew a carved tray from his -school-bag. - -"Oh, it's beautiful!" and Sigrid clapped her hands with glee. "How -could you make it? Why, it is just like an old Viking ship with the -dragon's head peering at you from the prow. And you have made the sides -like the scales of some strange monster. Mother will be so delighted. - -"It must be splendid to be a big boy and go to your school," continued -Sigrid. "You do such interesting things. I wish that I could go on a -school journey with my teacher for two or three days and see some of -our wonderful old castles, as you do. Mother says perhaps Miss Eklund -and I may go with her and father when they go through the Göta Canal -to Göteborg, next summer, to visit Aunt Frederika. That will be better -than a school journey." - -"But, Sigrid, there are many wonderful things to see right here in our -own beautiful Stockholm," said Erik. "Many school-children come here -every spring with their teachers." - -"Sometime you promised you would tell me an old saga about Stockholm -before there was any city here," said Sigrid. - -"Oh, you mean about King Agne," said Erik. "Once father pointed out to -me the place where he was supposed to have landed with his ships, so I -always like that story." - -"Yes, yes, that is the one. Do tell me," said Sigrid. - -Erik loved to tell his little sister these stories that he had often -heard from his mother and father, so he did not need to be urged. - -"Many hundred years ago, when the bold Vikings sailed out from our -harbours and conquered far and wide, King Agne ruled in Upsala. Where -our city is to-day, was only a group of green wooded islands with a few -huts. Late in the summer, King Agne came sailing in from the Baltic, -and dropped anchor near the large island, where the king's palace is -to-day." - -"Why, I can see that from mother's window," said Sigrid. - -"Yes, we are so high up from the water, we can easily see the island. -These old Viking kings often went on voyages of conquest along our -shores. Way off to the east, King Agne had warred against King Froste -of Finland and slain him. Then the victor plundered the country and -sailed over here with much booty. He had taken captive the king's -beautiful daughter Skialf, his son Loge, and many others. - -"King Agne was exultant over his victory and he wanted to make the -Princess Skialf his bride. So he said to his henchmen: - -"'Let a spacious tent be erected beneath that fine oak-tree on yonder -tongue of land. Then let my swiftest runners carry staffs of invitation -to all the chieftains round about and bid them gather at a royal feast -to celebrate the wedding of King Agne and the fair Princess Skialf. -Command them that they bring a goodly store of meat and drink for the -feast.'" - -"Miss Eklund told us about the messengers' staffs when we went -skating, so I know about them," interrupted Sigrid. - -"These sticks were burned at one end, with a noose at the other end. -This was a very plain way of telling the chieftains that they would be -hanged and their houses burned, if they neglected to send the message -on to the next chief. - -"So a large number gathered in the huge tent which looked out on the -Baltic, where the dragon-prowed ships lay at anchor. - -"All this time the poor princess was very unhappy. But she dared not -let the king know her fears. She thought and thought how she could -escape becoming his bride. Finally a plan grew in her mind and she said -to the king: - -"'O brave and generous king, I beseech you that, before the royal -wedding feast, you hold a funeral banquet in honour of my noble sire. -My lord, may you give ear to this great favour which a captive maiden -begs for her father.' - -"The princess prayed so piteously that the heart of the old Viking was -melted, and he again commanded: - -"'Let the two feasts for my slain enemy and for my wedding be -celebrated at the same time.' - -"The goodly company gathered around the royal board, and fell to eating -and drinking with great zest. The grave-ale was handed around in a huge -drinking-horn, and the lusty warriors drank so long and so deep that -soon they became boisterous and began to fight among themselves. - -"Now the king wore about his neck a long and massive chain of gold. It -was so long that it hung way down on his chest. Many other Viking kings -had worn this royal treasure. - -"In the midst of the carousal, the princess whispered to the king: - -"'My lord, have a care for your beautiful gold necklace, lest you lose -it during the revels.' - -"'Ah, my lovely bride, you are right. What a prudent and careful wife -you will make!' said the king, as he coiled the chain several times -around his neck. - -"Ere long, the fiery-hearted warriors were so drunk with ale that sleep -overcame them, and one by one they fell from their places at the table. -As soon as they were soundly slumbering, the princess rose from her -place by the king's side. She and the other captives had only pretended -to drink. She fastened a ship's rope to the coil of gold about the -king's neck and then handed the rope to her brother, who was outside. - -"Whist! the men threw the rope over the branch of the huge oak. Up went -the tent into the air, and the king was strangled with his own golden -chain." - -"What a horrible story!" said Sigrid with a shudder. "What became of -the princess?" - -"Oh, she and the other captives hastened away to the ships and sailed -back to Finland. When the Vikings awoke from their heavy sleep, they -were wild with rage. But there was nothing to do but to bury the king -beneath a great mound of earth, which the waves long since washed away." - -"Ugh! I am glad I did not live in those cruel days, aren't you, Erik?" - -But Erik shook his head and laughed. "Just think what fun it would be -to sail away in a brave ship, out on the wild ocean where no man had -ever been before. Those old Vikings were as strong as giants and feared -nothing in the world. I must finish studying my lessons now, but I'll -tell you another tale some other time." - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -YULE-TIDE - - -"I'LL bring you a gingerbread goat," said Sigrid to little Anders as -she started for the Christmas market with her mother. - -"Next year you shall go too, my son," said Mrs. Lund. She kissed the -little lad, who was trying to look brave because he must stay at home. -From the nursery window, he watched them as far as he could see down -the long avenue. Behind Sigrid and her mother, a cheery-faced housemaid -followed at a respectful distance. She carried a huge market-basket. - -"Just think, mother. There are only three days before Christmas. Won't -it be jolly to see grandma and Aunt Frederika and all the cousins?" -said Sigrid, who was dancing along beside her mother. - -"Yes, indeed. They will all be here by to-morrow night," replied the -mother. - -"What crowds of people are on the street," said the child, as they -wound their way through the good-natured throngs. - -"Most of them are bound for the same place that we are," laughed Mrs. -Lund, who was rosy-cheeked and flaxen-haired like Sigrid. - -"When we come to the big open space at the top of this hill, where all -the booths are, you must keep very close to my side, for you might -easily lose me." - -"I never saw so many little booths before," said Sigrid. "I like their -white roofs, for they look like snow. Do they always have the Christmas -market on this hilltop?" - -"Yes, for hundreds of years the peasants have been allowed to build -their shelters here and sell their Christmas wares. In some places, -for months, the whole family has been carving, knitting, weaving, and -sewing all these things that we shall see as we walk along," replied -Mrs. Lund. - -"I see a booth with lots of little gingerbread pigs and goats. May I -buy one for Anders, over there?" asked Sigrid. - -"In a minute. But first I must get some of old Brita's knitted caps for -some poor children I know." - -They halted in front of one of these booths, which have a few rough -boards for a roof and a narrow counter. Here was an old peasant woman, -so wrapped up in warm clothes that you could scarcely see her pleasant, -wrinkled face. A black shawl was tied over her head, and a second -dark woolen shawl was crossed over her breast and tied behind. Her -petticoats were so heavily wadded that you wondered how she ever walked -at all. - -"Doesn't she look funny, mother?" whispered Sigrid, who was clinging -to her mother's hand. - -"Speak low, child," said Mrs. Lund. "I would not have you hurt the old -creature's feelings. It is bitter cold standing here all day. She needs -all her warm clothes. As long ago as when I was a child, she came here -to sell these garments that she knits and crochets all summer. - -"I think that must be King Oscar's sleigh which has just come up the -hill," said Sigrid as they turned away from Brita's booth. - -"Sure enough. He is making his annual visit to the Christmas market. -Let us stand here and watch him for a minute." - -Just then the big Christmas crowd burst into a shout: "Long live King -Oscar!" The white-haired old gentleman, who is so tall and stately that -you would notice him anywhere, bowed graciously to his people. - -"Would he ask me what I wanted for Christmas, if I stood near him?" -asked Sigrid. - -"No, he asks only the poor little children who don't look as though -they would have a tree at home," replied Mrs. Lund. "Ah, he is talking -to that ragged little fellow who watched us buy the accordion for Karl. -By and by, his servant will buy a lot of things and give them to the -children. He is a kind-hearted man as well as a good king." - -"Hear all those birds singing!" exclaimed the child. - -"Listen again and see if you cannot tell where they are," said Mrs. -Lund. - -"Why, I believe they are cuckoo whistles, only I never heard so many -all at once," cried Sigrid. - -"Suppose we go over and buy two or three," said Mrs. Lund. They -threaded their way to the booth where these cheap little clay birds -were so popular. - -The buxom maid was loaded with bundles long before Sigrid wanted to go -home. - -For the next two days, there was a great stir all over the house. -Everything that could be washed and scoured was made clean and radiant. -All the family were making presents. Oh, such mystery everywhere! - -"There, Miss Eklund," said Sigrid. "I have finished the cozy. Now -I want some more red sealing-wax. I have helped Anders wrap up his -presents, and mine are almost ready." - -"Have you fastened on your rhymes?" asked Miss Eklund. - -"All except the one for Aunt Frederika's present. I cannot seem to -think of a verse for her," was the reply. - -"You must be sure and have a pretty verse for your dear aunt, who has -come way from Göteborg. Perhaps I can help you later." - -Miss Eklund left her little charge labouring with pencil and paper. -Sigrid would never think her Christmas gifts complete without a verse -for each one. - -"Here come father and Erik with the tree," shouted Anders. - -"Isn't this a beauty?" inquired Erik, as he and his father rested for a -minute. - -"Did you get it in the Christmas market, father? Mother and I saw a -whole forest of little Christmas trees there," said Sigrid. - -"Yes," replied Major Lund. "I wanted to take you children out in the -country and cut it down myself. Sometime, when we have Christmas at -grandmother's, that's what we will do. Then you all shall help choose -the tree before I cut it. - -"No one must go into the parlour now," he continued, as he carried -the tree through the doorway. "Mind you, not one peep till to-morrow -night." He shook his finger playfully at the children. - -"I always like 'Dipping Day,'" said Sigrid, the day before Christmas, -to her brother Erik. "It is such fun to eat in the kitchen." - -She was waiting for her turn to dip the piece of black bread on her -plate, into the kettle of sizzling hot fat. All the family, the -relatives who had come to spend the holidays and the servants, stood -about in the clean kitchen, eating the noonday meal. The walls fairly -gleamed with copper and brass pans and kettles. Even the brick oven had -a fresh coat of whitewash, in honour of the day. Every other little -Swedish girl over the land was eating her dinner in the kitchen on that -day, just as Sigrid was doing. - -In the centre of the room, a long table was loaded with good things to -eat. And here was the big kettle in which the Christmas ham and other -meats had been cooked. - -Later in the afternoon, when the children returned from a brisk walk -in the park, they gathered in the nursery for afternoon coffee. How -Sigrid loved this coffee-drinking on Christmas Eve! All the grown-up -people in Sweden drink a great deal of coffee. But Sigrid was seldom -allowed to have it except on a few holidays. - -The children could hear the pleasant chatter of the older people, whose -coffee was served in the parlour. But they knew what was waiting for -them in the nursery. - -On the little table there, a plate was prepared for each child with a -pyramid of different kinds of bread. Some of these rolls were in such -odd shapes that I am sure you would not call them bread at all. There -was black bread, white bread, saffron-coloured bread, some shaped -like little men and others like pigs and goats. Of course there were -gingerbread men, and even chocolate bread figures. - -Each little mound had candy and nuts tucked away in the corners. The -kind of candy which Sigrid liked best was done up in a small package -with bright paper. Pictures and mottoes were pasted on the outside. - -[Illustration: "A SHEAF OF GRAIN IS FASTENED UP IN THE YARD OF EVERY -COUNTRY HOME"] - -I am afraid you will be getting as impatient for the Christmas tree as -Sigrid. But a Swedish Christmas is the most joyous season of the year. -And the merrymaking often lasts three weeks. Even the birds are not -forgotten, for a sheaf of grain is fastened up in the yard of every -country home for their Christmas dinner. - -At last, the folding doors of the parlour were opened by invisible -hands. There stood the tree ablaze with candles and ornaments, but no -presents. For a moment every one was silent for the wonder of it. - -Mrs. Lund began to sing the old carol, "Now the Christmas Has Come," -and the others joined in. - -After Major Lund had read the story of the Babe in the Manger, the -children caught hold of hands and danced about the tree. Round and -round they spun. In a wink, the circle broke and the long line of young -people went dancing in and out through the rooms of the house. - -"Come and join us, father," they shouted. "Come, Aunt Frederika and -mother." Soon every one was drawn into the chain, even the servants in -the kitchen. - -When they were out of breath with laughing, singing, and dancing, they -sat round a large table near the tree. - -"What is all that noise about?" exclaimed Major Lund. He pretended to -be surprised. "Erik, there seems to be a great to-do outside the door. -Open it and see what is wanted." - -Erik opened it a crack. In ran a little old man with a long white -beard. He wore a rough gray jacket, knee-breeches, and a tall, pointed -red cap. - -"The Tomt, the Tomt," cried Sigrid. - -"Is there any naughty child here, who doesn't deserve a present?" -asked the gnome. He hopped about and made a great deal of noise for a -small person. - -Anders hid behind his mother's skirt. He was always a little afraid of -Tomt, who is much like our Santa Claus. - -"No, we haven't any naughty children," replied the father. - -"Then I shall leave some presents from my packet," cried Tomt. He -darted out into the hall and came back slowly tugging some large -packages. Then he vanished as quickly as he had come. - -"Now, Erik, you may bring the baskets and help me give out the -presents," said Major Lund. - -Beneath the low boughs of the fir-tree were several large baskets, -heaped with presents. Major Lund read aloud the verse on each neat -package before Erik passed it. Oh, such a heap of presents for each -and all! It was quite late in the evening before all the bundles were -opened. What a hand-shaking and kissing there was! - -"I thought that looked like a foot-pusher when Tomt brought it in," -said Sigrid, who shone with happiness over her new treasure. - -"How proud I am of my children," said Mrs. Lund, as Sigrid and Erik -were thanking her for their gifts. "I am sure I had no idea you could -knit so well. I shall use the cozy for afternoon coffee to-morrow. And -the Viking ship tray is really beautiful, Erik." - -Little children should have been abed and asleep when the family -finally sat down to their supper. But it was Christmas Eve, and -nobody minded. Among all the good things that Sigrid ate that night, -I must tell you about two dishes that every Swedish girl eats for her -Christmas supper,--lut-fisk and rice porridge. The big bowl of porridge -had a crisscrossing of powdered cinnamon over the top. Inside was one -almond. The person who found it would be the next one in the family to -be married. - -For weeks, the Christmas lut-fisk--a kind of fish--had soaked in lye. -Then it was cooked a long time. Whenever Sigrid lifted a portion on her -fork, it fell apart in delicate flakes that were quite transparent. - -"We must not forget to put out a dish of porridge and milk for Tomt -when he comes back in the night," said Erik, as the children were -getting ready for bed. - -"I'll bring Anders' little chair from the nursery, because it is so low -Tomt can reach up to it," said Sigrid. "If I put it beside the kitchen -door, I am sure he will see it when he comes in." - -Early the next morning,--oh, very, very early,--Anders crept -down-stairs to see if Tomt had been there. - -"He drank all the milk and ate most of the porridge," cried Anders, in -great excitement. Then he ran back to let Miss Eklund finish dressing -him. - -"It seems more like night than morning," exclaimed Erik. It was not six -o'clock, but the children were starting for church. Indeed, it could -not have been blacker at midnight. But in almost every window that -they passed two candles burned brightly. When they returned for their -breakfast, after the joyous Christmas service, the sun had not yet -risen. - -For days the festivities continued. - -"Please, mother, may we keep the tree till Knut's Day?" begged Anders -on New Year's afternoon. The candles had been relighted on the tree for -a party for some poor children. The last happy child had gone home, -loaded with goodies. - -Mrs. Lund consented. But even Knut's Day, the thirteenth of January, -came all too soon. Then the children helped to "rob the tree," as the -Swedes say when they take off its pretty trinkets. They looked very -solemn as one of the maids carried the tree into the back-yard. - -"Now Christmas is really over," mourned Erik, "and school begins -to-morrow." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -AT GRANDMOTHER'S - - -"PERA, you do remember me, don't you? Oh, you nice old dog!" Anders -threw his arms around the neck of a small shaggy yellow dog that was -wriggling almost out of his skin with joy. You could not have told -which was the happier, the dog or the boy. - -"Just think! I haven't seen you for six months, Pera!" The two -playmates romped across grandmother's lawn to the porch, where Erik was -sitting on the steps with a tennis racket, waiting for his father. - -"Sigrid has been hunting everywhere for you, Anders," said Erik. - -"Here you are," exclaimed Sigrid a minute later, as she spied Anders. -"Larsson says there is a baby calf over in the barn, and he will show -it to us if we will go now." - -Anders jumped up quickly, and followed by the dog, the children ran -toward the group of barns and stables, at some distance from the house. - -"Look at all those wild strawberries in this field," said Anders. - -"I had forgotten that it was time for them. I must ask grandmother if -we can pick all we want," said Sigrid. - -"I want to see father's new sailboat. Have you been down to the lake -yet?" asked Anders. - -"No," said Sigrid. "Let's go around and see everything. Mother says we -shall stay all summer, because poor grandmother is so old and feeble -she doesn't like to leave her. Larsson, Larsson, where are you?" - -The old farmer, who had taken care of the grounds and farm for many -years, hobbled out to the barn door to welcome the children and to -show them the new calf, the little pigs, and the chickens. - -No place in the world is quite so interesting as grandmother's old -house, whether you are a Swedish or an American girl. - -Sigrid's grandmother lived in a fine old house on a hilltop which -overlooked Lake Mälar. It was only a short journey of two or three -hours from Stockholm, yet it was quite out in the country, several -miles from any village. As you drove through the avenue of huge -beech-trees, you would be curious to know why so many small, low-lying -buildings were grouped near the house. They were placed to form three -sides of a square, after the fashion of many Swedish country places. - -Off in the distance were the barns, which the children visited, and -another group of red cottages, where the farm-helpers and their -families lived. These people lived in a little world by themselves, -with everything they needed right on the grounds. If Mrs. Lund wished -fish for dinner, she could not send a maid to market to buy a live fish -from a tank of water, as she did in Stockholm. Instead, one of the -servants caught the fish in the lake, or she ordered smoked fish from -the storehouse. - -On each side of the family residence were houses for the servants. Some -of the small separate sheds were used for washing, baking, tools, and -provisions. But you would enjoy a peep into some of these buildings -with the children. - -The new sailboat was anchored at the wharf near the bath-house. "Father -has promised to teach Erik how to sail this summer," said Sigrid. They -were clinging to the wharf railing, so that they could get a glimpse of -the little cabin, with its two bunks and red cushions. "I am glad you -learned to swim last summer, for now we can have such sport when Karin -and Elsa get here." - -Sigrid had learned to swim when she was very small. Look in your -geography and you will see that almost one-tenth of the whole surface -of Sweden is covered with lakes and rivers. There is water, water -everywhere. Just fancy how miserable a Swedish mother would be if her -little daughter could not swim! - -The door of the storehouse stood open when the children climbed the -hill from the lake, so they slipped in after Svea. On the outside, it -was just a mound of grassy earth, with a door cut in the grass, but no -windows. - -"Isn't it cool in here!" exclaimed Anders. "Svea, aren't you going to -skim the milk?" - -"Later in the day, Anders," said the maid, who held her lantern up over -her head while she hunted for the sausages. - -From above, hung long strings of sausages, smoked hams, and fish. In -the dim light of the lantern, the children could see the big round -cheeses and the bins of potatoes. The pans of milk were set to cool in -another room of this queer storehouse. - -"I wish you would give us some lingon jam," said Sigrid. "The kind we -had last year, Svea." - -"Wait till I open a new jar. Now, run ahead, for I want to lock the -door," replied Svea. She had not forgotten how the children had teased -her the summer before for their favourite jam of red Swedish berries. - -"Next week will be the time for washing. Perhaps mother will let us -ride down to the lake when the clothes are carried there," said Sigrid. -She tried to lift herself up on the window-sill to look into the -wash-house, where the huge copper kettle was ready to boil the clothes, -but she was not tall enough. - -"Never mind," she said. "We can get into the bake-house, I am sure. -Sometime, Svea says, I may help her bake bread. It must be almost time -now, for she hasn't made any for several months." - -In the city, Sigrid's mother bought her rye bread from a baker, but -grandmother had her bread baked three or four times a year in this -little house. Most of the room was filled by the huge stone fireplace, -which was heated to a high temperature. Then the coals were raked off -and the rye bread cooked on the hot stones. - -"What does she do with this flat round piece of wood with a short -handle?" asked Anders, who was exploring. - -"Oh," said Sigrid, "it is a great lark to watch her. She rolls out the -batter quite thin, and slips that wooden shovel beneath each cake. Then -she takes this other wooden spade with a long handle, shakes the cake -from the little spade to that one, and thrusts it on the hot stones. -Svea does it very quickly, but she laughed when I asked if it was hard, -so I don't believe it is as easy as it looks." - -[Illustration: BAKING RYE BREAD AT GRANDMOTHER'S] - -"Don't you think it is time for dinner? I am so hungry," said Anders. - -"Guess what we are going to have to-day," said Sigrid. - -"Pancakes and jelly," Anders replied promptly. - -"No, sour milk, with powdered ginger on top." - -"Let's run, then," said Anders, "because I don't want to be late and -have father say I cannot have any." - -But they arrived in season and ate their full share of the white curds, -which they always enjoyed. - -Inside of the old house, you would be amazed at the size of the rooms. -Though they were simply furnished, there was much choice old carved -furniture, lovely plants, and vines, so that the rooms were very -cheery. The floors were scrubbed beautifully clean and covered with -rugs. Everywhere was exquisite order and neatness. - -As in the city home, the children had a large nursery, where they -always played during the little time they were indoors. A trapeze hung -between the nursery and an adjoining room; a large cushion rested -beneath. On rainy days, the children hung from this indoor swing and -climbed the ropes like young monkeys. - -"One, two, three, four, five," counted Sigrid, as she sat on the porch -a few days after their arrival. "Why, are all those old women going to -help with the washing to-morrow, mother?" - -"Yes; we shall need them all. Larsson has arranged for them to sleep -at some of the servants' houses, so they will be ready to begin very -early in the morning." - -The queer procession of old women, with coloured kerchiefs tied over -their heads, slowly filed down the road. Long before the children were -awake the next morning, a fire had been lighted in the wash-house -beneath the monster kettle, and the women were at work. - -Wasn't that a lively week, though! Sigrid's mother was an excellent -housekeeper, but she never had all the clothes and linen of the family -washed but three times a year! Such scores and scores of garments went -into that copper kettle--enough to clothe a whole village. Even if -her family had been quite poor, Sigrid would still have had many more -dresses and aprons than her American cousin. - -By the time the oxen were harnessed to a long, low wagon with latticed -sides, Sigrid and Anders were ready to climb in and ride to the lake -with the old women and the tubs of clothes which had boiled in the -kettle. - -As soon as they arrived at a clean, sandy beach near the wharf, the -children hopped out of the wagon. - -"Let's sit in the rowboat at the end of the wharf," said Anders. "Then -we can play we are pirates and watch the women on the shore." - -The washerwomen took off their shoes and stockings, pinned up their -skirts, and waded into the water. Then there was such a splashing and -rinsing of clothes, and bobbing of kerchiefed heads, and swinging of -long arms! - -"They are bad children. We must beat them very hard," one wrinkled old -woman explained to Anders. She had carried her pile of dripping clothes -from the water's edge to a big stone, where she pounded them with a -flat wooden beater. "But they will be as white as a lily when I am -done." - -Later all the garden bushes were spread with garments. You needed only -to half-close your eyes to fancy a summer snow-squall had whitened the -green grass over a large area. - -"Everything in the house will be fresh and sweet for Midsummer's Day," -sighed Mrs. Lund, when the last washerwoman had returned to the country -district where she lived. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -MIDSUMMER'S EVE - - -"IT looks more like the mast of one of the big ships in the harbour -than anything else," said Erik. He and his father were standing beside -the huge May-pole which lay flat on the green grass in grandmother's -front lawn. Near by several men were hammering away on a large wooden -platform, in the centre of which the pole was to be hoisted. - -"Yes, my son, I have often thought so. This pole is not more than fifty -feet high. I have seen them twice as tall. But if we are going to cover -all these cross-bars with birch boughs and wreaths, we must hitch up -old Maja and drive into the woods soon." - -"Indeed, you must," said Mrs. Lund, as she hurried across the lawn -with a huge wreath of daisies over her arm and a basket of nodding -bluebells. "You will find us under that clump of beeches, making our -wreaths, when you return. Oh! there is plenty for every one to do -before the pole is trimmed for to-night." - -"Mother, you do make wreaths so fast," said Sigrid. She was sitting -in the midst of a group of friends and relatives, who had gathered at -grandmother's to celebrate Midsummer's Eve and the day following. As -she talked, she sorted daisies, or "priests'-ruffs," as she called -them, into bunches for her mother. - -"Just hand me a clump of those white daisies, so I can tie their long -stems to this rope, and you will soon see how I do it," said Mrs. Lund. - -"To-night will be the longest of the whole year," said Miss Eklund, -while her fingers plaited birch leaves. "How I love these long days of -sunshine! Why, last night I read in my room without a lamp till almost -eleven o'clock!" - -"Please tell Karin and me about how you made pancakes on Midsummer's -Eve when you were a little girl, Miss Eklund," begged Sigrid, who, with -her cousin, was sitting near the governess. - -"Oh! the young girls out in the country where I used to live will have -a merry time of it to-night. I wonder if they still make pancakes. I -was about sixteen years old the night I tried it with two other girls, -for the charm would not work unless there were three. Together we took -the bowl from the cupboard, beat the eggs, and added the flour. All -three of us stirred it at once and threw in the salt at the same time. -Of course, we got in too much salt. Not one of us must speak or laugh -the whole time. That was the hardest of all. Dear me, I hadn't thought -of that night for years." Miss Eklund delayed her tale to laugh as -heartily as if she was making up for lost time. - -"After we had poured out the batter and cooked it, each of us ate a -third of the very salt cake. But we couldn't drink before we went to -bed. During our dreams, the older girls told us that a young man would -appear to each of us and offer us a glass of water." - -Karin interrupted the story by exclaiming, "What is that coming down -the road? I believe it is the boys with our green boughs. Old Maja -doesn't look as though he liked those branches thrust behind his ears. -Why, the wagon is all one bower of birch-trees!" - -As the wagon drove into the yard, Erik spied his newly-arrived cousin -and sung out: - - "There once was little Karin, - Who at the royal hall - Among the handmaids serving - The fairest was of all. - - "Then spoke the King, 'Fair Karin, - Wilt thou my sweetheart be? - My horse and golden saddle - I'll straightway give to thee.'" - -The children all laughed merrily at the new turn to the familiar old -song. - -"How pretty we shall make the May-pole!" exclaimed Sigrid. - -She called it a "May-pole," though it was the middle of June. The -Swedish word for "May" means green leaf. And a "green-leaf pole" it -certainly was when they had draped the cross-bars with leaves and -garlands and added scores of the yellow and blue flags of Sweden. - -Toward the close of the afternoon, the pole in its gala-dress was swung -into place by means of huge ropes. Then a great shout went up from the -little crowd of relatives and working people who lived on the grounds. - -"Strike up a dance, Per," cried Major Lund to the fiddler. In a -twinkling, the children had caught hold of hands and were dancing -around the pole. Old and young, servants and all, shared in the -merrymaking. - -[Illustration: "IN A TWINKLING, THE CHILDREN ... WERE DANCING AROUND -THE POLE"] - -As Sigrid ran about in a gay costume, you would scarcely have -recognized her. Instead of her plain city clothes, she wore a pretty -peasant dress. Many fashionable Swedish mammas let their children wear -this dress on holidays in the country. Over her dark blue woolen skirt, -Sigrid wore a bright apron, striped in red, blue, yellow, black, and -white. The waist was white, with a red silk bodice and shoulder-straps. -An embroidered kerchief was folded quaintly about her throat. On her -yellow braids rested a tall pointed blue cap, with red pipings and -tassels in back. Several other little girls at the dance wore similar -dresses. - -"Erik," said Sigrid, quite late in the evening, as the fiddler stopped -to tune up for the next dance, "several times to-night I have seen -some one over by the well-sweep. I thought perhaps he was one of the -farmers' children. But he hides there as though he was afraid to come -out." - -"Suppose we go over and speak to him," said Erik. - -When they reached the well-sweep, no one was there. - -"I know that I saw him only a minute ago. There, I think he is behind -that elm-tree. You run this side and I will go the other," said Sigrid. - -All escape was cut off this time, and Erik dragged the cowering child -from his hiding-place. - -"If he isn't a chimney-sweep!" exclaimed Erik when he saw the boy away -from the shadow of the tree. - -"You needn't be afraid of us, little boy," said Sigrid, kindly. "You -can't help it because you have to go down into the chimneys and your -face is always black with soot. Don't you want something to eat?" - -The sooty youngster grinned and shifted his coil of rope from one -shoulder to the other. He managed to murmur, "Thank you." Sigrid ran -ahead to the kitchen to get some salt herring, rye bread, and coffee. -The little sweep left his long broom and rope on the grass, and began -to eat greedily. - -"Aren't you ever afraid to go down inside of a pitch-black chimney?" -asked Sigrid. Her interest in the dances had waned for a few minutes, -for she had never talked with one of these forlorn little creatures -before. - -The boy shook his head in reply. He was too busy with his salt herring -to waste any words. - -"I am going to ask mother if she will let him stay here all night," -said Sigrid. She did not know that this outcast, who was so shy with -her, could take very good care of himself. All summer, he wandered -through the country, cleaning chimneys. At night, he slept in strange -barns or haymows and was very happy and comfortable. - -Mrs. Lund talked to the lad and told him that he could spend the night -in one of the outhouses. The next day was a holiday and no one would -want a chimney swept. - -Sigrid's tender heart was at ease again, and she returned to the -dancers. The older people stayed up far into the bright night, but the -children soon went to bed. From her chamber window, Sigrid could see -the huge bonfires on the hillsides far away. The witches are abroad on -Midsummer's Eve, and these fires drive them away. - -Every one goes to church on Midsummer's Day, which is also called St. -John's Day. So the next morning, the Lund family drove several miles to -a little country church. Before they started, Sigrid went to find the -sweep. But the little wanderer had started on his travels again. - -"Larsson says all the school-children will sing carols, this morning," -said Mrs. Lund. "I am sure we shall have a beautiful service." - -As they drove along the road, they met many country people on their way -to church. The women all carried their hymn-books wrapped neatly in a -silk handkerchief. - -"Why do the men all sit on one side and the women on the other?" -whispered Anders. His family sat in a little gallery of the church. -Down below, the altar and the square box pews with doors were banked -with lilacs. - -"Hush, dear," replied his mother. "You must remember the country people -are used to it, so it is not strange to them." - -The ride home and the noonday meal seemed endless. As soon as ever -they had thanked their parents for their food, the children were -out-of-doors again. A big wagon, trimmed with birches and filled with -hay, was ready at the door. Midsummer's Day without a picnic in the -woods is almost as bad as Christmas without presents. - -"Don't forget the nets for the crayfish, Erik," said Major Lund, who -was stowing away luncheon baskets in the wagon. - -"They are in all right, father. The big kettle in which to boil them -and the coffee-pot are under the seat," said Erik. - -Even a plain every-day picnic, where you eat sandwiches and cakes under -a tree, is fun. But on this picnic, the children were going to help -catch crayfish, which look like small lobsters. Then they were planning -to cook them over a camp-fire. - -The last child nestled into the hay and they were off. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -A VISIT TO SKANSEN - - -"I WANT to see the Lapps and the reindeer. Aren't we almost there?" -said Anders to his mother. - -"Yes, little son, we are nearly at the top of the hill," replied Mrs. -Lund. - -The Lund family were on their way to Skansen, a famous park near -Stockholm. Soon the car stopped and every one scrambled out. - -"We are so high up that we can see the harbour," said Erik, as he -trudged along beside his sister with one of the luncheon baskets -hung over his arm. At their feet lay the city of islands with its -ribbon-like canals of blue. Away on the horizon, the water of the bay -sparkled in the sun, like a huge amethyst. The children halted a -minute to look back on the fair scene. - -"Out there the Vikings sailed away to new lands," said Erik, who was -never weary of dreaming about the heroes of the old sagas. - -"Hurry up, children," called Mrs. Lund. "We have too much before us to -see, to spend time looking back." - -Through the entrance gate, they passed into a grove of pines and -birches, with winding roads. Among the trees were many wild animals in -pens, and queer houses and buildings, such as the children had never -seen in the city or at grandmother's. Every few steps, they met a -soldier with a helmet and shield, or a brightly dressed peasant. You -would think you had come to a foreign country, and so did Sigrid. - -As they turned a bend in the road, they saw a low cottage of hewn -timber. It was painted red and had a hood over the door. In the yard -was a wagon that might have been made by sawing a huge wooden cask from -top to bottom, and then placing one half on wheels. - -"I never saw such a funny cart," said Anders. - -"It is odd," replied his father. "A long time ago, people used to ride -in a wagon like that. Suppose we go over and look at that house." - -"You don't know the people who live there, do you, father?" enquired -Sigrid. - -"No, my daughter," he replied. "But all these people are accustomed -to visitors. You see, a few years ago, there lived a wise man named -Artur Hazelius, who loved his country very dearly. He travelled from -the fjelds and glaciers where the Lapps live to the fertile fields of -Skäne, in the south. - -"Something troubled him very much. He cared a great deal for the queer -old homes which he saw in out-of-the-way villages. No one makes such -houses to-day. He knew they would soon be destroyed. Then he was sorry -that only a few peasants still wear their old gay costumes. - -"So he said to himself, 'I will go to the king and ask him to give me a -large park. There I will fetch some of these houses. Our children will -not have to read in books about the way their great-grandfathers lived. -They shall visit the very houses they lived in.'" - -"How could he bring a whole house here?" asked Erik. - -"That was hard sometimes," Major Lund replied. "Often they pulled down -a house, brought the timber here, and set it up as it was before. Then -he had people come here and wear the same clothes and live in the same -way they did in the olden times. Nowhere in the world is there a park -like this." - -"See that little girl with a kerchief over her head, peeping at us from -the window," said Anders. - -A moment later, a smiling peasant woman came to the door. She made a -curtsey and invited them to enter. - -"Why, I can scarcely see at all," said Sigrid. - -The big living-room was lighted by the tiniest little window. The -two sleeping-rooms were also as dark as your pocket, and very small. -Hemlock tips were strewn over the clean floor. From the ceiling hung a -pole of flat rye bread. - -"You dear baby!" exclaimed Sigrid's mother, for she had discovered a -small canvas hammock hung in a dark corner. The baby was asleep in its -hanging nest. - -"She is a very good child and lies there all day by herself," said the -baby's mother. - -"They never can move their beds at all," said Sigrid, who was making -a tour about the room. She peered curiously between some striped -hand-woven curtains which hung in front of a wooden bed, built into the -house. Similar beds lined the walls. - -"Many of the peasants use that kind of bed," said Major Lund. "Once, -when I was in Lapland, I slept in a big drawer." - -"Was that the time that you were snowed in and you climbed out through -the chimney to dig a path?" asked Erik. - -"Yes, that was the same time," said his father. - -"I should think you would have smothered in the drawer," said Anders, -who had been very quiet. - -"There was no danger of that," replied Major Lund. "All around the -rooms were wooden sofas. At night, you pulled out a big drawer beneath -the seat. The drawer was filled with hay, and over that you spread -blankets." - -Mrs. Lund talked to the peasant woman while the children continued to -look about. A huge fireplace filled one corner of the room. On a low -brick platform that came out into the room, the fire was built. - -Across another corner a rope was stretched. Over it hung dresses and -coats. - -"What do they do that for?" whispered Sigrid to her mother. - -"They haven't any closet for their dresses except that," replied Mrs. -Lund. - -For a moment or two, after they came out of the gloomy interior, the -sun was dazzling. They ate dinner under some pine-trees, and then kept -on through the woods. - -"We haven't time to visit all these houses. But you would like to see -the hut half-buried in the ground. The herdsmen live in such places in -summer while they are tending their cattle. And we won't forget the -Lapps, Anders," said the father, gently tweaking his son's ear. - -"Who are all those people in that carriage?" asked Mrs. Lund. - -"I had almost forgotten that this is Bellman's day. Those people live -here. They always dress in the costume of the time of our beloved poet -on his anniversary day." - -An old carryall drove slowly past. Within were several men dressed in -black velvet coats and knee-breeches, white wigs, and three-cornered -hats. - -"Later in the day, we will walk over to Bellman's statue, where I am -sure we shall find many people." - -"I see the reindeer," exclaimed Anders. "There they are on those high -rocks." - -Before them stretched the group of Laplander tents of birch poles -covered with canvas. - -"That dark-skinned girl playing with the dog looks about my age. I -wonder what she does with the wooden spoon which hangs from her belt," -said Sigrid. - -"Go and ask her, if you like," said Mrs. Lund. "I don't believe that -she will understand you. That tent has the flap turned back. Do you see -that flat stone in the centre? Her dinner is cooked in a big kettle on -that stone. When the meal is ready, she will dip her ladle into the -kettle for her share." - -"Over yonder is the summer-house of our famous seer, Swedenborg. It -used to be in his garden in Stockholm, and there he worked and wrote," -said Major Lund, nodding in the direction of a neat pavilion. - -"We have just time before the dances to see the people who are -celebrating Bellman's day," said Mrs. Lund. - -Wreaths and flowers decked the bronze bust of the poet. At the foot of -the pedestal a man was reciting, and the crowd was very quiet. - -"How he loved to come here and lie out in the warm sun and sing those -same songs that man is reciting!" said Major Lund. They lingered only -a few minutes. - -"This is what I like," said Sigrid, with an air of great content. She -and her brothers had hurried ahead of their parents. They sat watching -some lively dancing on a large platform. - -"They have begun 'Weaving Homespun,'" said Erik, as the fiddler and -accordion player struck up a quaint air. - -The peasants faced each other in two lines. Then the men and maidens -wove in and out in the figures of the dance. "Like weaving on an old -loom," Erik explained to Sigrid. - -"I wish I could have a red dress and a stiff white cap with pointed -ears," said Sigrid, who could not keep her eyes away from one of the -dancers. - -"The crown princess also admires that dress," said Mrs. Lund. "She -requires all her maids of honour to wear it, in the forenoon, at -Tullgarn. I am sure it is so pretty, I don't believe they mind at all." - -"No two of those girls are dressed alike," continued Sigrid, who was -still interested in costumes. - -"That is because each maid wears the peasant dress of one of the -provinces of Sweden, and there are many provinces. One of those -Dalecarlian girls has a dress like the one you wore on Midsummer's Eve. -In that part of the country, the girls wear their bright aprons and -kerchiefs more than anywhere else in Sweden." - -"Why, where is Anders?" asked Major Lund. He had been chatting with an -old friend and had just returned to his family. - -Sure enough, the lad had disappeared. The crowd had pressed in -close about the platform. Every one was so pleased with these old -folk-dances, that they had forgotten the child. - -"Do you suppose he has gone back to look at the seals or the polar -bears?" asked Erik. - -It was sometime before Major Lund returned from his hunt. But Anders -was with him. - -"Where do you think I found the rogue?" asked Major Lund. "He was -drinking raspberry juice with a nice old lady who thought he was lost. -Do you know what happens to little boys who run away?" - -Major Lund looked very stern. But the mother was so glad to find the -child that I don't believe anything did happen. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THROUGH THE GÖTA CANAL - - -THE gong clanged. The big steamer churned the water into foamy suds as -it left the wharf at Stockholm. Sigrid and her father and mother waved -their handkerchiefs to the friends on shore as long as they could see -them. - -"Let us find seats in the bow of the boat, where we shall have a good -view of the canal," said Mrs. Lund. - -"I never was in such a large boat before. It is just like a house," -cried Sigrid, who was much excited. - -"Wait till you see the small state-room with the red plush sofas that -turn down at night for a bed," said Major Lund. "We must leave all -these posies there before we come on deck again." - -All three of them had their arms full of flowers which their friends -had brought them. - -"How long will it take us to get to Aunt Frederika's house, father?" - -"Nearly three days. You will enjoy the trip, Sigrid. We are to cross -the whole of Sweden. But we shall see beautiful country and many old -castles before we reach Göteborg. You won't have to stay on the steamer -all the time, for we shall often get off at the locks and wander -through old towns." - -"Wherever shall we sleep?" Mrs. Lund asked with a smile. The great mass -of flowers almost filled the tiniest room you ever saw. They finally -had to throw some of them away when they went to bed. - -"I wish Erik and Anders could have come too," said Mrs. Lund when they -were on deck again. She almost never took a journey without her whole -family. - -"Grandmother would be very lonely if we were all gone. Our two weeks' -trip will soon be over," replied her husband. - -"Father," said Sigrid, a few hours later, "sometimes the canal is not -much wider than the boat. Why, it seems just as if we were riding on -top of the land instead of the water." - -"Yes, I know what you mean." Major Lund was amused at the child's -distress of mind. "We shall go through several places in the canal, so -narrow that trees on opposite banks arch over the boat. But when we -reach the big lakes you will think we are at sea. Sometimes they are so -broad, you cannot see the shore." - -"I thought it was the Göta Canal all the way," said Sigrid. - -"So it is," replied her father. "But that is like a family name for -wide rivers, big lakes, and little short canals that all join hands to -make a waterway across the country." - -Long before bedtime, Sigrid felt quite at home in her new quarters. -After supper, she again sat on deck with her parents. - -Suddenly, they heard a sharp cry. "Oh, Isabella, you will drown! Can't -you get her, father? What shall I do! Oh! Oh!" - -Several people hastened to the side of the boat where the cry rose. -A pretty child was weeping bitterly, while her father was trying to -comfort her. - -"She has only lost her doll in the water, madam," explained the -gentleman to Mrs. Lund, who was eager to help. He spoke in English. - -"What did he say?" asked Sigrid, who was too far off to hear. - -"She dropped her doll overboard while she was waving her hand to some -children on the shore. Poor child! she is all alone with her father." - -"Is she an English girl?" asked Sigrid. - -"I think she is an American. Perhaps she would like some of your -twisted ring cakes, when she stops crying." - -When the child's sobs finally ceased, Mrs. Lund said to her kindly: - -"Won't you come and sit beside my little daughter? She wants to give -you some of her cakes." - -The two children glanced at each other shyly. - -"May I, father?" asked the American child. - -"Certainly, Anna. You are very kind to amuse her," said the stranger -politely to Mrs. Lund. - -Sigrid could speak in English as well as Swedish, which seemed to -surprise Anna. - -"What nice sweet pretzels!" said Anna as she nibbled at one of the -cakes. - -"Mother bought them of a peasant girl who came on board at that funny -place where the banks were so high we couldn't see the town," explained -Sigrid. - -"Did you bring your doll with you?" asked Anna, who still mourned the -lost Isabella. - -"Oh, yes!" said Sigrid, "and a whole trunk of clothes. Wait a moment -and I will get her." - -She returned with a pretty yellow box on which red and blue flowers -were painted. Grandmother had a large chest at home exactly like this -toy. - -"Oh! you have a peasant doll. How I wish I had one like that! Mother -bought Isabella for me in Paris," said Anna. - -During the next two days of the trip, the little girls were often -together. - -"What a giant stairway! I don't see how the steamer can go up to the -top," Sigrid exclaimed, the next morning. They had reached the town -of Berg, and as she looked at the canal before her, she saw seventeen -locks, which mounted to the sky. - -[Illustration: THE GÖTA CANAL] - -"But it can," said Major Lund. "Hundreds of vessels climb those locks -every year. It will take several hours, so that we may as well go -ashore. - -"When we come to Vadstena, Sigrid, we shall have just time to cross the -drawbridge and visit a grim old castle there. Gustaf Vasa, our first -Swedish king, built it more than three hundred years ago." - -"Didn't we have any kings before him?" asked Sigrid. - -"Yes," said Major Lund. "But he was the first king to unite our people -and make Sweden a strong nation." - -"Mother and I took a trip once while we were in Stockholm. Some one -pointed out the Castle of Gripsholm, where a nobleman named Vasa hid -during the 'Blood Bath of Sweden.' Was that the same man?" asked Anna, -who was standing near. - -"Erik told me all about that once," replied Sigrid. "I am sure he is -the same man. King Christian, the Dane, ruled Sweden then. He was very -cruel, Anna. Why, he murdered so many Swedish noblemen that people call -that time 'The Blood Bath.' No one knew who would have his head chopped -off next." - -Anna shuddered. "Did they kill Gustaf Vasa?" - -"His father was slain, but Gustaf Vasa fled away into the mountains," -replied Sigrid. Ever since she was a baby, she had heard these stories -of the old kings. They were real people to her. - -"He had many wild adventures in Dalecarlia. Sometime, if you go there, -Anna, you will see where he lived. The people there loved him dearly -and wanted him for king instead of the tyrant Dane," said Major Lund. - -"Do tell me about his adventures, Major Lund," said Anna. - -"Ask Sigrid; I am sure she knows," he replied. - -Sigrid's eyes shone with delight. "I know, I know," she exclaimed. -"He cut off his hair and put on homespun clothes, so he looked like a -peasant. Then he worked in the mines and on farms." - -"Didn't the peasants know who he was?" asked Anna. - -"Some of them did. They wanted to save him from the Danish soldiers. -Father saw a house where a woman helped him to escape. She hung a towel -from a window. With that for a rope, he climbed down and ran away. - -"The story I like best is the one about the farmer who hid Gustaf Vasa -in a load of straw. The soldiers thrust their spears all through the -straw, but they could not find him. - -"One spear did wound him. The farmer feared the soldiers would return -and see the blood-stains on the snow. So he took his jack-knife and cut -a small place on his horse's leg. When the soldiers came back, they saw -the red spots on the white ground. The peasant showed them the wound on -the horse and they were satisfied." - -"Don't forget about Margit's quick wits," said Major Lund. - -"She was a peasant woman in whose house Gustaf Vasa stayed," continued -Sigrid. "One day she heard the soldiers coming. - -"'My lord, where shall I hide you?' she cried. - -"That day she had brewed a huge tub of Christmas ale. In a second, she -thought of a plan. - -"'Here, hurry down this ladder.' She pulled up a trap-door in the -kitchen floor and he fled into the cellar. By the time the soldiers -reached the gate she had pulled the tub of ale over the trap-door. The -soldiers never guessed where the prince was." - -"I suppose they caught him, at last," said Anna. - -"That's the best part," said Sigrid. "After a long time, he gathered an -army. Then he fought the Danes and made them give up Sweden for ever." - -"Did you ever fight in a real war, Major Lund?" asked Anna, after a -minute of silence. - -"Not yet," he replied. "Awhile ago, when Norway wanted her own king, -many people feared war between Norway and Sweden. But everybody is glad -that Haakon, the new King of Norway, was chosen without blood-shed." - -"That Frenchman you were talking to this morning, father, called King -Oscar a 'Bernadotte.' What did he mean?" asked Sigrid. - -"He was only referring to King Oscar's French ancestor. King Karl XIII, -who lived a hundred years ago, had no children. So the people tried to -decide who should be the next king. Finally they chose a famous French -officer, named Bernadotte, who fought under Napoleon. He was elected -crown prince." - -"I am sure that must be Vadstena in sight now," said Mrs. Lund. "It -will be pleasant to go ashore for awhile. Grandmother asked me to buy -her some of the lovely lace they make here." - -"You will have to be quick, if you want to see the castle, too," said -Major Lund. - -The last few hours of the journey, they steamed down the Göta River -toward the city of Göteborg. - -"Gustaf Adolf chose well when he built a city at the mouth of this -river," said Major Lund to his wife. They were watching the huge rafts -of timbers that were floating on their way to the seaport. - -"Was he any relation to Gustaf Vasa?" asked Sigrid. - -"Yes, Gustaf Adolf was his grandson. A nobler and braver king never -lived," replied Major Lund. He spoke with the love and reverence which -every Swede feels for Gustaf Adolf, the greatest king the nation ever -had. - -"I do hope Aunt Frederika will be at the pier to meet us," said Sigrid -as they approached the landing. "Oh, I think I see her! No, I don't." - -But Aunt Frederika did find them, and welcomed them warmly. Such a fine -visit they all had together! Erik and Anders heard about little else -for the rest of the summer. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE NAME-DAY - - -THE summer months had winged themselves away. All through the golden -days, Sigrid had lived in the sunshine, as blithe and merry as an elfin -maid. To be sure, there had been a short lesson nearly every day with -Miss Eklund, for Sigrid's mother did not believe that her little girl -should spend all the holiday months in frolicking. - -September had come, and with it hints of long lesson days and a return -to Stockholm. But in the excitement over Sigrid's name-day party, it -was easy to forget such unpleasant things. Karin, Elsa, and Karl, the -cousins who had also been making a long visit with their grandmother, -had begged to be allowed to stay for the party. Several little friends -who lived in fine villas on the lake were coming to spend the day. - -"Be sure to call me at five o'clock in the morning, Miss Eklund," said -Elsa, on the evening before the party. - -Miss Eklund promised, so Elsa arose at an early hour and awoke the -others. Followed by them, with their arms full of flowers and green -leaves, she tiptoed into Sigrid's room. - -"Hush, Anders, your boots squeak. We must not waken her. That would -spoil everything," whispered Elsa. - -"Hang the end of your garland over the bedpost, so," continued Elsa. -She festooned the brass post of Sigrid's bed with the long chain of -green leaves. Then she silently motioned to her sister Karin to do the -same with her end. - -"I'll tie this bunch of bachelors'-buttons to the corner of the -foot-board where she will see them when she first opens her eyes," -whispered Karin. - -"My, doesn't it look pretty!" said Elsa. The children then filed out -into the hall and peered through the doorway. Sigrid's rosy cheeks -were half-buried in her plump arm, which was thrown up over her head. -She appeared to be soundly sleeping in the midst of a huge nosegay of -posies and green leaves. - -"Now I wish she would wake up," exclaimed Anders in a very loud whisper. - -Elsa put her hand over his mouth, but not before the quiet figure in -bed stirred a little. Suddenly Sigrid sat upright, rubbed her eyes, and -clapped her hands. - -"Oh! Oh! Who did it?" she cried aloud. - -In rushed the children, and then there was much laughing and kissing. -Each child very politely congratulated Sigrid because it was her -name-day. Even in the midst of a jolly good time, Swedish children do -not neglect these graceful forms of speech which their parents have -carefully taught them. - -"Here comes Svea with a tray," somebody called out. - -The children made way for the neat and smiling maid. On the dainty tray -which she placed in Sigrid's lap, was a cup of steaming coffee and a -plate of crisp caraway cookies. You might think that she had been sick, -so that every one was trying to cheer her on her name-day. Dear me, no. -Sigrid always had coffee and cakes served to her in bed every birthday -and every name-day, just as if she was a grown-up society lady. - -Anders and Karin sat on the edge of the bed, and the others drew up -their chairs while Sigrid sipped her coffee. - -"My big sister has two name-days," said Elsa. - -"Does she have three parties every year?" asked Sigrid. - -"Yes, indeed," replied Elsa. "Her real birthday comes in January. Then -her name-days are in July and October. I wish I had two name-days. But -mother says there are so many of us children that if we all had two -name-days, we should be having a party about once in every three weeks -all the year." - -Everybody burst into laughter. Elsa had five brothers and sisters, so -what her mother had said was quite true. - -In Sigrid's land, you see, they name all the days of the year. When a -little girl is born, she is generally given a name in the calendar. -Sigrid's birthday was in March, but Sigrid day in the calendar is in -September. So she had two parties every year. - -"Name-day greetings, little daughter," said Mrs. Lund as Sigrid came -into the dining-room for breakfast. Again there was much kissing and -hand-shaking. Sigrid's chair at the table was draped with festoons -of leaves. As she ate her breakfast in silence, she could not keep -her eyes away from one corner of the room. There stood a little table -covered with a snowy cloth. The centre was heaped with bundles of all -shapes, done up in white paper with red sealing-wax. On the white cloth -"Sigrid" was written with almonds and raisins. - -What good fun it was, after breakfast, to open all the mysterious -bundles! Such a heap of pretty things were concealed! - -"Here is 'Little Women,'" said Sigrid in great delight. "How did you -know it was just what I wanted, mother?" For the tenth time Sigrid -got up to run and kiss her mother. The green and gold bound book from -which she had torn the wrapping was a translation of Louisa M. Alcott's -story, which is as dear to the little Swedish girl as to her American -cousin. - -"No lessons to-day," said Miss Eklund, as the children came out of the -dining-room. - -"Hurrah!" shouted Erik. "Won't you take us for a sail on the lake, -father? You promised to go with us once more before I started for -school." - -"Sigrid's name-day would be a fine time to go. Let me see. How many of -you are there?" Major Lund looked around at the bright faces. Gerda and -Per and several other neighbours had already arrived. "Twelve--just two -more than you are years old, Sigrid." - -"You had better start early," said Mrs. Lund. "Remember the party this -afternoon." - -Just as if any one could forget! - -The boys helped Major Lund to unfasten the boat from its moorings. A -puff of wind filled out the white sail and they were soon off. - -"They thought I was asleep this morning when they were trimming my -room," Sigrid confided to Erik, who was showing her how to steer the -boat. - -"Fie on you, Sigrid!" said Erik, quite seriously, but he gave her plump -cheek a little pinch. - -"It was such fun," Sigrid laughed softly. "When I heard Elsa tell -Anders his boots squeaked, I thought I couldn't keep quiet a second -longer." - -"Look at all those snipe, Erik," Major Lund interrupted. The boat was -sailing quite close to the shore. Several of these long-legged birds, -which were picking their way across the beach, were startled by the -voices and flew into the air. - -"What a queer call they have, uncle," said Elsa. - -"Listen a moment till you hear it again," said Major Lund. - -They were very quiet for a couple of minutes. - -"It sounds like the noise old Maja makes when he wants us to give him a -lump of sugar," said Gerda. - -"They make that sound with their wings as they fly," said Major Lund. -"The 'horse-cuckoo,' some people call the snipe. Do you know how it -received that name?" - -"Do tell us, father," said Anders. - -"It is just a short story about a careless farmer who had a lazy -servant. For many days, the servant rode his master's horse to pasture -without giving the poor animal any water to drink. That was a very dry -summer, so the horse suffered greatly. - -"One day the farmer wanted to drive to market. So he said to his -servant: - -"'Fetch my horse from the pasture.' - -"The servant went after the horse, but it had disappeared. He delayed -so long that the master finally followed him into the field. But he -could not find the horse either. Just as they had given up the search, -they heard a neigh. In the next meadow, where they had been hunting, -they saw the horse drinking at a spring. - -"'Are you really there?' cried the farmer. He hastened over the stone -wall to catch the horse. As he was about to put the halter over its -neck, the horse disappeared and a snipe flew into the air. There the -bird neighed till sunset." - -"That served the farmer quite right," said Erik, indignantly, and the -others agreed with him. - -The broad waters of Lake Mälar were alive with sailing craft and small -steamers. Who would stay indoors on such a day! Along the wooded slopes -of the lake they sailed past many a lovely villa, half-hidden by trees, -and occasionally some ancient castle. - -"That is the place where I saw a water-sprite late one afternoon," -said Sigrid. The breeze had died down and the boat seemed to rest at -anchor near an old wooden bridge beneath which a hillside brook rushed -joyously into the lake. - -"Did you really?" asked Elsa. Sigrid believed in trolls, sea-nymphs, -fairies, and water-sprites. But Elsa was several years older than her -cousin, and she wasn't at all certain that trolls and water-sprites -still lived in the wild country, though they might have in the olden -times. - -"Look underneath the bridge in that dark corner, just behind those -rushes. Erik was rowing me home from your house, Gerda. When we got -just there, something white and misty rose up out of the water. I -heard a soft, sweet note, and Erik thought perhaps he did too. Then I -thought I saw him dimly resting on the waves, just as Miss Eklund says -water-sprites do." - -"Weren't you frightened?" asked Karin in wide-eyed surprise. - -"I wanted Erik to stop rowing so I could listen, but he wouldn't. -Mother said he must never take me there again toward night. Father, -won't you tell us the story of the water-sprite and the budding staff, -while we are waiting for the wind to come up?" begged Sigrid. - -"It doesn't look as though we should do much sailing for awhile. But -you must all know the old legend, I am sure," said Major Lund. - -"We should like to hear it just the same," the children all chimed in. - -"Well," began Major Lund, "this water-sprite lived under an old bridge -just like that one over there. He was such a happy fellow that he sat -playing his harp half the livelong day. One afternoon, a grim and -sour-faced old priest came ambling along on his horse, over the bridge. - -"Suddenly he drew rein, for he heard the sweetest music. He rode back -across the bridge and hunted several minutes before he discovered the -merry sprite. - -"In his ugliest tone of voice the priest called out: - -"'Why do you play your harp so joyously? Have you nothing to do but -idle away the day and the night in such foolishness? A lazy sprite like -you will never get to heaven. I should sooner expect to see this staff -which I carry grow green and blossom, than find you there.' - -"The water-sprite threw down his harp in great terror and began to weep -bitterly. What had he ever done that the old priest should frighten him -so? - -"Without giving further heed to the sprite, the priest rode on. For -many years, his own life had been so dull and solemn, that it made him -bitter to see other people happy. He found a cruel pleasure in making -the little sprite wretched. - -"While he was buried in his own gloomy thoughts, he did not see that -the staff in his hands was slowly changing into the green branch of a -living tree. Tiny green buds, then leaves, slowly, silently unfurled. -As silently flower-buds appeared and opened into rosy blossoms, spicy -with fragrance. - -"The priest, at last, beheld the branch of leaves and flowers in his -hand. He was filled with great wonder at himself. While the dead staff -of wood slowly bloomed in his hands, something hard and cold in his -heart seemed to melt. Not since he was a small boy had he listened to -the singing of the birds with such joy. He dismounted from his horse to -gather a handful of wild lilies-of-the-valley. - -"He even smiled on a whistling peasant boy who passed him on the road. -Then he thought of the weeping sprite. In all haste he rode back to -the bridge. - -"To the sobbing lad, he said: - -"'Behold how my old staff has grown green and flowers like a rose-bush -in June. This is a symbol, my good fellow, that hope blooms in the -hearts of us all. You may yet go to heaven.'" - -At that minute, the limp sails stirred, the ropes rattled in the -breeze, and the boat was soon under way. - -Early in the afternoon, the other guests of the party arrived. I could -not begin to tell you all the games they played. Some were like those -of their American cousins, but there were many new ones. Next to "Blind -Man's Buff," and "Last Couple Out," the best fun was "Lend, Lend Fire." - -All the children sat in a circle for this game. Karin, who had a cane, -walked up to Erik and rapping on the floor, said, "Lend, Lend Fire." - -But Erik replied, "Go to the next neighbour." Half-way around the -circle Karin went, but every one made the same answer. In the meantime, -the children were beckoning across to each other and exchanging seats. -Finally, Karin was nimble enough to slip into a chair which was vacant -for a second. It happened to be Sigrid's place, so it was her turn to -take the cane and hunt for fire. - -Mrs. Lund played for the children to dance old-fashioned ring dances. -Sigrid would no more have thought her party complete without these -dances in a big circle than if there had been no name-day cake. For of -course she had a name-day cake. It did not have any candles, and it was -not like any birthday cake you ever saw. Across the top of the round -loaf of sweetened bread, "Sigrid" was written in twisted strips of -bread, with cardamom seeds and currants sprinkled all over. - -Where could you find a prettier, cosier supper-room than within the -round lilac hedge with its wide opening for a door? Here the table was -set for the guests. - -Inside the lilac-bush hedge, with her other guests, we must say -good-bye to our little Swedish cousin. Sometime, I hope you will cross -the seas and meet her again. She is such a winsome maid, so healthy, -happy, and well-mannered, that I am sure you would soon be good friends. - - - - -THE END. - - - - -THE LITTLE COUSIN SERIES - - -The most delightful and interesting accounts possible of child-life in -other lands, filled with quaint sayings, doings, and adventures. - -Each 1 vol., 12mo, decorative cover, cloth, with six or more full-page -illustrations in color. - - Price per volume $0.60 - -_By MARY HAZELTON WADE (unless otherwise indicated)_ - - =Our Little African Cousin= - - =Our Little Armenian Cousin= - - =Our Little Brown Cousin= - - =Our Little Canadian Cousin= - By Elizabeth R. Macdonald - - =Our Little Chinese Cousin= - By Isaac Taylor Headland - - =Our Little Cuban Cousin= - - =Our Little Dutch Cousin= - By Blanche McManus - - =Our Little English Cousin= - By Blanche McManus - - =Our Little Eskimo Cousin= - - =Our Little French Cousin= - By Blanche McManus - - =Our Little German Cousin= - - =Our Little Hawaiian Cousin= - - =Our Little Indian Cousin= - - =Our Little Irish Cousin= - - =Our Little Italian Cousin= - - =Our Little Japanese Cousin= - - =Our Little Jewish Cousin= - - =Our Little Korean Cousin= - By H. Lee M. Pike - - =Our Little Mexican Cousin= - By Edward C. Butler - - =Our Little Norwegian Cousin= - - =Our Little Panama Cousin= - By H. Lee M. Pike - - =Our Little Philippine Cousin= - - =Our Little Porto Rican Cousin= - - =Our Little Russian Cousin= - - =Our Little Scotch Cousin= - By Blanche McManus - - =Our Little Siamese Cousin= - - =Our Little Spanish Cousin= - By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet - - =Our Little Swedish Cousin= - By Claire M. Coburn - - =Our Little Swiss Cousin= - - =Our Little Turkish Cousin= - - - - -THE GOLDENROD LIBRARY - - -The Goldenrod Library contains only the highest and purest -literature,--stories which appeal alike both to children and to their -parents and guardians. - -Each volume is well illustrated from drawings by competent artists, -which, together with their handsomely decorated uniform binding, -showing the goldenrod, usually considered the emblem of America, is a -feature of their manufacture. - - Each one volume, small 12mo, illustrated, decorated cover, - paper wrapper $0.35 - - -LIST OF TITLES - - =Aunt Nabby's Children.= By Frances Hodges White. - =Child's Dream of a Star, The.= By Charles Dickens. - =Flight of Rosy Dawn, The.= By Pauline Bradford Mackie. - =Findelkind.= By Ouida. - =Fairy of the Rhone, The.= By A. Comyns Carr. - =Gatty and I.= By Frances E. Crompton. - =Great Emergency, A.= By Juliana Horatia Ewing. - =Helena's Wonderworld.= By Frances Hodges White. - =Jackanapes.= By Juliana Horatia Ewing. - =Jerry's Reward.= By Evelyn Snead Barnett. - =La Belle Nivernaise.= By Alphonse Daudet. - =Little King Davie.= By Nellie Hellis. - =Little Peterkin Vandike.= By Charles Stuart Pratt. - =Little Professor, The.= By Ida Horton Cash. - =Peggy's Trial.= By Mary Knight Potter. - =Prince Yellowtop.= By Kate Whiting Patch. - =Provence Rose, A.= By Ouida. - =Rab and His Friends.= By Dr. John Brown. - =Seventh Daughter, A.= By Grace Wickham Curran. - =Sleeping Beauty, The.= By Martha Baker Dunn. - =Small, Small Child, A.= By E. Livingston Prescott. - =Story of a Short Life, The.= By Juliana Horatia Ewing. - =Susanne.= By Frances J. Delano. - =Water People, The.= By Charles Lee Sleight. - =Young Archer, The.= By Charles E. Brimblecom. - - - - -COSY CORNER SERIES - - - It is the intention of the publishers that this series shall - contain only the very highest and purest literature,--stories - that shall not only appeal to the children themselves, but be - appreciated by all those who feel with them in their joys and - sorrows. - - The numerous illustrations in each book are by well-known artists, - and each volume has a separate attractive cover design. - - Each 1 vol., 16mo, cloth $0.50 - - -_By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON_ - - -=The Little Colonel.= (Trade Mark.) - -The scene of this story is laid in Kentucky. Its heroine is a small -girl, who is known as the Little Colonel, on account of her fancied -resemblance to an old-school Southern gentleman, whose fine estate and -old family are famous in the region. - - -=The Giant Scissors.= - -This is the story of Joyce and of her adventures in France. Joyce is a -great friend of the Little Colonel, and in later volumes shares with -her the delightful experiences of the "House Party" and the "Holidays." - - -=Two Little Knights of Kentucky.= - -WHO WERE THE LITTLE COLONEL'S NEIGHBORS. - -In this volume the Little Colonel returns to us like an old friend, but -with added grace and charm. She is not, however, the central figure of -the story, that place being taken by the "two little knights." - - -=Mildred's Inheritance.= - -A delightful little story of a lonely English girl who comes to America -and is befriended by a sympathetic American family who are attracted by -her beautiful speaking voice. By means of this one gift she is enabled -to help a school-girl who has temporarily lost the use of her eyes, and -thus finally her life becomes a busy, happy one. - - -=Cicely and Other Stories for Girls.= - -The readers of Mrs. Johnston's charming juveniles will be glad to learn -of the issue of this volume for young people. - - -=Aunt 'Liza's Hero and Other Stories.= - -A collection of six bright little stories, which will appeal to all -boys and most girls. - - -=Big Brother.= - -A story of two boys. The devotion and care of Steven, himself a small -boy, for his baby brother, is the theme of the simple tale. - - -=Ole Mammy's Torment.= - -"Ole Mammy's Torment" has been fitly called "a classic of Southern -life." It relates the haps and mishaps of a small negro lad, and tells -how he was led by love and kindness to a knowledge of the right. - - -=The Story of Dago.= - -In this story Mrs. Johnston relates the story of Dago, a pet monkey, -owned jointly by two brothers. Dago tells his own story, and the -account of his haps and mishaps is both interesting and amusing. - - -=The Quilt That Jack Built.= - -A pleasant little story of a boy's labor of love, and how it changed -the course of his life many years after it was accomplished. - - -=Flip's Islands of Providence.= - -A story of a boy's life battle, his early defeat, and his final -triumph, well worth the reading. - - -_By EDITH ROBINSON_ - - -=A Little Puritan's First Christmas.= - -A story of Colonial times in Boston, telling how Christmas was invented -by Betty Sewall, a typical child of the Puritans, aided by her brother -Sam. - - -=A Little Daughter of Liberty.= - -The author's motive for this story is well indicated by a quotation -from her introduction, as follows: - -"One ride is memorable in the early history of the American Revolution, -the well-known ride of Paul Revere. Equally deserving of commendation -is another ride,--the ride of Anthony Severn,--which was no less -historic in its action or memorable in its consequences." - - -=A Loyal Little Maid.= - -A delightful and interesting story of Revolutionary days, in which the -child heroine, Betsey Schuyler, renders important services to George -Washington. - - -=A Little Puritan Rebel.= - -This is an historical tale of a real girl, during the time when the -gallant Sir Harry Vane was governor of Massachusetts. - - -=A Little Puritan Pioneer.= - -The scene of this story is laid in the Puritan settlement at -Charlestown. The little girl heroine adds another to the list of -favorites so well known to the young people. - - -=A Little Puritan Bound Girl.= - -A story of Boston in Puritan days, which is of great interest to -youthful readers. - - -=A Little Puritan Cavalier.= - -The story of a "Little Puritan Cavalier" who tried with all his boyish -enthusiasm to emulate the spirit and ideals of the dead Crusaders. - - -_By OUIDA_ (_Louise de la Ramée_) - - -=A Dog of Flanders=: A CHRISTMAS STORY. - -Too well and favorably known to require description. - - -=The Nurnberg Stove.= - -This beautiful story has never before been published at a popular price. - - -_By FRANCES MARGARET FOX_ - - -=The Little Giant's Neighbours.= - -A charming nature story of a "little giant" whose neighbours were the -creatures of the field and garden. - - -=Farmer Brown and the Birds.= - -A little story which teaches children that the birds are man's best -friends. - - -=Betty of Old Mackinaw.= - -A charming story of child-life, appealing especially to the little -readers who like stories of "real people." - - -=Brother Billy.= - -The story of Betty's brother, and some further adventures of Betty -herself. - - -=Mother Nature's Little Ones.= - -Curious little sketches describing the early lifetime, or "childhood," -of the little creatures out-of-doors. - - -=How Christmas Came to the Mulvaneys.= - -A bright, lifelike little story of a family of poor children, with an -unlimited capacity for fun and mischief. The wonderful never-to-be -forgotten Christmas that came to them is the climax of a series of -exciting incidents. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Note: Period added after Mackie in Goldenrod Library List. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Our Little Swedish Cousin, by Claire M. 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